Flight Lieutenant Hector Bertram Gray (1911–1943) of the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

, and member of the British Army Aid Group

British Army Aid Group

The British Army Aid Group was a para-military organisation for British and allied forces in Southern China during the Second World War. The BAAG was officially classified in the British Army's order of battle as a MI9 unit that was responsible for assisting prisoners of war to escape from the...

, was posthumously awarded the George Cross

George Cross

The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...

 for "most conspicuous gallantry" in resisting torture after the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong in 1941.

He smuggled medicine into the POW camp to help the many seriously ill prisoners incarcerated there and was a conduit for news from the outside world. When the Japanese grew suspicious he was tortured and interrogated for six months but refused to divulge the names of fellow officers, such as Captain Douglas Ford

Douglas Ford (GC)

Captain Douglas Ford was posthumously awarded the George Cross for conspicuous gallantry.. His citation was published in the London Gazette on the 18th of March, 1946....

 of the Royal Scots, and Colonel Lanceray Arthur Newnham

Lanceray Arthur Newnham

Temporary Colonel Lanceray Arthur Newnham GC MC , of The Middlesex Regiment and the British Army Aid Group was posthumously awarded the George Cross for the gallantry he showed in resisting Japanese torture during World War II.On 1 January 1917 Captain Newnham was awarded the Military Cross for...

 of the Middlesex Regiment

Middlesex Regiment

The Middlesex Regiment was a regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms when the 57th and 77th Regiments of Foot were amalgamated with the county's militia and rifle volunteer units.On 31 December 1966 The Middlesex Regiment was amalgamated with three...

. He was executed by firing squad, with fellow prisoners, on the 18 December 1943 and buried in Stanley Military Cemetery

Stanley Military Cemetery

Stanley Military Cemetery is located near St. Stephen Bay in Stanley, Hong Kong. It is the only military cemetery of the early colonial era, used for the burials of the members of the garrison and their families between 1841 and 1866...

 in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. He was born on the 6 June 1911 in Gillingham

Gillingham, Kent

Gillingham is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in South East England. It is part of the ceremonial county of Kent. The town includes the settlements of Brompton, Hempstead, Rainham, Rainham Mark and Twydall....

 in Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

. Notice of his award was published in the London Gazette on the 19 April 1946.