"British Pacific Fleet 1944-1945" HONG KONG RE-OCCUPIED. Before the re-occupation of Hong Kong, Mr F C Gimson, British Colonial Secretary in the Crown colony before and during the Japanese tenure, sent a message to the Admiralty saying he had taken the oath as officer administering Government and had planned civil administration. The Secretary of State for the Colonies sent back 'I warmly approve your initiative and the plans you have made'. Here, in trilby hat and black shorts, Mr Gimson meets Rear Admiral C H J Harcourt CB, CBE, RN, Commander of the British Task Force which entered Victoria harbour to take the surrender of the Japanese. On the left of the picture is Commander Donald Craven RN, a prisoner of war in Hong Kong for three and a half years, who was second passenger in the Avenger torpedo bomber which delivered the first Japanese envoy to the flight deck of HMS INDOMITABLE. On the right is Captain P V MacLaughlin RN of HMS SWIFTWURE, the cruiser in which Rear Admiral Harcourt flew his flag to make the entry.