Former RAF Officers' Mess, Kai Tak [1934- ]

Ex-Royal Air Force Station (Kai Tak), Nos. 50 & 51 Kwun Tong Road, Kowloon Bay, Kowloon

Historical Interest

The history of the Royal Air Force (RAF) in Hong Kong dates back to 1924 when the first group of RAF personnel arrived in Hong Kong as members of the Fleet Air Arm. In 1927 the RAF Base was formed at Kai Tak. Their first duty was to undertake the first full-scale aerial photographic survey of Hong Kong, Kowloon and the outlying islands. The first buildings were constructed of timber with matshed hangars. Others lived down in Ma Tau Kok (馬頭角) about a mile to the west in a building which was destroyed in a fire in 1930.

The three buildings of the Ex-Royal Air Force Station that now remain were built in 1934. No.50 was the former RAF Headquarters. It became the Kai Tak Vietnamese Refugee Camp (啟德越南難民營) between 1979 and 1981 and continued to be used for detaining Vietnamese refugees under different names until 1997. It then became the Caritas Family Crisis Support Centre (明 愛向晴軒) since March 2002.

No.51 was the Officers’ Quarters Compound (which include RAF Officers Mess and an Annex Block). It was handed over to the Government in
1978 and converted into a Detective Training School of the Hong Kong Police Force, and remained in use until 2001. Nowadays, it is the site of the Academy of Visual Arts (視覺藝術院) of Hong Kong Baptist University.

Architectural Merit

The former RAF Headquarters block is a two-storey Colonial Neo-Classical style building with elegant colonnaded verandahs all round it.
The columns are square with simple bases and capitals. The balustrade panels are cross-braced ornamental ironwork panels in Regency style. The roof is flat with a simple projecting cornice at parapet level. The building is a long rectangular block strictly symmetrical in design. Internally, there are no architectural features of note. Doors and windows have been modernised.

The former RAF Officers Mess is situated on a plateau or platform cut into the hillside. The architectural style is also Colonial Neo-Classical. It is a two-storey building with colonnaded verandahs like the Headquarters Block. The main part of the building is symmetrical with end projecting bays and a central entrance porch approached by a wide flight of granite steps. Both the porch and steps show Art Deco influence in their design. There is a projecting kitchen wing at the rear of the building and an additional wing and ablutions block at the southeast end of the building. Internally, architectural features include period fireplaces, covings to ceilings, and stylised capitals to columns. Most of the original wooden doors and windows which are fitted with jalousies or louvred shutters still remain. The original main wood panelled entrance doors still remain and the RAF eagle emblem is still in position over the doors.

The Annex Block is situated at the northwest end of the former Officers Mess on a small lower platform. There is a small bridge connecting it to the road. The architectural style again is Colonial Neo-Classical. A stone tablet engraved “1934” can be found built into the wall at the northwest corner of the building. Most of the original doors and windows still survive. Like the Headquarters Block and the Officers Mess, the roof is flat.

Rarity, Built Heritage Value & Authenticity
 
The three main buildings are rare examples of 1930s Neo-Classical style buildings with historical as well as built heritage value. Modernisation has affected their authenticity to some extent, but they still retain their original architectural appearance.

Social Value & Local Interest

The social value of the buildings lies in the uses to which they have been put which have all benefited the community in some way. They have never however been in the public eye so that they are not well known.

Group Value

The compound also has several other structures including a former barrack office, a squash court, air raid shelter, dust bin store, Nissen Hut, mini-range, latrine block and incinerator. There is also a basketball court, flight of granite steps, and ornamental railings to the road. A disused tunnel portal can also be seen built into the slope below the former barrack office. It is believed that this was the entrance to an underground tele-communications centre. Together with the surrounding military structures, the three buildings create an interrelated environment of the Ex-Royal Air Force Station. The site is physically close to graded buildings such as Sam Shan Kwok Wong Temple (三山國王廟, Grade II) and the Ma Wan Tsuen Tin Hau Temple (馬環村天后廟, Grade II).

Adaptive Re-use

The buildings have been re-used for different purposes.

Remarks:

The Ex-Royal Air Force Station buildings were accorded Grade I status in 1998 by the Antiquities Advisory Board.

David,

There have been several mentions of Spitfires on this site [see this list of search results], including VN485, but I don't remember any mention of one on the lawn of the mess.

Thanks for sharing your photos. Check these FAQs for help, especially How to: add photos from your computer to Gwulo.com and How to add a Place to a photo

Regards, David

Hi Kanas,

Thanks for getting in touch. I'm sorry that I don't have any more information to share about this building, but if you can share anything else about the site you are very welcome to post it here. Or if you are already planning to post it to the internet, please could you let us know the link to your web page?

Regards, David 

Thanks very much for posting your mother's photos. I've collected them into an album at:

http://gwulo.com/image?field_gallery_tid=10398

It's a long shot but if you can let us know her name when she was here, you may hear from someone who knew her. By coincidence we currently have a visitor in Hong Kong who was stationed at the same hospital, but he was there from 1955-8, so his time there didn't overlap with your mother's.

Regards, David