Everything tagged: POW

Served at RAF Kai Tak as Leading Aircraftman (LAC) from October 1938. Captured on 25 December 1941 and later sent to Sham Shui Po POW Camp. Sailed on the MV Tatuta Maru for Japan in January 1943 and subsequently died in camp. 

A photo and article on George Brass appeared in "Gau Lung", official magazine of RAF Kai Tak in March 1969 and can be read here

This photo shows my father Lieutenant Arthur Brown standing on the left facing in front of his squad. I think the picture was taken at the Royal Navy Dockyard. 

• Hong Kong-born Portuguese lawyer, civil servant and soldier, who was an honorary colonel of the Royal Hong Kong Defence Force (predecessor of the Royal Hong Kong Regiment (Volunteers) ) from 1961 to 1968.
• He also participated in the Battle of Hong Kong that broke out in December 1941. After Hong Kong fell, he became a prisoner of war until he was released after Hong Kong's liberation in 1945. 

• Forrow joined the Volunteer Air Arm as a cadet pilot and trained to fly torpedo-bombers and amphibians. These aircraft were destroyed by the Japanese when they invaded Hong Kong on December 8, 1941. Later, he was assigned to a Volunteer rescue unit and continued to rescue civilians before being captured. He was eventually imprisoned in Sham Shui Po POW camp, where his mother was also interned in Stanley.
• He helped the Hong Kong Football Club survive after WWII. His leadership rebuilt the club, which remains a thriving institution today.

• Around 230 Portuguese survivors were imprisoned in Hong Kong's Sham Shui Po Camp. Despite harsh conditions, the men entertained themselves with shows. Sonny Castro was known for his imitations of actresses like Carmen Miranda. He kept up the men's spirits by performing in many shows. One Canadian officer remembered Sonny as a "wow" of a girl and noted that the shows were wonderful for the morale of the whole camp.
• If you want to learn about him, you can find more information on the following websites :

His entry in the 1942 list of POWs:

• Royal Navy Paymaster Commander in Hong Kong prior to the Japanese occupation.
• In 1941, he was a member of the Hong Kong Food and Firewood Control Board (糧食柴薪統制委員會) . 
• Became a prisoner of war and was interned in Hong Kong Argyle St. Camp - POW Camp 'N' (1941 - 1945)
• The first reunion dinner of Argyle Street prisoners of war was held on August, 1948, attended by about 75 ex-POWs, with Major-General Maltby presiding. Commander Blair Hickman was one of the attendees.
   

Notes from annpake:

Leon Weill  born 15 January 1906 Hong Kong and died 27 April 1944 Shamshuipo POW Camp Husband of Vera father of Gerald and Bernard (Grave Stone Happy Valley Kong Kong) (Commonwealth War Graves shows death as 27 April 1945)

His entry in the 1942 list of POWs:

Captain Stanley Martin Banfill was a doctor in The Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps.

Further information:

• HKVCA individual report
• Obituary
• Photo: Captain Stanley M. Banfill Returns Home from the Far East, Montreal, Quebec, 13 October 1945.

Brigadier in the British Army in Hong Kong in 1941, when he was "Assistant Adjutant and Quarter-Master-General i/c Administration – (A.A. & Q.M.G.)"

He was a prisoner of war after the British surrender.

In 1943 the Japanese moved him from Hong Kong to Taiwan (source).