From the fortified border post at Sha Tau Kok to the Lau Fau Shan police station on a bluff overlooking Deep Bay, and in scores of villages in between, the people of the frontier are saying goodbye to Uncle Bob.
After 34 years in uniform, the best-loved policeman in the New Territories is this week going along the beat he knows so well, saying farewell to the people he has served. Tears are being shed amid the smiles.
He may be Chief Inspector Robert Wilkinson on the police force roster, but to tens of thousands of residents of New Territories hamlets, this retiring, kindly man is simply Uncle Bob. To many people in remote villages, he is the face of the Hong Kong Government.
Having a problem with housing? There are 80-year-old Hakka farmers in isolated hamlets along the shore of Starling Inlet who have never heard of the Housing Authority. They go to Uncle Bob. They know he will set them right.
Got a wayward son who will not study? Mum in Sheung Shui asks Uncle Bob to have a word with the boy. Having trouble filling out an application form in English, or need a letter written to someone overseas, or have to apply for social welfare? Bob's your man.
Patient, caring and endlessly attentive, Mr Wilkinson is never too busy to help. There are many people who live in the restricted area along the border who would never dream of approaching a government department or agency for help; they have Uncle Bob.
