Corporal George Ford

Corporal George Ford, 2nd Battalion, Royal Scots. He was lost at sea aboard the Lisbon Maru between 1st/2nd October 1942 aged 29 and is commemorated on the Sai Wan Memorial, Hong Kong.  He had been born in Kelso and was the son of Mr and Mrs Thomas Ford of Byrewalls, Gordon and New Smailholm, Roxburghshire. The ” Lisbon Maru ” was a Japanese cargo liner and she was carrying 1816 British and Canadian Prisoners in appalling conditions who had been captured at the fall of Hong Kong in late December 1941. On 1st October the ship was torpedoed by the USS “Grouper” an American submarine which was unaware of the prisoners aboard. All Japanese personnel were evacuated but they but the prisoners were left aboard with the hatches battened down. Eventually the P.O.W.s broke out and although the Japanese fired on the survivors some 1,000 were rescued with over 800 men lost. Of the Royal Scots 3 Officers and 178 Other Ranks perished which was more than the 107 lost during the Battle for Hong Kong.