Royston Brooks

Royston Webb Brooks, MBE, AE (Chinese: 布樂思, born 9 June 1936) is a British electrical engineer and retired air force officer of the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force (RHKAAF).

[10][11] As an engineer, his career was largely associated with China Light and Power Company (CLP) in Hong Kong.

[8] During his time with CLP, he was responsible for a number of major capital projects, which included the Castle Peak Power Station, the Tsing Yi "B" Power Station and the CLP System Control Centre in Tai Po, etc.

[18] In recognition of his service, he was also appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire of the Military Division (MBE (Mil)) in the 1988 New Year Honours.

It also responded to more than 200 emergency calls and dispatched its helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft for search and rescue operations for around 60 to over 100 times annually.

[24] Apart from the rescue missions, the RHKAAF continued to provide routine transport services for carrying government officials and guests, conduct offshore patrols in anti-illegal immigration operations, and assist government departments in performing aerial surveys, photography and map-making work, etc.

[21][22][23] When Brooks assumed the commanding post, the RHKAAF operated a fleet of 10 aircraft, including two twin-engined aircraft, one Britten-Norman Islander, two Scottish Aviation Bulldog trainers, two Slingsby Firefly trainers and three Aerospatiale Dauphin twin-engined helicopters.

[26][23] Besides, arrangement was originally made in December 1988 to designate the airfield at Shek Kong Barracks in the New Territories for the RHKAAF for training purposes.

However, the arrangement was soon cancelled as nearly half of the runway at Shek Kong had been converted into a tented camp for accommodating the Vietnamese boat people by the following year.

[26][27] To prepare for the transformation, programmes were carried out to expand the establishment of the RHKAAF and to replace part-time posts by full-time employees.

His successor, Wg Cdr Dicky Yip, became the last commanding officer and the only ethnic Chinese to fill the post.

[30] After retiring from the RHKAAF, Brooks moved to Fort Myers in Florida, the United States.