Dodwell's Ridge Camp [????- ]

TonyB:

Recently I came across names of a camp near Fanling.  Googling it brings up very few entries which are military related.  The camp is "Dodwells Ridge", mentioned in this post:

http://www.modoracle.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=14054

I would like to visit the sites for these old camps and see what is left of them but I've not been able to find the precise locations for these camps.

Does anyone know where these camps used to be located?

philk:

Dodwell's Ridge

I pumped this into Google and got a location on the north side of Fanling golf course. There is a small area that has some corrugated iron sheds inside now used by the golf course. Perhaps this was where the camp was?

If so this place was also used by the Police Cadet School as accomodation.

I've created this place as a suggested location until someone can tell us anything different.

sf:

  When i first came to Hong Kong in 1970, Dodwell's had a number of "weekend" bungalows in Fangling near the Golf Club entrance. It was in what appeared to be an old military installation. Perhaps this is Dodwell Ridge. I am in Hong Kong next week meeting up with some ex Dodwell friends and will enquire further with them.

Hi Phil, Dave Gardner here.

I was using Google maps to drive along Fan Kam Rd from my old camp at Sek Kong (1976-1978) to try and find the entrance to Dodwells Ridge camp. No luck!

I was actually billited in Dodwells camp in 1968 as a Reme Tels Tech attached to the 15/19th Hussars "C" Squadron. We were a Centurian Tank Regiment and we came out from Tidworth to take tanks out of preservation/ mothballed cacoons, held at 50 Commmand Detachment at Sek Kong, run them on a training area at Sheung Shui, hence to OC wanted us billed near the trg area,which was next to a burial site! (Thats another story) We fired the Cents at Castle Peak!

Dodwells Camp was just Nissan Huts, inside the gate on the left was the QM'S and the Dinning hall/Kitchens. The Naffi up to the right selling Tiger beer. The Guard Room on the right, where i  phoned the girlfriend in uk on my 21st!

The camp hadn't been used for years prior to our use. I believe it had been used by the HK police prior to us. I recall arriving in the dead of night after a 23 hr flight on a VC10 from uk stopping in Bahrain and RAF GAN. The camp was in total darkness and i remember after collecting bedding and mossie net (with a huge hole) the joker in the QM's saying watch-out for the monsoon ditches ( about 6 ft deep) and the snakes!! In the pitch dark. The Reme hut was up a slopel in the top left corner, 1 40watt light bulb a roof fan covered in cobwebs we must have stunk so bad even the mossies kept away the first night.

The camp was very rear to a main road junction, there was a swamp/pond near to this junction, i think within the camp boundry. There was a tannery not far away as the hides were hung over the metal rails at the side of the road where a stream ran. They stunk!

Across the junction to Sheung Shui were all concrete tanks for fish breading among the shacks. The pub in Fanling near the train station was run by an English lady at that time and there was a brothel in Sheugh Shui! The sad point is i have no photos of my time there. Sorry i cant give the exact location, did you have any luck?

Hi Phil,

I've just checked a 1979 copy of "Hong Kong Streets & Places, (KLN & NT)", and it has the camp marked. I've updated the marker to the correct location. As Karen Swindlehurst's father correctly identified, it's where the North District Hospital stands today:

I have just come back from Sheung Shu, Hong Kong.  We went with my father who served in the british army in 1960.  It was a very emotional journey for us as he left here 50 years ago. We were unable to establish exactly were Dodwells Ridge Camp was, after going back twice we belive that the hospital was built on it.  I would be very greatfull if anybody can provide me with anymore information or contacts who might of served at the same time.

Regards, David

Hi David

Many thanks for the information, I cant wait to tell my dad, I'm so glad we went back for a second visit.  I will try and upload some photos of his origianl trip in 1960 and some of our recent photos at the hospital.

I would love now to find out if anybody he served with is still alive and my dad could possibilby contact.  I'm afraid when he left he didnt really keep in touch.  However he has mentioned some names an I will try and get them again.

Many thanks again, it will mean so much to him knowing we found the place.

Regards

Karen 

Hi Karen,

Glad we can help. Hopefully one of his mates will find this page and get in touch. To help attract those Google searches, it'd be great if you can leave a comment with his name, nickname at the time, what unit he was in and which years, and names / nicknames of anyone he can remember.

And if he wouldn't mind sharing memories of this camp & his service in Hong Kong, we'd be interested to read those too.

Regards, David

Hi Karen, I have just been looking at the photo in the Dodwells Ridge Camp, its a picture of a Bedford Rl 3 tonner lorry.

Looking at the photo, on the left side of the lorry is the cookhouse and quatermasters store. The entrance to the camp was just on the left behind the lorry. The vehicle is ponting towards the Guard room. 

It wont let me copy the link, but if you type this in the map actualy shows the location of Dodwells Ridge, just North of the North District Hospital. If you go on Google Maps and take an aerial view, its possible to see some hard standing, which was the remains of the camp entrange. Its amaong the trees. So i think you were at the correct place of the old camp.

https://gwulo.com/node/33221#16/22.4966/114.1260/Map_by_OSM_markers/100

Just to say that the 4th Field Regiment Royal Artillery served in Hong Kong 1961-64 with two Batteries stationed at Fan Gardens Camp, Fanling and two Batteries at Dodwells Ridge Camp.The Regiment we relieved were already at these locations and similarly our relieving Regiment in 1964 also took possession of them.

I returned to Hong Kong in 1970 with the 47th Field Regiment RA and we were stationed at Sek Kong Camp relieving the 25th Field Regiment on completing their 2 year tour. (The old 3 year tour having been done away with).

During this time I sometimes went down to Fanling passing Dodwells Ridge which to the best of my memory was unused. Like Fan Gardens Camp the accommodation was very sub-standard! Fan Gardens Camp had been occupied by the HK Police Force.

Hope this little snippet may be of some interest!

The area was altered considerably in the 1990s when the highway and Sheung Shui New Town, followed by the hospital, were built.  The junction of Fan Kam Road and Castle Peak Road (i.e. the east-west road) used to be where the roundabout now is.  I believe the marker is accurate as to the old camp's location though it is not at the hospital or its grounds but rather on a piece of rising ground between the (re-aligned) Fan Kam Road and the rear of the hospital.  This ground was derelict and fenced off for several years but the foundations and floors of demolished buildings, presumably camp huts, were visible.  Recently the gate and fence have been renewed and used cars now seem to be stored inside.

Hi Karen

My dad Geoff Craven served in the 4th Field regiment and was posted here 61 to 64. He played footie for the regiment and I have some old photos. I will locate them and post them on this site.