Royston Webb Brooks,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

, AE (, born 9 June 1936) is a British

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and retired

air force officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

of the

Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force (RHKAAF) was a Hong Kong Government department based in Hong Kong. It was formed as an air force in 1949 as part of the Hong Kong Defence Force. In preparation for the transfer of sovereignty from the Uni ...

(RHKAAF). He was the last expatriate to serve as the commanding officer of the RHKAAF from 1988 to 1990. Brooks joined the RHKAAF in 1971 as a part-timer. He was promoted to the rank of

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

in 1985 and further promoted to the rank of

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

upon assuming command of the RHKAAF in 1988. Throughout the years, he had taken part in various search and rescue missions. As the commanding officer, he was in charge of a wide range of flying services and related support services. He also oversaw a partial replacement of the fleet. In view of the

transfer of the sovereignty of Hong Kong Sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China (PRC) at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the former colony. Hong Kong was established as a special admini ...

in 1997, he assisted in the preparation for transforming the RHKAAF from a paramilitary air force of the

Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, ...

into a disciplined unit as the

Government Flying Service The Government Flying Service (GFS) is a disciplined unit and paramilitary flying organisation of the Government of Hong Kong. The service has its head office in, and operates from, the southwestern end of Hong Kong International Airport at ...

. Brooks is a

chartered engineer Regulation and licensure in engineering is established by various jurisdictions of the world to encourage life, public welfare, safety, well-being, then environment and other interests of the general public and to define the licensure process thro ...

by profession. He moved from the United Kingdom to Hong Kong to start his career with the

China Light and Power Company CLP Group () and its holding company, CLP Holdings Ltd (), also known as China Light and Power Company, Limited (now CLP Power Hong Kong Ltd., ), is an electricity company in Hong Kong. Incorporated in 1901 as China Light & Power Company Syndi ...

(CLP), where he worked his way up from a projects engineer to the chief projects engineer of the engineering projects department, and later the divisional manager of engineering of the engineering division. He was responsible for large-scale capital projects including the

Castle Peak Power Station The Castle Peak Power Station () is the largest coal-fired power station in Hong Kong. It is situated in Tap Shek Kok, Tuen Mun District, on the north shore of Urmston Road. It was named after the nearby Castle Peak, Hong Kong, Castle Peak. The st ...

. After leaving the CLP and RHKAAF, he resided for a time in the United States before returning to the United Kingdom.

Biography

Early life

Brooks was born in

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

, Glamorgan, Wales, the United Kingdom, on 9 June 1936, to Gregory Webb Brooks, brewer and bottler, and Elsie May Brooks (née Jones). After the death of his father, his mother was remarried to Arthur Kirk when she was at 80 in 1992. Brooks received education at Bishop Gore Grammar School. He then studied engineering at

Swansea Technical College , students = 5,765 , undergrad = 4,520 , postgrad = 1,075 , other = 175 further education, FE , city = Swansea , country = Wales, UK , campus = Urban , address = Mount PleasantSw ...

(now

University of Wales Trinity Saint David , image = Crest of TSD.png , image_size = 200px , caption = Coat of armsUniversity of Wales Trinity Saint David , established = 2010 (Saint David's College, Lampeter founded 1822 and opened 1827; royal charter 1828) , ...

) and King's College, Durham University (now

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is ...

Engineering career

After graduation, Brooks embarked on his engineering career and he was qualified as a member of the

Institution of Electrical Engineers The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) was a British professional organisation of electronics, electrical, manufacturing, and Information Technology professionals, especially electrical engineers. It began in 1871 as the Society of Te ...

and a member of the

Institution of Plant Engineers IPlantE is the (United Kingdom, British) Institution of Plant Engineers. It is the professional sector of the Society of Operations Engineers for engineers, technicians and those with an interest in the specification, installation, operation and ma ...

. Later on, he was qualified as a

and was elected a Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers. Upon the amalgamation of the Institution of Electrical Engineers and the

Institution of Incorporated Engineers The Institution of Incorporated Engineers (IIE) was a multidisciplinary engineering institution in the United Kingdom. In 2006 it merged with the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) to form the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IE ...

as the

Institution of Engineering and Technology The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is a multidisciplinary professional engineering institution. The IET was formed in 2006 from two separate institutions: the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE), dating back to 1871, and ...

in 2006, he was transferred to the new institution to become a fellow. Over the years, he had published a few articles in the relevant academic publications. Castle Peak Power Station (Hong Kong)

As an engineer, his career was mainly associated with the

(CLP) in Hong Kong. In the early 1970s, he was a projects engineer at CLP. A few years later, he became the chief projects engineer of the engineering projects department. By the mid-1980s, he had been further promoted to become the divisional manager of engineering of the engineering division, a post he held until he left CLP in 1988. During his time with CLP, he was responsible for a number of major capital projects, which included the

, the Tsing Yi "B" Power Station and the CLP System Control Centre in

Tai Po Tai Po is an area in the New Territories of Hong Kong. It refers to the vicinity of the traditional market towns in the area presently known as Tai Po Old Market or Tai Po Kau Hui () (the original "Tai Po Market") on the north of Lam Tsue ...

, etc. While in Hong Kong, he also became a Member of the

Hong Kong Institution of Engineers The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE, ) is a professional body of engineers in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1947 as the ''Engineering Society of Hong Kong'' and was incorporated by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong as ''The Hong Kong ...

(MHKIE) and was later elected a Fellow (FHKIE).

Auxiliary Air Force

While living and working in Hong Kong, Brooks joined the

(RHKAAF) as a pilot on part-time basis in 1971, with the RHKAAF having just been restructured as a separate unit the year before. He received the

Air Efficiency Award The Air Efficiency Award, post-nominal letters AE for officers, was instituted in 1942. It could be awarded after ten years of meritorious service to officers, airmen and airwomen in the Auxiliary and Volunteer Air Forces of the United Kingdom ...

(AE) in 1981, to be followed by a clasp to the medal several years later. In 1985, he was promoted to the rank of

. Over the years, he had participated in various search and rescue missions. He had also served as an honorary aide-de-camp to the

Governor of Hong Kong The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the British Crown in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and commander-in-chief of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong. ...

. In January 1988, Brooks took over from Wg Cdr Alistair Asprey to become the commanding officer of RHKAAF. On assuming the commanding role, he was promoted to the rank of

. In recognition of his service, he was also appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

of the Military Division (MBE (Mil)) in the

1988 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1988 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

. The RHKAAF was mainly responsible for providing different kinds of search and rescue services and flying services support. During his time as the commanding officer, it had a total of more than 3,000 hours of flying time each year. It also responded to more than 200 emergency calls and dispatched its helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft for search and rescue operations for around 60 to over 100 times annually. One of the most important rescue operations under his charge occurred on 21 July 1988, when the RHKAAF sent out helicopters to rescue villagers in the

New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...

hit by the most serious floods in a decade. Apart from the rescue missions, the RHKAAF continued to provide routine transport services for carrying government officials and guests, conduct offshore patrols in anti-illegal immigration operations, and assist government departments in performing aerial surveys, photography and map-making work, etc. When Brooks assumed the commanding post, the RHKAAF operated a fleet of 10 aircraft, including two twin-engined aircraft, one

Britten-Norman Islander The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial air ...

, two Scottish Aviation Bulldog trainers, two Slingsby Firefly trainers and three Aerospatiale Dauphin twin-engined helicopters. He oversaw a partial replacement of the fleet as arranged by the

, with a view to modernising the fleet and enhancing the flying services. The replacement work included the addition of two Firefly trainers for retiring the remaining two Bulldog trainers in 1988, and the procurement of six Sikorsky helicopters for replacing the Dauphin helicopters in 1990. Besides, arrangement was originally made in December 1988 to designate the airfield at Shek Kong Barracks in the New Territories for the RHKAAF for training purposes. However, the arrangement was soon cancelled as nearly half of the runway at Shek Kong had been converted into a tented camp for accommodating the

Vietnamese boat people Vietnamese boat people ( vi, Thuyền nhân Việt Nam), also known simply as boat people, refers to the refugees who fled Vietnam by boat and ship following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. This migration and humanitarian crisis was at its h ...

by the following year. As the training programme for fixed wing flying could no longer be arranged at the airfield, it resulted in the sending of a total of 12 students to the United Kingdom in three batches for receiving training. Due to the

in 1997, Brooks witnessed the start of gradual localisation of the RHKAAF and the preparation for transforming it from a paramilitary air force of the Hong Kong Government into a disciplined unit. In October 1988, the Hong Kong Government announced the plan on the setting up of a new government department to be known as the "Government Flying Services". To prepare for the transformation, programmes were carried out to expand the establishment of the RHKAAF and to replace part-time posts by full-time employees. The different military ranks of the personnel of RHKAAF would also be transformed into their corresponding

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

ranks upon the disbandment of RHKAAF. Against this background, the number of permanent staff members of the RHKAAF gradually increased from 127 in 1988 to 160 in 1990, while the number of part-time volunteers like Brooks slightly increased from 171 to 195 in parallel. In 1989, the last remaining Spitfire fighter aircraft of the RHKAAF, which was retired in 1955 and had been on display at the foreground of the RHKAAF headquarters, was transferred to the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

in London for permanent display. On 31 December 1990, Brooks retired from the post of commanding officer. His successor, Wg Cdr Dicky Yip, became the last commanding officer and the only

ethnic Chinese The Chinese people or simply Chinese, are people or ethnic groups identified with China, usually through ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, or other affiliation. Chinese people are known as Zhongguoren () or as Huaren () by speakers of s ...

to fill the post. Hence, Brooks was also the last expatriate to assume command of the RHKAAF. In 1993, the RHKAAF was formally disbanded and replaced by the newly established

Retirement

After retiring from the RHKAAF, Brooks moved to

Fort Myers Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

in Florida, the United States. (via online database from Ancestry.com) After some time, he returned to the United Kingdom and has since then settled in

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

, Dorset, England. In 2011, he set up an unofficial website for the RHKAAF to offer different kinds of reference materials on its history.

Personal life

Brooks was married to Pat Taylor in 1961. The couple have two sons. (via online database from Ancestry.com)

Published articles

* Brooks, R. W., "China Light & Power's project strategy", ''IEE Proceedings C (Generation, Transmission and Distribution)'' Volume 131, Issue 6, September 1984, pp. 222–235. * Brooks, R. W., and Jesson, J. E., "Phased construction encourages improvements to later units", ''1986 International Power Systems'', 1986, pp. 29–32.

Military awards and honours

(AE) (1981) * Clasp to Air Efficiency Award (AE & Clasp) *

(Military Division) (MBE (Mil) (1988 New Year Honours)

Professional qualifications

* Member of the Institution of Plant Engineers * Fellow of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (FHKIE) *

Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology Fellow of the UK Institution of Engineering and Technology (FIET) is the highest grade of Institution of Engineering and Technology membership, awarded to those who have sustained high levels of achievement, for several years. Fellows must demon ...

References

External links

Unofficial RHKAAF website (by Royston Brooks)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Royston Webb 1936 births Living people Alumni of King's College, Newcastle British electrical engineers British aviators Hong Kong engineers Hong Kong aviators Royal Air Force wing commanders People from Fort Myers, Florida People from Poole People from Swansea Members of the Order of the British Empire