1st Battalion The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders   Hong Kong 1979

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The battalion became the UK Spearhead battalion for a six week period on 5th June and this meant that it had to be prepared for deployment anywhere in the world for either internal security or limited war roles at very short notice. As July fell within the tour most of the Battalion was quite clear that the only place it was likely to go was Northern Ireland. Almost as soon as the battalion started its period on Spearhead it became obvious that there was some sort of panic going on in high places and the Battalion went through a frustrating three weeks when we knew we were going somewhere but no-one was officially allowed to know where. As with so many military activities there were carefully made contingency plans for almost any emergency except the one that had just developed in Hong Kong. The result of all this was that the Battalion ended up being deployed to Hong Kong by RAF transport aircraft in a somewhat non-tactical fashion and in a move taking over three weeks to complete. The battalion was based at Lo Wu Camp in the New Territories (close to the border) with B Coy at Dill’s Corner Camp. 

Click picture to enlarge

   The reason for the deployment was nothing to do with the influx of Vietnamese boat people, these were the responsibility of the Royal Navy, but concerned the massive increase in refugees, or in local parlance illegal immigrants (IIs), who were streaming over the land frontier from mainland China. This massed exodus had been made possible by the withdrawal of the local Chinese army units to participate in the fighting on the Vietnamese frontier, but just as the Argylls arrived in Hong Kong the Chinese 42nd Army had been brought back to their normal positions just over the border from the Colony to prevent IIs reaching the frontier. The treatment meted out on these occasions tended to be harsh if not brutal. As the weeks went by the enthusiasm shown by the Chinese for catching IIs seemed to dwindle and a small but steady trickle managed to get through. Most of the movement was by night or when the weather conditions were at their worst so the majority of our operations were mounted during these periods. The fact that the IIs were then handed back to the Chinese authorities may have seemed callous to some but most realized that there was no way in which the Hong Kong Government could cope with yet further groups of refugees.

            The battalion arrived during one of the hottest months of the hottest summer the Colony had seen for many years. The operational situation demanded that we be got into the field with a minimum of delay and for most this meant about seven days after arrival. These first seven days were filled with fitness training, briefings, recces and all the normal activities of a unit newly arrived in a theatre of operations. Our role demanded that most of our work took place at night but many found it almost impossible to sleep by day because of the heat. Conditions in the forward bases varied enormously but in general they were better than one had expected: at the same time the fact of being stuck beside a stinking paddy field 20 miles from the bright lights very quickly produced new ideas about the lure of the Orient. As the weeks went by views tended to change: people adapted to the climate, we took over rather more interesting parts of the frontier, the capture rate for IIs started to climb, the typhoon added excitement, everyone got two 48 hours spells of R and R down in the fleshpots of HK and most companies developed a routine which got increased numbers of men away during the day to swim, water-ski or simply relax. For most individuals it is probably true to say that they look back on Hong Kong as an interesting experience but one which they were quite happy to terminate at the end of two months. From the Battalion point of view the trip was invaluable as it provided a testing role which the unit as a whole could play a part in: it was the first time we had deployed as an entity since leaving Northern Ireland nearly 18 months previously.  On 1st Aug Typhoon Hope struck Hong Kong and caused considerable destruction to some of the battalion’s accommodation. Early in September the battalion left Hong Kong and returned to Catterick.

Some scanned pages from the Spring 1980 TRL which cover the notes on the Hong Kong tour.

             Before closing the book on Hong Kong comment must be made about the price that was paid for this operation. If circumstances force you to take an infantry battalion from the UK and deploy it on operations in the Far East a matter of days later you accept that the climatic change alone is likely to produce casualties. All the safeguards in the world cannot totally eliminate this risk and in our case it cost the life of a young Army Catering Corps cook attached to the Battalion: Pte Neil Dobson. We must at the same time pay tribute to our own medical staff, and in particular Capt Philip de Glanville and Sgt Kell, plus the staff of BMH Hong Kong whose skill and expertise saved at least two more lives during the hectic early days of the tour.

Catterick

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Updated: 12 February 2015