Major Sir Hamish Stewart Forbes, 7th Baronet, MBE, MC, KStJ (15 February 1916 – 3 September 2007) was a British Army officer who served in the Welsh Guards in World War II, spending over five years in German custody as a prisoner of war. In later life, he was patron of the Lonach Highland and Friendly Society from 1984 until his death.
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Early life
Forbes was born in London. He was the second son of Lieutenant Colonel James Forbes and his wife, Feridah Taylor. He was educated at Eton College, at Lawrenceville School in the United States, and at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.
Before World War II, he worked for health salts manufacturer Eno and for sugar broker Czarnikow.
Military career
Forbes was commissioned as a subaltern in the 1st Welsh Guards in 1939. After a short period in Gibraltar, he served as battalion intelligence officer in the British Expeditionary Force in France in 1940. Leading a reconnaissance patrol near Arras in May 1940, he was captured by the Germans. He was later awarded the Military Cross for his conduct.