[BAAG] Nelson Ma Nai Kwong
Description:
Born:
1914, Hong Kong
Death:
2009, Hong Kong
Pre-war:
Nelson Ma was born in 1914 in Hong Kong. He studied at Queen’s College and was awarded with scholarships. He was also active in local sports events and was the Honorary Secretary of the South China Athletic Association (SCAA). Before the war, he worked in the Technical Section, Torpedo Depot of the Kowloon Naval Yard.
Wartime:
After the fall of Hong Kong, he left for Free China in the summer of 1942 and reached out to the BAAG. According to Ma’s own account, he refused to be sent to India (the China Unit there later became the Hong Kong Volunteer Company, fighting in Burma). Instead, he proposed to organise an escape of skilled dockyard workers, especially those working in the Naval Yard. He became Agent 71 of the BAAG, codenamed “Nitram”. The operation, known as “Operation Matey”, eventually extracted 50 workers along with their families.
Ma was then posted to Macau from December 1942 until the end of the war, working under Y. C. Liang (codenamed “PL”) and helped carry messages between Macau and the BAAG base at Yanping. Although the idea of continuing “Operation Matey” surfaced in 1944, it was not realized due to the Japanese victories in Guangdong during Operation Ichigo in late 1944 and early 1945.
Post-war:
Ma was awarded the BEM Medal in 1946. He started a business in Japan, before returning to Hong Kong. Ma later worked as the Secretary of the Hong Kong WWII Veterans Association, and helped found the Hong Kong Lisbon Maru Association in 2004. He passed away in 2009.
Awards:
BEM
Further Reading:
Elizabeth Ride Collection; Lawrence Tsui, South China Morning Post, Hongkongers in the British Armed Forces; The Lisbon Maru Association of Hong Kong, 2009; Lau Chi Pang, Chow Ka Kin, 2010
Born:
1914, Hong Kong
Death:
2009, Hong Kong
Pre-war:
Nelson Ma was born in 1914 in Hong Kong. He studied at Queen’s College and was awarded with scholarships. He was also active in local sports events and was the Honorary Secretary of the South China Athletic Association (SCAA). Before the war, he worked in the Technical Section, Torpedo Depot of the Kowloon Naval Yard.
Wartime:
After the fall of Hong Kong, he left for Free China in the summer of 1942 and reached out to the BAAG. According to Ma’s own account, he refused to be sent to India (the China Unit there later became the Hong Kong Volunteer Company, fighting in Burma). Instead, he proposed to organise an escape of skilled dockyard workers, especially those working in the Naval Yard. He became Agent 71 of the BAAG, codenamed “Nitram”. The operation, known as “Operation Matey”, eventually extracted 50 workers along with their families.
Ma was then posted to Macau from December 1942 until the end of the war, working under Y. C. Liang (codenamed “PL”) and helped carry messages between Macau and the BAAG base at Yanping. Although the idea of continuing “Operation Matey” surfaced in 1944, it was not realized due to the Japanese victories in Guangdong during Operation Ichigo in late 1944 and early 1945.
Post-war:
Ma was awarded the BEM Medal in 1946. He started a business in Japan, before returning to Hong Kong. Ma later worked as the Secretary of the Hong Kong WWII Veterans Association, and helped found the Hong Kong Lisbon Maru Association in 2004. He passed away in 2009.
Awards:
BEM
Further Reading:
Elizabeth Ride Collection; Lawrence Tsui, South China Morning Post, Hongkongers in the British Armed Forces; The Lisbon Maru Association of Hong Kong, 2009; Lau Chi Pang, Chow Ka Kin, 2010
Sources: Photo: Hong Kong WWII Veterans Association
