Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Christopher Michael Maltby, (13 January 1891 – 6 September 1980) was a senior officer in the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which cou ...

who served as Commander of British Troops in Hong Kong in 1941 before the

Japanese invasion of Hong Kong The Battle of Hong Kong (8–25 December 1941), also known as the Defence of Hong Kong and the Fall of Hong Kong, was one of the first battles of the Pacific War in World War II. On the same morning as the attack on Pearl Harbor, forces of th ...

, after which he became a prisoner of war.

Military career

Educated at

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English ind ...

, Maltby attended the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of S ...

, from where he was commissioned into the

9th Jat Regiment The 9th Jat Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922, after the Indian government reformed the army, moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments. World War II The Regiment saw a g ...

of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

in 1910.Christopher Michael Maltby
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives In the years leading to war, he served in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...

. He saw service in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, mainly on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

, where, in addition to being wounded, he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

and was thrice

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. With the war over, he then went to the Staff College in

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of th ...

in 1923. He served on the North West Frontier in India and then became a

general staff officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military ...

at Army Headquarters in India in 1925. He went on to the

Staff College Staff colleges (also command and staff colleges and War colleges) train military officers in the administrative, military staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career. For e ...

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

in 1927 and then was appointed Deputy Assistant Adjutant General at Army Headquarters in India in 1930. He returned to the North West Frontier in India in 1937 and then became an instructor at the Staff College at Quetta in 1938 before being appointed a general staff officer in Baluchistan District in India in 1939.

He served in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

initially as Commander of 3rd Jhelum Brigade, then as Commander of the Calcutta Brigade, and finally as Commander of

19th Indian Infantry Brigade The 19th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in October, 1940 at Old Delhi in British Raj, India and assigned to the 8th Infantry Division (India), 8th Indian Infantry Di ...

in Deccan District in India. He was made Commander of British Troops in China in August 1941. He initially established a 10-mile line of defence known as

Gin Drinkers Line The Gin Drinkers Line, or Gin Drinkers' Line, was a British military defensive line against the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong during the Battle of Hong Kong in December 1941, part of the Pacific War. The concept came from France's Maginot L ...

across the Southern part of the mainland but was rapidly forced to withdraw his troops back to

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km2, . The island had a population of a ...

.Fall of Hong Kong
/ref> General

Takashi Sakai was a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, known for his role as Governor of Hong Kong under Japanese occupation. Biography Sakai was born in Kamo District, Hiroshima, now part of Hiroshima city. He was educ ...

began a bombardment of the Island and, after a brief counter-attack by British Troops which commenced on 19 December 1941, Maltby surrendered to the Japanese at

Queen's Pier Queen's Pier, named after Queen Victoria, was a public pier in front of City Hall in Edinburgh Place, Central, Hong Kong. For three generations it served not only as a public pier in day-to-day use but also as a major ceremonial arrival and d ...

on 25 December 1941. He was a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...

from 1941 to 1945.

Retirement

Reverting to his permanent rank of colonel, Maltby retired on 10 June 1946. He was granted the honorary rank of major-general on 10 June 1946. In 1953, Maltby was granted a commission as a Deputy lieutenant of

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

, where he spent his remaining years, the last five of them a widower.

References

Bibliography

External links

British Military History Biographies M
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maltby, Christopher 1891 births 1980 deaths Academics of the Staff College, Quetta Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Companions of the Order of the Bath Indian Army personnel of World War I Indian Army generals of World War II Recipients of the Military Cross World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Battle of Hong Kong Hong Kong in World War II People educated at Bedford School Graduates of the Staff College, Quetta Deputy Lieutenants of Somerset Military personnel of British India British Indian Army generals