Escape from Hong Kong - The Final Hours

Major Arthur Goring; 11th King Edward's Own Lancers Probyn's Horse

Born 25th January 1907

Photo from Buddy Hide's collection ©

Major Goring was a staff officer in BHQ and upon hearing the plans for getting the Chinese Admiral Chan Chak and his staff away approached the GOC Maj-Gen Maltby for permission to escape which was granted along with three other staff officers.³¹

Education: Royal Military College, Sandhurst; Staff College (psc)

30/08/1926 Lieutenant

30/08/1935 Captain

30/08/1936 Royal Fusiliers

24/03/1930 Transferred to Probyn's Horse, India

15/09/1934 ADC to General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command India

16/07/1940 General Staff Officer 3rd Grade (GSO 3) Directorate of Military operations & Intelligence, General Staff Branch, HQ staff of the army in India.

30/08/1940 Major

07/12/1941 Transferred to General Staff, Intelligence Hong Kong.

01/05/1942 A/Lt-Colonel

01/08/1942 T/Lt-Colonel

1954 Fruit Farm & Nusery at Dinoe Hill, Whimple, Devon

28/06/1957 OStJ

**/12/1960 CStJ

Supt Bill Robinson was drafted in from the Indian Intelligence Bureau at Delhi along with Major Arthur Goring and a Sikh Supt as part of the intelligence network on the rumoured Sikh army mutiny and 5th columnists. They were empowered to act as they saw fit.

Goring along with Robinson escaped with Chan Chak's party and was onboard HMS Cornflower's launch which was shot up escaping from Aberdeen, they had to swim for their lives enduring non stop machine gun fire to the nearest island.. As the senior British military officer he assumed command over the naval officer and had instructed the helmsman to turn to port on exiting the pier taking them past Staunton Creek with the flimsy overloaded craft straight into the sights of the Japanese who had just occupied PB12 on the South West base of Brick hill.

Goring wrote an account of the escape in "The Wide World" magazine in March 1949

 

 

 

 

 

Back: Supt. Bill Robinson I.P., W. O. William M Wright HKRNVR, Capt. Peter Macmillan R.A.,Capt. Reginold Guest 1st Mdsx, Coxswain Yeung Chuen CN, Ted Ross MoI.

2nd: David MacDougall MoI, Admiral Chan Chak CN, Major Arthur Goring Probyns Horse, Sq-Ldr. Max Oxford RAF

1st: Cadet Holgar Christiansen MN, Lt-Cmdr Henry Heng Hsu CN.

Photo from Ted Ross collection ©

 

 

 

 

 

Shaoguan

 

Lt-Cmdr John Yorath RNR, Major Arthur Goring Probyns Horse, Commander Hugh M Montague RN [Senior Naval Officer Aberdeen, & the escape] with Mrs Muriel Jones of the "Methodist Mission" wearing a Chinese favour on her  lapel, and Admiral Chan Chak's ADC Lt-Cmdr Henry Heng Hsu CN. Police Supt Bill Robinson of the Indian Police is behind with the white neck scarf.

The New Zealand Presbyterian Church Methodist Mission at Shaoguan was run by Mrs Jean Martin & her Irish born husband known by his Chinese name Mooi with a staff of six missionaries and their wives. It was here that he was admitted to hospital with fever and Admiral Chan Chak finally had the bullet removed from his wrist by Dr S H Moore at the "Ho Sai" hospital. The Admiral kept the bullet and had it mounted on a gold chain which he wore from his left lapel. Admiral Chan Chak also had a blood transfusion here after his gastric ulcer flared up with Muriel's husband Peredur Jones donating his blood.

Photo from Admiral Chan Chak's collection ©

 

For more information on Arthur Goring click here.