Chi-ping / Maximo CHENG (aka 鄭治平) [1921-2014]

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Names
Given
Chi-ping / Maximo
Family
Cheng
Alias / nickname
鄭治平
Sex
Male
Status
Deceased
Born
Date
(Day & Month are approximate.)
Died
Date
(Day & Month are approximate.)

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1944
1944
2000s

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This should be Maximo CHENG Chi-ping 鄭治平  (1921-2014) who was with the Volunteers during the Battle of Hong Kong.  After release, he went to the BAAG in Kweilin, trained in the Chindits and saw service in Burma.  He played an active role in the Veteran Association as well as the Royal British Legion (China Branch).

Second Lieutenant Maximo Cheng was a Hong Kong-born soldier (1921–2014) who fought behind Japanese lines in Burma as part of the Chindits during World War II. After surviving Japanese imprisonment in Hong Kong, he made a daring escape to China and enlisted in the British Regular Army. 

His remarkable wartime journey included:

  • Initial Capture: He was serving with the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps No.4 (HKVDC) and was captured when the Japanese occupied Hong Kong. 
  • Escape: He was held as a prisoner at the Sham Shui Po Camp but escaped in 1942, He successfully traveled to Free China. 
  • Re-enlistment: He journeyed to India, where he joined the British Regular Army and was attached to the Chindits (officially the 77th Indian Infantry Brigade). 
  • The Burma Campaign: He endured treacherous, monsoon-flooded jungles and weeks without food behind Japanese enemy lines, eventually earning a commission as a Second Lieutenant.