The junior Robin Hayward was only 13 years old when his father retired and returned to England with his family in 1964 after serving in the Force for 32 years.

"I still remember the day my father retired and we were leaving by ship. The police band was playing. He had to walk away because he was crying his eyes out that he was leaving Hong Kong after all those years," he recalled.

Jack came to Hong Kong in 1931 with the British Army. In 1933, he resigned from the Army and joined the Hong Kong Police. He was interned at Stanley for three years and eight months during the Japanese occupation, and after the war he continued to serve in the Force until his retirement.

Robin said his father loved the Force. "OffBeat has carried a story that my father flew the Hong Kong flag at half mast in the garden of his home when my mother died in 1984, and someone stole it. He used to fly the flag on Sundays."

After Jack had written to his local newspaper about the theft, a youth returned the flag to him, with the explanation that he had found it in a dustbin, just before Jack passed away.

Fiercely proud of and devoted to the Force, Jack used to keep in touch with colleagues and friends through staunch support of the Royal Hong Kong Police Association, and always attended the association's annual reunions.

Robin was accompanied on his trip by his wife Celia, son James, and daughter-in-law Dee. For James and Dee, the trip was also their honeymoon. The first thing they did after arriving on August 2 was to visit the decommissioned Upper Levels Police Station, where Robin and his parents and three sisters used to live.

"I've wonderful memories of being brought up here. This was the last station where we lived. I was born here; I was 13 when my father retired. I haven't been back for 43 years so it it's a very nostalgic trip for me and very emotional, having come back to see the changes in Hong Kong. They're totally unrecognisable to me," said Robin.

The following day, Robin and his family also visited the Stanley Prison to reminisce about his father's life as a prisoner-of-war there.

Both visits were made possible by the arrangements made by Chief Inspector Michael Broom, who is a friend of Robin's sister, Shirley.

Robin has followed in his father's footsteps for more than 10 years by serving in the Kent Constabulary, mainly in the CID stream. After leaving the police, he took up the investigation of commercial fraud with a major listed company, and worked his way up to become an Operations Manager.

Robin (second right), his family and CIP Michael Broom (right) outside the sitting room of the former police quarters in Upper Levels Police Station

Offbeat article on Jack Hayward in 1984