Mateen Ahmed Ansari
Born15 December 1916
Hyderabad, Hyderabad State, British India
Died29 October 1943 (aged 26)
Hong Kong
AllegianceBritish India
Service/branchBritish Indian Army
RankCaptain
Unit7th Rajput Regiment
Awards George Cross
Headstone of Captain Mateen Ahmed Ansari at Stanley Military Cemetery

Captain Mateen Ahmed Ansari GC (15 December 1916[1] – 29 October 1943) of the 5th Battalion, 7th Rajput Regiment, in the Indian Army during World War II, and member of the British Army Aid Group. [2] He was awarded the George Cross posthumously. The decoration, the highest British (and Commonwealth) award for bravery out of combat, was announced in a supplement to the London Gazette of 16 April 1946[3] as being awarded for the 'most conspicuous gallantry.'

He was taken prisoner when Japan occupied Hong Kong in December 1941 after the Battle of Hong Kong. After the Japanese discovered that he was related to the ruler of one of the Princely States they demanded that he renounce his allegiance to the British and foment discontent in the ranks of Indian prisoners in the prison camps.[4][5] He refused and was thrown into the notorious Stanley Jail in May 1942 where he was starved and brutalised. And also held in Ma Tau Chung Camp, where he expended efforts to counter Japanese recruiting work for the collaborationist Indian National Army.[6] When he remained firm in his allegiance to the British on his return to the prison camps he was again incarcerated in Stanley Jail where he was starved and tortured for five months. He was then returned to the original camp, where he continued in his allegiance to the British, and even helped to organise escape attempts by other prisoners.[5] He was sentenced to death, with over thirty other British, Chinese and Indian prisoners and beheaded on 29 October 1943.[5] He is buried in Stanley Military Cemetery in Hong Kong.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ July 1942 Indian Army List
  2. ↑ "Mateen Ansari, GC". George Cross database. Archived from the original on 2007-11-16. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
  3. ↑ "No. 37536". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 April 1946. p. 1949.
  4. ↑ Kwong Chi Man, Tsoi Yiu Lun (2014). Eastern Fortress: A Military History of Hong Kong, 1840-1970. Hong Kong University Press. p. 231. ISBN 9789888208715.
  5. 1 2 3 "Commonwealth War Graves Commission — casualty details". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 2007-12-01. This page gives both 20 October and 29 October as the date of his death. The overall pages for Stanley Military Cemetery suggest that 29 October is correct
  6. ↑ Wentzell, Tyler (2021-12-08). "Brigadier J. K. Lawson's Diary: October to December 1941". Canadian Military History. 30 (2). ISSN 1195-8472.
  7. ↑ Stephen Stratford. "Military history website". Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
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