The 1980 emergency deployment of British Airborne Forces to Hong Kong saw soldiers from 1 PARA looking to intercept illegal immigrants attempting to cross over into the territory from Communist China. During this time, the troops were stationed at seven different observation posts called “Macintosh Forts”. Originally built after the Second World War to prevent illegal immigration from Mainland China and to monitor the activity of the Chinese Communist Army, Macintosh Forts were named after Police Commissioner Duncan William Macintosh who originally oversaw their construction in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Built with reinforced concrete and painted olive green to blend in with the local environment, accommodation in Macintosh Forts was very basic, including just a bunk room, kitchen, toilet, and shower, with a ladder leading up to the observation area. Their distinct shape made them very visible even from far away, and they were thus christened as “Macintosh Cathedrals”. These forts became operation centres for 1PARA’s companies, such as B Coy which operated from Mam Kam To Macintosh Fort.

Today, though the seven Macintosh Forts are not open to the public and are no longer stationed (remotely controlled instead), visitors can still climb these hills and traverse paddy fields to see these forts where the paratroopers were once stationed and admire the views of what members of 1PARA described as “rugged, hilly country… with distinct aromas”.

Sources –

Fort, MacIntosh, Nam Hang, and Sha Tau Kok. "Historic Building Appraisal." (1997).

Tan, Y. K., Lawrence WC Lai, and Nixon TH Leung. "Hong Kong Border Security Facilities 1950-1997." Editorial Board (2018): 66.

Written and researched by Raphael Tsang.