Page 148 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
Army’s re-structuring role. However, the Brigade had moved to Sek Kong in the New Territories during 1954 as part of the Hong Kong Garrison.
The reversion to its Infantry Brigade original title did not change the strength, the structure or role of the Brigade whose primary task had always been to support the Royal Hong Kong Police and maintain the integrity of the Border. The Brigade’s manpower consisted of approximately three fifths of Gurkha soldiers, one fifth being locally employed Service personnel and one fifth UK personnel.
In the mid-1980s the role of the Force was four-fold: to protect the Chinese border with the police while containing illegal immigration; support the Hong Kong Police in providing internal security for the territory; support community relations in helping Hong Kong with natural disasters such as typhoons and, finally; train its fighting soldiers to meet all eventualities.
The Hong Kong Dog Company title changed on 1st January 1987 to reflect its role encompassing its animal-related support to Hong Kong. The Unit had existed under a variety of titles since shortly after the Second World War but was then to be known as The Hong Kong Defence Animal Support Unit RAVC. By May 1988 the total number of illegal immigrants intercepted by the Unit had reached 12,608...and counting. The Border Detachment, as it was known later, had become an integral part of Hong Kong’s anti-illegal immigrant operations and was well respected for its ability to detect and capture its quarry.
Border operations had changed considerably since 1979. The location where once sat a loan dog team and perhaps an infantry ‘brick’ in ambush position was, by 1988, infested with ‘high tech’ detection equipment surrounding a 14 foot-high border fence crowned with triple concertina/ dannert wire coils. The Company Headquarters, which used to be a small tent, had become a purpose-built permanent camp complete with living accommodation, toilets and washing facilities and an Operations room that resembled the cockpit of a Boeing 747 ‘Jumbo Jet’! Despite the millions of HK dollars spent on the ultra- modern defence system, there still remained the very basic task of seeking and arresting the quarry after they have been detected. From the start, to present day, there remains only one aid that can do the job quickly and efficiently – the dog. Without the dogs’ speed, agility and highly developed sense of smell, the uniformed Services of Hong Kong would have been hard pushed to maintain the integrity of the frontier.
The profile of the illegal immigrant had also changed over the years. Once it was the peasant farmer, dressed in his traditional black or dark blue clothing seeking a better life, who was attempting to cross the border, but in the 1980s immigration was fast-becoming the way of the ‘townie’ looking for a way to make a ‘fast buck’ and then return to China with pockets full.
Violence wasn’t a problem for the RAVC Border Unit as most illegal immigrants accepted their arrest and the inevitability of being repatriated to China. Every day at 1500 hrs a convoy of trucks rolled up from the Hong Kong side of the Man Kam To Bridge into China, to be met by the Black Marias to transport the returnees. First they appeared before the Chinese equivalent of the local magistrate to receive their punishments, which ranged from a slapped wrist to six-months hard labour – and then be freed to try it all over again.
This circle of activity kept the Border Detachment very busy throughout their three day shift system. The handlers, all Chinese Locally Enlisted Personnel (LEPs), wore the RAVC cap badge and carried out their work in pairs following the same routine 365 days a year. Some of the men had been in the Detachment from its conception and had therefore developed something of an expertise in catching illegal immigrants and, naturally, their knowledge of the local area and the people gave them an edge over the British and Gurkha soldiers. Their ability to speak Cantonese and recognise an alien to the area, either by clothing or accent, led to many arrests in local restaurants, tea houses or even at bus stops. Even though they had been doing this same task for a long period of time, the handlers never seemed to lose interest in their work. Evidence to that date was the number of CBF Commendations – which numbered no fewer than ten.
The capability of the Sweep dog was proving invaluable. Hong Kong was the only place in the world where Sweep dogs were employed opera- tionally – mostly during the hours of darkness in an ambush role. The ambush position being such that there was a minimum of legitimate movement by farmers nearby that could have distracted the dog. For best results, the dog team was deployed slightly forward of the Infantry. At night, the dogs acted as the eyes and ears of the position and gave an early warning of the approach of any illegal immigrants. They were normally attached to an Infantry call sign and were located anywhere along the 22 miles of the land frontier.
The Sweep dogs were used to ‘sweep’ suspect
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