Gordon Hard [????-????]

Submitted by tngan on
Current condition
Demolished / No longer exists

Folks,

Walked from Gold Coast Beach through Castle Peak Beach earlier today and found the buildings of Gordon Hard more or less intact, right on Old Cafeteria Beach.

There is a ramp going down to the beach.  Two giant cast iron rings are found on each side of the ramp, like those on Mount Davis.  Maybe the military used those the haul heavy equipment to and from the water back then?

Best Regards,

T

Tags

Photos that show this Place

GORDON HARD-November 2012
2012
GORDON HARD-2012
2012
Gordon-Hard-ex-British-Army facility-beach side ramp removed
2014
See more photos of this place

Comments

The Hard was used in the 80s and 90s for small boat operations, particularly anti-illegal immigration ops,  by the Gurkha Transport Regiment. Rigid inflatables and raiding craft entered, and were recovered from, the water by way of the ramp.  

Hi There,

I was on a bus going along the area south bound earlier and found the site was all boarded up.  All buildings between Castle Peak Road and the beach are demolished.  I was looking only towards the beach side thus was unable to see if the Watervale House was also boarded up.  But there was a document from the Tuen Mun District Board about seeking opinion of re-purposing the grade-2 Watervale House of sort back in August 2016.  Don't know if there had been any updates.

The ramp might still be on the beach though.  Might go and take a look sometime later.

T

Hi There,

Walked by the beach last week.  It's all gone now, maybe except for the perimeter fence, a fire hose on the beach side, and the ramp with a big iron ring (like those in Mount Davis) and a concrete hut at the end of the ramp.

T

Would appreciate very much any photos of this area as I serve with 56 Fld Sqn RE, 24 Fld Engr Regt RE HQ, and 54 Ind Fld Sqn RE in the mid later end of the 50s. I have found quite a number on the internet, I am researching the regiment and its term stationed at Tai Lam. I have a large number of photos of 56 sqn in and around 1956 some of which I have downloaded some on Gwelo. Many thanks for any help that can be given. Bill.

56 Field Squadron was across the road from Gordon Hard part of the 24 Field Engineer Regiment Royal Engineers.  There was also 54 Field Squadron down the road at Tai Lam, their camp housed 24 RHQ.  Also, 15 Field Park Squadron Royal Engineers made up the whole regiment.

My father sailed out of Gordon Hard, when it was an army boat club in the 70's. We sailed in the colony championship in 1976. I got my army C and B helm when there aged 12. Our Enterprise 17680 was a lovely dinghy. My dad bought it off the previous owner who went ontobsail for HK at the Olympics, something that was a possibility for us, but for my dad's work commitments. 

The Gurkha Transport Regiment (GTR) as such did not use Gordon Hard.  The anti-immigrant patrol boats were manned by men from the Boat Troop, 67 Gurkha Field Squadron, of the Gurkha Engineers (GE) and from 1977 the Queen's Gurkha Engineers (QGE).  There were Ramp Powered Landing craft (RPLs) in Hong Kong belonging to 415 Maritime Troop RCT who I believe came under command of GTR at some point.  As diving officer of the GE/QGE in the 70s and 80s I would try to get an RPL out of the system to take the diving team to some remote island to escape officialdom.  The RPL would motor round to Gordon Hard and beach itself on the ramp using the big iron rings to secure itself to the shore.  Happy days!

This was near Castle Peak Court which were married quarters for regiments garrisoned in HK. I lived at 19 M/S Castle Peak Rd opposite San Hui fishing village which was next door to the floating restaurant in 72-74.  14/20th  Kings Hussars were living at Castle Peak Court at the time til 73. Gordon Hard was used by military personnel and their families at that time and was sorta opposite the Gurkhas up the road and Kadoorie Pier in other direction with Dragon Inn being up the hill a bit which was, then , quite picturesque with ponds and tanks that one could select your fish from. Good old days.

I would suggest that the 2 storey buildings in the centre of the photo may well be. i did leave HK in 1974 and am not familiar with the two blocks of several more storeys to the right which may or not be additions to the court. Castle Peak Court was directly opposite the little lane leading to Kadoorie Pier with Kadoorie Mansion bordering the roadway on left hand side of said lane way.