The Escape of the 2nd MTB Flotilla

Captain Freddie Guest 1st Middlesex Regt. later Indian Army's 8th Cavalry

Born 1896 - Islington district, Greater London, London, Middlesex
Relinquished his commission in the 9th Battalion The Middlesex Regiment (Territorial Army) in 1921. Reserve of Officers.

Tempory assistant postman.1913

Pte. [740082]Cadet

2nd Lt.19.08.1918 [80433]Lt.-19.02.1920 (reld 30.09.1921)

Lt. RARO 23.02.1930-06.12.1931, (reld 02.08.1946)

T/Capt. RARO10.01.1941-(04.1946)Hon. Capt.02.08.1946

For more information on Freddie Guest click here.

 

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 B.M.I.

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

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

 

"Capt. Freddie Guest of the Middlesex Regt. joined the party uninvited by going up to Chan's office in the pedder building with Capt Macmillan who had been there before and telling Chan it was time to go. He later explained that a strong aversion to prisoner-of-war camps led him to try to escape, and he thought the sea offered the best chance".

Captain Reginald E Guest was a veteran of the First World War after joining the Indian Cavalry as an Officer Cadet straight from boarding school and underage. Three weeks before the outbreak of WWII he was sent to Chilwell, Nottingham as training officer at the Tank Depot. Six weeks later he received orders to report to the Middlesex regiment-a machine gun regiment known as the Diehards in Gosport. From there it was across France to Marseilles to embark on the troop-ship "S.S. Andes" bound for the Far East via Gibraltar, Malta, Port Said, Bombay, Colombo, Penang, Singapore, Hong Kong, & Shanghai. disembarking troops all the way. Upon returning to Hong Kong he received orders to report for duty with the Middlesex regiment. The trip had been one of luxury for Guest as the Andes was on her maiden voyage and was still fitted out as a luxury liner. Captain Guest as Officer Commanding troops enjoyed the finest champagnes etc. Here he was attached to staff at HQ.

After the escape from Hong Kong Captain Guest made his way to Chungking and then on to Delhi. There he received orders to join the staff at the Officer Training Cadet's school in Bangalore to take charge of training officers in the old art of pack horse and mule transport as the mechanised units were not appropriate for the terrain in Burma. Bangalore was the Southern Command HQ which extended from Bombay to Madras, right down to Ceylon. During his time here he oversaw some six thousand officers trained in Cavalry before returning to the UK at the end of the war.

1. Escape from the Blooded Sun" by Freddie Guest 1956 which was the first published account of this epic escape.
2. Hong Kong Eclipse by G B Endacott 1978 ISBN 0 19 5803744
3. India Cavalryman" by Freddie Guest (1959) which has two chapters dedicated to Hong Kong and the escape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Freddie Guest was one of the twelve survivors of the shoot-up of HMS Cornflower's launch when Admiral Chan Chak's party made their break from Aberdeen. After arriving in Chungking he flew out to G.H.Q Delhi, India.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Freddie Guest is survived by his grandson Richard Charles Scott, who if ever reads this would be so kind as to contact me at: Hong Kong.org