John Keith Bousfield

John Keith Bousfield, M.C. (d. 29 October 1945) was a British army officer, general manager of the Asiatic Petroleum Company and member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong.

He was the son of W. R. Bousfield, K.C., Member of Parliament (1892–1906). He served in the First World War as a Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers in 1915. He made a number of reconnaissance flights over German lines, but was taken prisoner of war in early 1917 when his aircraft was brought down behind the German lines. He was interned at Karlsruhe, Krefeld, Ströhen and later at the Holzminden prisoner-of-war camp.^[1] On 24 July 1918, he and 28 other officers escaped from the Holzminden camp through a tunnel which had taken 10 months to dig. He made his way to the Dutch frontier in the clothes of a prisoner of war and then returned to England.^[2] He received the Military Cross from King George V at Windsor for his reconnaissance work during the Battle of Somme.

He later became the general manager of the Asiatic Petroleum Company and also the Asiatic Petroleum Co. (South China). He was appointed a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong in 1939 as the representative of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce during the absence of A. L. Shields. He was vice-chairman of the chamber.^[3] He was elected chairman of the chamber in 1940.

References

1. "THE FAMOUS ESCAPE OF THE 29.". Otago Daily Times. 23 November 1918. p. 8.
2. "HONG KONG A.P.C. MAN WHO WAS IN AMAZING WARTIME ESCAPE". The Straits Times. 29 May 1938. p. 12.
3. "Mr. J. K. Bousfield To Represent Chamber Of Commerce On Council.". Hong Kong Daily Press. 26 May 1939. p. 11.