General braced for challenge

MAJOR-General Bryan Dutton is well aware that when he starts his new job at the Prince of Wales barracks tomorrow morning he will already have piles of paperwork to catch up on.

The newly arrived Commander of the British Forces (CBF) in Hong Kong said yesterday his first challenge would be ''to get to know Hong Kong and the forces here''.

''It will also be a challenge to understand in a short time the details of the drawdown of the garrison, and the problems we face in our part of the handover,'' he said.

''But if you ask me how I'm going to do that, I can't answer right now.'' One important task for General Dutton, who is the 61st CBF in the territory, and will probably be the last, is reducing his active troops from their present level of about 6,000 to zero by June 30 1997 - with an interim force of 3,250 after January.

General Dutton, 51, has served in the British army since 1963. He has had considerable experience in Northern Ireland - notably after the Warren Point atrocity in which a dozen British soldiers were killed when a police station exploded in South Armagh, and the murder of Lord Mountbatten.

He also had the high-profile position of director of public relations (army) during the Gulf War.

''I've had quite a wide experience - in personnel, intelligence, PR and as a commander at all levels . . . the only thing I haven't yet done is used that experience in Hong Kong.'' General Dutton, a rugby fan, said he was particularly looking forward to the Rugby Sevens and as a sailor hoped he would be frequently taking to the territorial seas.

He moved into exclusive Headquarter House on The Peak over the weekend with his wife Angela, son Charles, 19, and daughter Sophie, 17.

Sophie will return to England next month for her final year at boarding school, while Charles, who has spent the past 12 months on a short service limited commission with the Gurkhas in Brunei, will start at Durham University in October.

The previous commander, Major-General Sir John Foley, left Hong Kong on Wednesday after two and a half years.

Garrison spokesman Roger Goodwin said it was traditional for one commander to leave before the other arrives.

''It's not a written rule, but it's like with prime ministers - there is never a handover period.'' General Dutton will be met tomorrow morning by a ceremonial guard of honour mounted by detachments from the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force.