Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

John Alexander Fraser GC MC and

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...

(, 12 February 1896 – 29 October 1943) was a British colonial officer who was

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' ...

ly awarded the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational Courage, gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, ...

, the highest British (and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

) award for bravery out of combat, for his "magnificent conduct" and "outstanding courage" in resisting Japanese torture during the Second World War.

First World War

Born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in 1896, and educated at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted ...

, he was commissioned into the

Royal Scots Fusiliers The Royal Scots Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1678 until 1959 when it was amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Ma ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. He served as a

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles ...

officer and won the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

(MC) in 1916. The MC was announced in the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

'' on 20 October 1916, and the citation read: He transferred to the

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a Regiment, corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in the World War I, First World War. Th ...

on 27 March 1916, was promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 1 November 1916, and won a

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...

to his MC in 1917, gazetted 17 December 1917 (the citation was not published). He later commanded a machine gun company, with the acting rank of

major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

, and was permitted to retain that rank when he was demobilized.

Second World War

Joining the Colonial Government of Hong Kong in October 1919 and having been called to the Bar in 1931, Fraser was an Assistant Attorney General when the Japanese invaded in 1941. Interned in the Civil Internment Camp in Stanley he was instrumental in organising escape plans and operated a radio in secret. The suspicions of the Japanese were aroused and Fraser was arrested and severely tortured but refused to betray his companions. The Japanese, unable to break his resistance, executed him, most likely by beheading, on 29 October 1943. He is buried in Stanley Military Cemetery. The full citation for his GC was published in a supplement to the ''London Gazette'' of 25 October 1946 and read:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, John Alexander British recipients of the George Cross British Army personnel of World War I Royal Scots Fusiliers officers Machine Gun Corps officers 1896 births 1943 deaths Military personnel from Edinburgh Recipients of the Military Cross People executed by Japan by firing squad Scottish torture victims Executed Scottish people Executed British people 20th-century executions by Japan Alumni of the University of Edinburgh British military personnel killed in World War II British World War II prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Burials at Stanley Military Cemetery