(15 Sep 1996) English/Nat
The British Royal Air Force has said a ceremonial farewell to its last station in both Hong Kong and the Far East.
The 28th Squadron commemorated the anniversary of the Battle of Britain in the territory for the last time on Sunday.
The Royal Air Force will withdraw from Hong Kong in two months time before sovereignty is handed back to China in July next year.
The 28th Squadron of the British Royal Air Force commemorates the anniversary of the Battle of Britain, as it does every year.
But this year is particularly special because it is the last time the ceremony will take place in Hong Kong.
This time next year the U-K will have handed the territory back to China and there will be no commemoration of the Battle of Britain.
In two months time, the British Royal Air Force will withdraw from the Hong Kong.
At the R-A-F ceremonial farewell parade, Hong Kong chief secretary Anson Chan joined Commander of the British Forces, Major General Bryan Dutton.
The R-A-F has had a long and close association with the territory.
The first R-A-F station in the Far East began operations in 1927.
The closure of the Hong Kong station will bring to an end the R-A-F's presence in the Far East, as well as in the territory.
The chief secretary was presented with a ceremonial parchment by Air Vice Marshall Terry Sherrington to mark the end of the R-A-F service in Hong Kong.
The ceremony also included a fly-past by Wessex helicopters of the 28th Squadron.
Some 200 air force staff and their families were there for the ceremony and to witness the lowering of the R-A-F flag for the last time in the territory.
For many, the closure of the R-A-F station marks the end of an era.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"It's the end of an era for 28, and it's the end of an era for the Royal Air Force. 28 Squadron is the last of the Far East Squadrons and this is the last of the Far East bases. And I think that at the end of the day the thing I will remember most of all is being here at the end."
SUPER CAPTION: Dick Barton, RAF Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader Dick Barton will take his team back to the U-K in two months time.
By a strange quirk of history, it was a Wing Commander R Barton O-B-E who first brought the 28th Squadron to the Far East in 1920.
The squadron has been based overseas for the past 77 years.
It was in Hong Kong that it changed from a jet squadron to a helicopter unit because of the territory's rugged terrain.
But come next July, the defence of Hong Kong is something the British will no longer have to worry about.
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