HMS Tamar (shore station) Totally Explained

Everything about Hms Tamar Shore Station totally explained

HMS Tamar (Chinese: 添馬艦) was the name for the Royal Navy's base in Hong Kong from 1897 to 1997. It took its name from HMS Tamar a ship that was used as the base until replaced by buildings ashore.

History

19th Century

The British Navy's arrived during the First Opium War to protect the opium traders. Sir Edward Belcher, aboard the HMS Sulphur landed in Hong Kong, on Jan. 25, 1841. The site had been referred to as the "HM Victualling Yard in the Navy's own register. The first naval storekeeper and agent victualler, Thomas McKnight, appointed on March 21, 1842, served until October 1849. Early maps show that major construction was also carried out at another, slightly more westward site, between 1845 and 1855.
HMS Tamar, was a 3,650 ton British troopship launched in in 1863. She first visited Hong Kong in 1878 with reliefs crews, returned once in 1886 She was stationed permanently in the harbour from 1897 to 1941, when she was scuttled during the Battle of Hong Kong during World War II, to avoid being used by the invading Japanese Imperial forces.

20th Century

At the turn of the 20th century, it required land adjacent to the site for expansion. Unable to do so as the site was surrounded by the Army barracks, the Navy began work on the construction of a floating basin (sheltered bay) and the reclamation of the east arm of the Dockyard, in 1902. This project, involving 16 hectares acres of land reclamation, a 3.58 hectare floating basin to repair and refit vessels afloat, and also a 183-metre graving dock, was completed by 1908.
   At the end of World War II, the Royal Navy re-established their naval base at Wellington Barracks, vacated by the British Army.
   On November 28, 1957 the Navy announced that the dockyard would be closed down over a 2 year period. However, in 1959, the Navy, which had retained some land on the waterfront, began planning a compact naval base on the site.
   From 1959 to 1962, the Wellington Barracks was upgraded to better serve the colony and reflect the changing times for the Royal Navy in the Pacific region. Old naval buildings were demolished, and the rubble used as landfill for the reclaimation of dry dock in October 1959.
   The RN decided to demolish the Wellington Barracks and rebuild a modern naval facility in Hong Kong. The Prince of Wales Building was completed in 1978 and became the new HMS Tamar.
   Shortly before the departure of British forces in 1997, the Tamar basin was filled in and the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China occupied the Prince of Wales Building (now Chinese People's Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building, or Central Barracks).
   The Tamar was relocated to Stonecutter's Island, off Kowloon, prior to the handover in 1997. On April 11, 1997, which marks the centenary of the Tamar's definitive arrival, the British naval shore establishment in Hong Kong was de-commissioned.
   The last Tamar is now a government marine facility; the vacated site in Central is now a valuable piece of real estate, now known as the Tamar site, and will become the location of the new Government headquarters.

Squadrons in Hong Kong

The following is a list of naval squadrons and fleet names that called Tamar home:

China Squadron 1844–1941, 1945–1992
Far East Fleet/HK Sqdn 1969–1971
Dragon Squardon 1971–1992
3 Raiding Royal Marines
Hong Kong Royal Naval Volunteer Reserves 1967–1996; merged with Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) 1971
British Regular — Garrison and Fleet
LEP 1905–1996
Side Girls Party 1933–1997
Dragon Squadron
120th Minesweeping Squadron 1958–1966; transferred to Singapore
6th Mine Countermeasure Squadron 1969–1997
6th Patrol Craft Squadron 1970–1997
Operations and Training Base 1934–1997
3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines
47 Royal Marines
British Pacific Fleet 1840s–1948; to Singapore as Far East Station
HK Flotilla 1840s–1941, 1948–1992
China Station — 4th Submarine Flotilla, Yangtse Flotilla, West River Flotilla, 8th Destroyer Flotilla
5th Cruiser Squadron
1st Escort Flotilla
4th Frigate Flotilla ?–1952
Frigate Squadron 1952–1976
Light Cruiser Squadron

Naval Facilities

A list of facilities used or built by the RN in Hong Kong:

Prince of Wales Building 1978–1997; now Central Barracks of the PLA

Lamont and Hope Drydocks

Aberdeen Docks — destroyed

Dry Dock 1902–1959

Taikoo Dockyard — Hong Kong United Dockyards

Royal Navy Dockyards 1902–1959

Sai Wan Barracks 1844–1846

Wellington Barracks 1946–1978, as HMS Tamar (demolished)

North Barracks 1850s–1856, 1887–1959; from the Army and to HK Government 1959

Victoria Barracks

Redoubt and Lei Yue Mun Fortifications 1885–1887

Lei Yue Mun Fort 1887–1987

Reverse, Central, West and Pass Batteries 1880s

Brennan Torpedo station 1890 — Lei Yue Mun

Royal Naval Hospital, Wan Chai; now Ruttonjee Sanatorium

Seaman's Hospital 1843–1873; replaced by Royal Naval Hospital

RMS Queen Mary 1945–1946, as a hospital

War Memorial Hospital (Matilda) 1946–1959

British Military Hospital 1959–1995

Island Group Practice 1995–1997, replaced British Military Hospital

HMS Charlotte and HMS Victor Emmanuel — Receiving Ships

Tidal Basin 1902–1959

Boat Basin 1902–1959

HM Victualling Yards 1859–1946 A list of facilities used or built by the RN in Hong Kong:

Aberdeen Docks

Royal Naval Hospital, Wan Chai; now Ruttonjee Sanatorium

Seaman's Hospital 1843–1873

HMS Tamar — Receiving ship 1897–1941

HMS Minden 1841–mid-1840s — hospital ship

HMS Alligator 1840s–1873 — hospital ship

HMS Melville 1860s–1873 — hospital ship (East Indies Sqdn)

HMS Audacious 1840s — Receiving ShipFurther Information

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