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SCMP Reporter

A former Hong Kong commissioner of police, who left his post in mysterious circumstances in 1967, has died in Britain, taking the secrets behind his  exit to the grave.

The circumstances surrounding the sudden departure to London of Edward  Tyrer and the announcement that he was not returning sparked controversy.

Tyrer died recently at his home in Bedfordshire, aged 87.

It has never been fully explained why he suddenly flew to London at a time when there was extensive rioting in  Hong Kong, sparked by the Cultural Revolution.

Police riot squads were using tear gas to fight back against mobs, and Hong Kong teetered literally on the brink.

All that stood between collapse and chaos was the disciplined ranks of the police, backed up by the British military garrison.

At the most tense moment,  in July 1967, Tyrer decided not to return.

In a terse statement at the time, a spokesman for the Commonwealth Office said the colony's top policeman was unable to return to Hong Kong and that he had sought  to retire early, at 50.

'The secretary for state has in the circumstances given his approval for Mr Tyrer's retirement,' the official statement said.

Rumours swept Hong Kong. In later years, it became known that then prime minister Harold Wilson  was furious about the situation.

The Tyrer affair was never properly clarified. He was swiftly forgotten as  people later focused on  the booming manufacturing economy.

Traces of the former top policeman are scant - only  official records thought to have future interest for governments or others  were  preserved.

In the normal course of events, the documents dealing with the departure of a police commissioner  would be available. But there are no publicly available documents in the Public Records Office about Tyrer. Queries sent to the Records and Historical Department of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London were not answered.

Tyrer was born in London, attended Exeter College, Oxford, and later joined the colonial police service.  At 20, he was appointed a sub-inspector in Trinidad. He was attached briefly to the Indian police service before arriving in Hong Kong, newly liberated from the Japanese, in 1945. He rose steadily up the ranks.

In October 1966, he was appointed commissioner. Seven months later, fanned by the fires of the Cultural Revolution, riots  broke out in Hong Kong.

There were running battles in the streets, huge demonstrations with hundreds of protesters plastering the gates and walls of Government House with anti-British posters, and police raids on leftwing schools  and trade union halls.

On July 15, Tyrer flew to London for talks with senior British officials on the security situation. Authorities in London and Hong Kong flatly refused to discuss the talks and refused to give details.

Six days later, announcements in Hong Kong and London gave the bombshell news that Tyrer was unable  to return.

The reason given was his state of health, but the former policeman lived for a further 37 years.

When he died, the secret of his mysterious decision not to return to duty remained unexplained.



Ex-police chief takes secret of his departure to the grave