The Commander British Forces in Hong Kong (CBF) was a senior

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

officer who acted as Military Advisor 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 Kon ...

and was in charge of the Hong Kong British Forces. The officeholder of this post concurrently assumed the office of the

Lieutenant Governor of Hong Kong The Lieutenant Governor of Hong Kong held the second-highest position during the British colonial rule in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1902. History Although Lieutenant Governor of Hong Kong was the second-highest position in Hong Kong, the Lieut ...

before the abolition of the position.

Structure

The Governor of

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

, being a representative of the

British sovereign The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwi ...

, was the Commander-in-Chief of the British Forces and Vice Admiral in the

Crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Council ...

(then

British Dependent Territories The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Bri ...

). The Governor was advised by the Commander British Forces in Hong Kong (CBF) on all military actions. During the 1980s and 1990s, the CBF was normally a career

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

from the British Army. Until 1966, the CBF was an

ex officio member An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

of the Legislative Council.

Commanders

Commanders have included: ;Commander British Forces in Hong Kong *1843–1848 Major-General George d'Aguilar *1848–1851 Major-General

William Staveley Lieutenant-General William Staveley (29 July 1784 – 4 April 1854) was a British Army officer who fought in the Peninsular War and later became Commander and Lieutenant Governor of Hong Kong. Military career Staveley was born in York, th ...

*1851–1854 Major-General

William Jervois Lieutenant General Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois (10 September 1821 – 17 August 1897) was a British military engineer and diplomat. After joining the British Army in 1839, he saw service, as a second captain, in South Africa. In 18 ...

;Commander British Troops in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and Hong Kong *1854–1857 Major-General Sir Robert Garrett *1857–1858 Major-General Thomas Ashburnham *1858–1859 Major-General Sir Charles van Straubenzee *1860–1861 Major-General Sir James Grant *1861–1862 Major-General Sir John Michel *1862–1863 Major-General Sir Charles Staveley *1863–1864 Major-General William Brown *1864–1867 Major-General Sir Philip Guy *1867–1869 Major-General

James Brunker James Nixon Brunker (28 April 1832 – 5 June 1910) was an Australian politician, Minister of Lands in the Parliament of New South Wales. Early life and business Brunker was born in Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia. He was the son of ...

;Commander British Troops in China, Hong Kong, and the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Com ...

*1869–1874 Major-General Henry Whitfield *1874–1878 Lieutenant General Sir Francis Colborne *1878–1882 Lieutenant General

Edward Donovan Edward Donovan (1768 – 1 February 1837) was an Anglo-Irish writer, natural history illustrator, and amateur zoologist. He did not travel, but collected, described and illustrated many species based on the collections of other naturalists. Hi ...

*1882–1885 Lieutenant General John Sargent *1885–1889 Lieutenant General Sir William Cameron ;Commander British Troops in China and Hong Kong *1889–1890 Major-General Sir James Edwards *1890–1895 Major-General Sir George Barker *1895–1898 Major-General Sir Wilsone Black *1898–1903 Major-General Sir William Gascoigne ;Commander British Troops in Southern China *1903–1906 Major-General Villiers Hatton *1906–1910 Major-General Robert Broadwood *1910–1913 Major-General Sir Charles Anderson *1913–1915 Major-General Francis Kelly ;Commander British Troops in

Northern China Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions is not precisely defined and only serve to depict where there appears to be regional differences between the climate ...

*1900–1901 Major-General Sir

Alfred Gaselee General Sir Alfred Gaselee, , (3 June 1844 – 29 March 1918) was a soldier who served in the Indian Army. Early life Gaselee was born at Little Yeldham, Essex, the eldest son of the Reverend John Gaselee, rector of Little Yeldham, and his ...

*1901–1903 Major-General

O'Moore Creagh General Sir Garrett O'Moore Creagh, (2 April 1848 – 9 August 1923), known as Sir O'Moore Creagh, was a senior British Army officer and an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that ca ...

*1901–1906 Brigadier-General

Francis Ventris Major-General Francis Ventris CB (1857–1929) was Commander of British Forces in China. Military career The son of Edward Favell Ventris, who was Vicar of West Mersea in Essex before becoming Rector of Church Aston, Newport, Shropshire, by h ...

(major-general from October 1903) *1906–1910 Brigadier-General Wallscourt Waters *1910–1914 Brigadier-General Edward Cooper *1914–1915 Brigadier-General

Nathaniel Barnardiston Sir Nathaniel Barnardiston (1588 – 25 July 1653) of Kedington, alias Ketton, Suffolk was an English (East Anglian) landowner, magistrate and senior representative of a long-established knightly family, one of the wealthiest in Suffolk, wh ...

(major-general from February 1915) ;Commander British Forces in

*1915–1921 Major-General

*1921–1922 Major-General George Kirkpatrick *1922–1925 Major-General Sir John Fowler ;Commander British Troops in Southern China *1925–1929 Major-General

Charles Luard Major-General Charles Camac Luard, CB, CMG (14 September 1867 – 28 June 1947) was Commander of British Troops in South China. Military career Fourth in a line of British army officers, and born the son of Richard Luard and educated at Cl ...

*1929–1932 Major-General James Sandilands ;Commander British Troops in Northern China *Jan–Dec 1927 Major-General John Duncan (also

Shanghai Defence Force The Shanghai Defence Force was a tri-service military formation established by the British Government to protect European nationals and their property in Shanghai from Chinese nationalist forces during a period of tension in 1927. History Following ...

) *1927–1929 Major-General Alexander Wardrop ;Commander British Troops in China *1932–1935 Lieutenant-General Oswald Borrett *1935–1938 Major-General Arthur Bartholomew *1938–1941 Major-General Edward Grasett *Aug–Dec 1941 Major-General Christopher Maltby :''Note from 1941 to 1945 Hong Kong was under Japanese occupation'' ;Commander British Forces in Hong Kong *1945–1946 Major-General Sir Francis Festing *1946–1948 Major-General Sir George Erskine *1948–1949 Major-General Francis Matthews *Jun–Sep 1949 Lieutenant-General Sir Francis Festing *1949–1951 Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Mansergh *1951–1952 Major-General Geoffrey Evans *1952–1954 Major-General Terence Airey *1954–1955 Lieutenant-General

Cecil Sugden General (United Kingdom), General Sir Cecil Stanway Sugden (4 December 1903 – 25 March 1963) was a senior British Army Officer (armed forces), officer who became Master-General of the Ordnance. Military career Educated at Brighton College, Sug ...

*1955–1957 Lieutenant-General Sir William Stratton *1957–1960 Lieutenant-General Sir Edric Bastyan *1960–1961 Lieutenant-General Sir Roderick McLeod *1961–1963 Lieutenant-General Sir Reginald Hewetson *1963–1964 Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Craddock *1964–1966 Lieutenant-General Sir Denis O'Connor *1966–1968 Lieutenant-General Sir John Worsley *1968–1970 Lieutenant-General Sir Basil Eugster *1970–1973 Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Ward *1973–1976 Lieutenant-General Sir Edwin Bramall *1976–1978 Lieutenant-General Sir John Archer *1978–1980 Major-General Sir Roy Redgrave *1980–1982 Major-General John Chapple *1982–1985 Major-General

Derek Boorman Lieutenant-General Sir Derek Boorman (born 30 September 1930) is a retired former senior British Army officer. Military career Educated at Wolstanton Grammar School and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst,Debrett's People of Today 1994 Boorman ...

*1985–1987 Major-General

Anthony Boam Major-General Thomas Anthony Boam CB CBE (born 14 February 1932) was Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong. Military career Educated at Bradfield College and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Boam was commissioned into the Scots Guard ...

*1987–1989 Major-General

Garry Johnson General Sir Garry Dene Johnson KCB OBE MC (born 20 September 1937) was Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces Northern Europe. Military career Garry Johnson was commissioned into the 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles in 1956. He served ...

*1989–1992 Major General Peter Duffell *1992–1994 Major-General John Foley *1994–1997 Major-General Bryan Dutton

Residences

* Flagstaff House, 1840s–1978 * Headquarters House, 1978–1997

References

{{reflist Senior appointments of the British Army Defunct positions of the Hong Kong Government 1843 establishments in Hong Kong 1997 disestablishments in Hong Kong

Structure

Commanders

Residences

See also

References