Maltby, Christopher Michael (1891-1980)

Lindsay (2005)

Maltby had fought against the Pathans on the Northwest Frontier of India and had been an instructor at Quetta Staff College prior to being given command of the Hong Kong garrison in July 1941. He was regarded as an energetic, capable officer, with little sense of humor and a pronounced distaste for protocol. He spent his Sunday afternoons strolling around likely future battlegrounds, trailed by a half dozen reluctant staff officers, who would have preferred a round of golf or an afternoon nap.

Maltby has been criticized for his conduct of the defense of Hong Kong, but leaders rarely appear at their best when confronted with an insoluble problem. His leadership was as energetic, courageous, and sound as the circumstances permitted, and it is not his fault he operated in the shadow of a colonial governor, Mark Young, whose imperturbability and personal courage were of truly epic proportions.

Maltby surrendered the garrison to the Japanese on 25 December 1941 against the advice of his senior officers and the colonial governor. He was extremely self-critical during the early months of captivity, but he stood up for the other prisoners, at one point refusing a meal of smuggled meat because such a meal was not available to his men.

Service record

References

Generals.dk (accessed 2008-1-18)

Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives (accessed 2008-1-18)

Lindsay (2005)

Willmott (1982)

The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2008 by Kent G. Budge. Index

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