Branch Christmas Dinner 9th December 2021 - After a hiatus of 2 years the popular Branch Christmas Dinner is back on the cards! The format of the event will be as per previous years; venue being the United Services Recreation Club in Jordan; dress lounge suit or similar and the ever-popular lucky draw will be a feature of the evening. We will shortly circulate a more detailed flyer regarding the event, but at this stage expressions of interest are invited from Branch members. A traditional Christmas Banquet will be served and a vegetarian option will be made available.
Visit to Sai Wan Military Cemetery 27th November 2021 - Historian Martin Heyes will lead a visit to the Sai Wan Military Cemetery on Saturday 27th November 2021. The cemetery is located in Chai Wan built in 1946. It was created to provide the resting place of soldiers both of the HK garrison and overseas who died during WW2, in addition to 12 burials from WW1. A total of 1528 soldiers, mainly from the Commonwealth, are buried here. Notable burials include the Canadian Brigadier John Lawson, the most senior officer killed in HK during the 1941 conflict, who commanded West Brigade during the later stages of the conflict. He was killed on 19th December 1941 at the Wong Nai Chong Gap where he was initially buried, being re-interred in Sai Wan after the war. The cemetery is also the burial place of two Major Generals who died elsewhere but who again, were later re-interred. During the course of our visit we will look in detail at some of the notable burials in the cemetery and, depending upon the interest, a lunch in Shek O may be arranged afterwards. Please see the November Newsletter and the flyer circulated for details of this event.
Along the Southern Boundary by Les Bird date/venue tbc early 2021- Former Marine Police commander Les Bird’s photographic account of the tens of thousands of Vietnamese who arrived by boat at Hong Kong’s southern sea boundary between 1979 and 1989 and how the Marine Police were tasked with bringing them in safely. This included providing emergency help for cholera cases, assessing often dehydrated children and processing everyone who came into the city.
For the purposes of this talk, Les will focus on two specific years: (a) 1979, when more than 68,700 people arrived at Hong Kong’s sea border, and (b)1989, a time when all 13 Vietnamese boat people camps in Hong Kong were declared full and Les and his colleagues were directed to put all new arrivals on the remote island of Tai Ah Chau which, at the outset, was devoid of facilities. Within a week they had more than 3000 in their care.
The Speaker
Born in Staffordshire in the English Midlands, Les Bird joined the Hong Kong Marine Police in 1976. For more than 10 years he patrolled the waters to the south of Hong Kong, intercepting vessels which had crossed the South China Sea and the Vietnamese boat people on board – all of whom were hoping to start a new life. Throughout his maritime career Les carried a camera and, when circumstances permitted, he photographed the vessels and the people caught up in this exodus in the aftermath of the Vietnam war. Les served with the Marine Police until 1997.
In addition to his work involving the influx of Vietnamese, he also headed the Marine Police’s fast pursuit unit, intercepting smugglers in speedboats who, in the early 1990’s, attempted to take stolen cars and electronic goods, (inter alia), to the mainland.
His recently published memoir covers the lead-up to the Handover. “A Small Band Of Men, An Englishman’s Adventures in Hong Kong’s Marine Police,” will be available for sale at the talk.
For the purposes of this talk, Les will focus on two specific years: (a) 1979, when more than 68,700 people arrived at Hong Kong’s sea border, and (b)1989, a time when all 13 Vietnamese boat people camps in Hong Kong were declared full and Les and his colleagues were directed to put all new arrivals on the remote island of Tai Ah Chau which, at the outset, was devoid of facilities. Within a week they had more than 3000 in their care.
The Speaker
Born in Staffordshire in the English Midlands, Les Bird joined the Hong Kong Marine Police in 1976. For more than 10 years he patrolled the waters to the south of Hong Kong, intercepting vessels which had crossed the South China Sea and the Vietnamese boat people on board – all of whom were hoping to start a new life. Throughout his maritime career Les carried a camera and, when circumstances permitted, he photographed the vessels and the people caught up in this exodus in the aftermath of the Vietnam war. Les served with the Marine Police until 1997.
In addition to his work involving the influx of Vietnamese, he also headed the Marine Police’s fast pursuit unit, intercepting smugglers in speedboats who, in the early 1990’s, attempted to take stolen cars and electronic goods, (inter alia), to the mainland.
His recently published memoir covers the lead-up to the Handover. “A Small Band Of Men, An Englishman’s Adventures in Hong Kong’s Marine Police,” will be available for sale at the talk.
