2010-04-03T03:23:00.000-07:00

Commanding Officers

May 1959 - Major JE Colbeck
May 1961 - Major DJN Genet
Aug 1963 - Major JGT Polley
July 1965 - Major HWB Macintosh
July 1967 - Major PRT Driscoll
July 1969 - Major JRE Ward
July 1971 - Major RG Osborne
Apr 1972 - Major JL Baker
Apr 1974 - Major MCS Webb

54 Squadron Potted History

2010-03-02T15:41:00.000-08:00

May 1937 - Motto
This was a Golden Springbok with 'LIV' below the head, set on a square background, diagonally divided into Red and Blue.

Jan 1950 .... 54 Field Squadron formed, by re-titling 25 Field Squadron.

Jan 1950 - May 1958 .... Deployed to Hong Kong as part of 24 Field Engineer Regiment.

May 1958 .... Re-titled 54 Indep. Field Squadron.
May 1958 - Oct 1962 .... Hong Kong.

Oct 1962 .... Re-titled 54 Corps Field Park Squadron (absorbing 410 Indep. Plant Troop)
Oct 1962 - Dec 1962 .... Hong Kong.

Dec 1962 - July 1963 .... Borneo: Brunei & Kota Belud.

July 1963 - Dec 1967 .... Singapore.

Jan 1964 .... Op. Crown - Thailand

Nov 1965 - Oct 1966 .... Borneo
Composite Stores Workshops and Plant Fitter Troop moved to Borneo.

Dec 1967 .... Re-titled 54 (FARELF) Support Squadron.
Dec 1967 - Jan 1968 .... Hong Kong.

Jan 1968 - Apr 1968 .... Op. Post Crown - Thailand.

Apr 1968 - June 1971 .... Singapore.

March 1968 .... Borneo
54 FARELF Support Sqn along with 63 CRE (Construction) were tasked with renovating the Penarek Airfield, for a major UK reinforcement exercise - Bersatu Padu in 1970.

7th Nov 1968 - 54 Sqn came under control of CRE 17th Division/Malaya, along with 11 Indep. Sqn, 59 Field Sqn and 67 Gurkha Field Sqn.

1st Dec 1968 - 31st Jan 1970 .... Bukit Mendi, Malaya
This was a MACC Project to construct a main access road, housing for settlers and large Oil-Palm complex.

Feb 1969 .... Hong Kong
54 Sq, 11 Sqn, 59 Sqn, 67 Sqn & 68 Sqn involved in the Luk Kong Road project.
Built to give access to Starling Inlet in the extreme North of the Territories, the 4 milr route involved considerable cut & fill, culverts and rock blasting. The work continued for 3 years, with heavy Plant supplied by 54 (HK) Support Sqn.

1969 .... Absorbed FARELF Engineer Park.

Aug 1969 .... Dungun, Malaya
The Sqn supplemented by local contracts, began the task of building a 1200 person camp, to house FXHQ, Control Staff, International Press and VIP Guests.
Tasks included hard standings for tents, roads and bridging, a 36,000 gallon water treatment per day, showers, electric power and lighting, cold storage and air conditioning.

July 1971 .... Re-titled 54 (Hong Kong) Support Squadron.
July 1971 - Dec 1975 .... Hong Kong.

16th June 1972 .... Hong Kong
Severe rain storms had caused massive damage, via landslides.
54 Sqn was diverted from other tasks, to help 67 Gurkha Sqn with Heavy Plant.
An 18 foot diameter rock had blocked the main road to Stanley, this required 11 bore-hole charges to break it up.
Then they moved to Kun Tong, near Kas Tak International Airport, where 10,000 tons of sliding earth had buried 60 people. 54 Sqn supplied Lighting and a 10 ton crane.
Then onto Kotewall, where another massive land slide had engulfed a two storey and four storey buildings and both had been swept into a 12 storey building, causing it to topple over, crashing down a hillside into other buildings - pure devastation.
Utilising Plant from locally, 54 Sqn managed to rescue 30 buried people.

1973 .... Castle Peak Ranges
54 Sqn were tasked with designing the site for an anti-tank weapon moving range, plus carrying out the initial earthworks.
May 1973 ... 67 Gurkha Sqn moved in to complete the range.

15th Dec 1975 .... Disbanded.

Jan 1976 .... Re-titled 54 Junior Leaders 'A' Squadron based at Dover.
Jan 1976 - 1982 .... Junior Leaders.

1982 .... Re-titled 55 Training Squadron - Junior Leaders.

1st April 2008 .... Re-titled 54 Commando HQ & Support Squadron.
Based in Chivenor as part of 24 Commando Engineer Regiment.

54 Cdo Sqn

54 Squadron Potted History