Amos Ford

Amos Ford
Born
Amos Adolphus Ford

(1916-11-05)5 November 1916
Belize City, British Honduras
Died28 March 2015(2015-03-28) (aged 98)
London. UK
Occupations
Spouse
Mavis Waugh
​
​
(m. 1965; died 1997)​
Children4

Amos Adolphus Ford (5 November 1916 – 28 March 2015) was a Belizean forester, civil servant and writer. During the Second World War Ford served with the British Honduran Forestry Unit.

Biography

Amos Adolphus Ford was born on 5 November 1916 in Belize City, British Honduras (present-day, Belize) to Amos Ebenezer Ford, a policeman and later plantation owner. Ford was one of eleven children.

Ford initially settled in Mexico where he worked as a forester in a mahogany camp, but later returned to British Honduras due to job scarcity. In 1941, Ford volunteered to join the British Honduran Forestry Unit (BHFU). Arriving in Scotland in October, Ford began working as a "scaler". In contrast to the forestry units from Australia, Canada and New Zealand, the BHFU were given poor rations and inadequate clothing and accommodation.

After the BHFU was disbanded in 1943, Ford remained in the UK and moved to Newcastle upon Tyne. Initially working at a brewery, Ford later became a civil servant and worked for the Ministry of National Insurance. Whilst working in the Department, Ford discovered government documents detailing how the British government undermined and attempted to cover up the contributions of the BHFU from public record. Ford published two books Telling the Truth. The Life and Times of the British Honduran Forestry Unit in Scotland (1941-44) (1985) and Recollections (1989), which detailed his research and own experiences in the BHFU.

Personal life

In 1965, Ford married Mavis Waugh (1931–1997) with whom he had four children.

On 28 March 2015 Ford died in London, aged 98.

Publications

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Obituary: Amos Ford, forester". The Telegraph. London. 18 May 2015. Archived from the original on 10 May 2025. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Reynolds, Nia (14 May 2015). "Ex-serviceman spent years defending 'defamed' black unit". The Voice. London. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. 1 2 3 Hennessey, Martin (20 September 1992). "Britain shunned wartime volunteers: Amos Ford says there has been a cover-up over the shabby treatment of British Hondurans who came to help us out, reports Martin Hennessey". The Independent. London. Retrieved 17 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "Amos A Ford and Mavis E Ford [Marriage Index]". England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. 5c (Q3). London: General Register Office: 1591. 1965.
  5. ↑ "Mavis Ellis Ford [Death Index]". England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. London: General Register Office. May 1997.
  6. ↑ "Amos Adolphus Ford [Death Index]". England and Wales, Death Index, 1989–2025 [database on-line]. Lehi, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 2015.