Douglas in Junior school in 1929	Douglas in the 1st Cricket XI, 1936	In the uniform of a Captain in the Royal Scots in 1939

At the 2003 Remembrance Day service at the School, the Rector recounted a tale of valour involving a former pupil.     The 1942 Easter edition of Schola Regia listed ‘Capt. Douglas Ford (leaving year 1936, when he was School Captain), missing – Hong Kong’.    Douglas had been taken prisoner by the Japanese on Christmas day 1941 when Hong Kong surrendered.    In captivity, much against the rules, he organised the distribution of medical supplies and drugs which safeguarded the health of his fellow prisoners.     Later, Douglas was involved in a mass plan of escape, but was arrested, tortured, and finally sentenced to death.     On 19th December 1943, his captors led him to a beach overlooking the South China Sea.    After Douglas had expertly dug his own grave in the true Homeric way, and those of two fellow prisoners who were too weak, he was shot.   He was posthumously awarded the George Cross.

The above photo shows The Royal Scots, HQ Company, 2nd Battalion, Murray Barracks, Hong Kong, just a few weeks before the Japanese invasion in 1941. Click the photo to enlarge – Douglas is seated eighth from the right

Click here for a full PDF biography of Douglas Ford, and an account of his younger brother James Allan Ford (leaving year 1936)

Douglas Ford photo gallery – click any of the images to enable a full-screen slideshow.

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This story was related by James Allan (Jim) Ford M.C., Douglas’s younger brother (RHS leaving year 1938) who was taken prisoner at the same time as Douglas, and was in the same camp until September 1942 when Jim was sent to Japan.    Jim died in April 2009, widow Isobel died aged 99 in 2023. Jim subsequently (1961) wrote a series of novels, two of which were about the fall of Hong Kong and the prison.   ‘The Brave White Flag’ recounted the story of the fall of Hong Kong, while the ‘Season of Escape’ was a fictional story of Douglas’s period in captivity based on accounts from many sources. Jim gave the Former Pupils address at the 1971 Prize Giving, his title at that time being Director of Establishment at the Scottish Office. Jim was granted an official reception at the City Chambers by Lord Provost George Grubb in May 2008, and had the honour of the installation of a plaque in his name in Makars Court, Edinburgh

1941 – 2nd Lieutenant James Ford 1941	2015 -Jim Ford with Lord Provost George Grubb and Alastair Allanach	James Ford plaque in Makars Court, Edinburgh