Page 147 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
No wonder that the Hong Kong experience made many of the handlers reluctant to board a return flight to the UK.
And it wasn’t only the dog teams that were lapping-up the lifestyle. They were supported in border control by the ponies and riders from the Lo Wu stables who also played an active part on the frontier by carrying out mounted patrols over the hillsides of the New Territories. This was one of many exciting career opportunities that began to open-up to RAVC personnel in Hong Kong in the 1970s, one more being the role of the Border Detection Group – the Specialist Dog Group set up specifically to help combat the growing illegal immigrant problem.
The border – extending from the west from the Sham Chun River of which the low water mark denoted the border – including the Sandy Spur sector, covered an area which was essentially marshland encompassing a region containing a mass of fish and duck ponds, and the Mai Po Marshes Bird Sanctuary, which was full of tall uncontrolled mangrove trees. It was the perfect hiding place for illegal immigrants. Further over to the east, towards Lo Wu was a major crossing point at Man Kam To, through which came the road traffic from China carrying trade goods right along to the hilly sheer slopes to the far-eastern point at Sha Tau Kok.
The Specialist Dog Group was part of the Hong Kong Dog Company and by then firmly operating from the new kennels at Casino Lines which was located close to the Gurkha Sai Wan War Cemetery. The new section was so busy it borrowed handlers from Sek Kong main kennels but what the handlers were experiencing was a need for a new classification of dog. The ‘Sweep’ dog was promptly trained by the RAVC and two sweep teams were deployed every night. Other teams were held on stand-by for use on the border and outlying islands. The Specialist Dog Group had eleven dogs and twenty Chinese handlers and records showed the growing success of the dog teams in capturing over three thousand illegal immigrants by 29th August 1980.
New Tracker dogs and handlers had to be posted out to join the team and just two-months later, on 24th October 1980, the number of ‘captures’ had risen to three thousand two hundred and seventeen with the total being added to daily. As always with success, there are casualties to account for too, and for the Unit the search for a missing Gurkha soldier in the Mai Po region resulted in his body being discovered in a fish pond, close to
where he had been last seen in pursuit of a gang of illegal immigrants.
1981
By 1981, the Unit had been re-named the Army Dog Unit Hong Kong RAVC and its strength had lifted to three hundred personnel, with the new Border Detachment.18
By April 1981 the kennels had been targeted for a rebuild. Their capacity had to be increased to hold more than sixty dogs and one hundred and fifty handlers, as teams were being posted in from the UK with many escorts on return trips ferrying dogs. Accolades were pouring in too, as the Unit had been recognised with the award of six CBF Commendations for work carried out on the frontier. Congratulations went to Sgt Kwok Yiu Fu (Donald, or ‘brother’ to the author), who was awarded two CBF Commendations (and by April 1987 he had single-handedly apprehended four hundred and seventy-two illegal immigrants). And Cpls, Yueng Tung Loi, Ho Kam Chung, Lai On, Li Kit Bun and LCpl Tsang Moon Chuen (Coolie 7).
A short feature in Soldier Magazine showed how the Unit became a valued part of the local community – and not only its official capacity:
‘Quick Reaction Force’, when two year old Ho Chi Wai fell off a bridge into the murky waters of the River Indus, a river in the northeast New Territories, it was very nearly curtains but for the quick reaction of three soldiers who were out on a regular anti-illegal immigrant patrol in Hong Kong. The Guardsmen from the 1st Bn Scots Guards, together with LCpl Leung Kueng Fai, a dog handler with the RAVC, formed a human chain to bring the child out of the river to safety.
By this time, the border group RAVC trainers were not only training Sweep dog handlers, they were also running a course for the RAVC Chinese handlers. By 1982 the Unit was still very busy, despite a seasonal decrease in illegal immigrant numbers during the winter – a factor that was later recognised as normal for the time of year.
It was early in 1982 that Tony Rossell handed over Command of his successful Border Detachment to Captain David Frere-Cook.
Mid – 1980s
At its peak there were about eight thousand soldiers based in Hong Kong, part of the Brigade whether it was the Gurkha Field Force or the later 48 Gurkha Infantry Brigade. It was renamed the Gurkha Field Force in December 1976 as part of the
18 Chiron Calling article Summer 1994 ‘HK DASU RAVC.’
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