Air Vice Marshal Sir Paul Copeland Maltby, KCVO, KBE, CB, DSO, AFC, DL (5 August 1892 – 2 July 1971) was a senior Royal Air Force officer who later served as the Serjeant at Arms in the House of Lords.
Churchill signaled Maltby the very next day: I send you and all ranks of the British forces who have stayed behind in Java my best wishes for success and honour in the great fight that confronts you.
Every day gained is precious, and I know that you will do everything humanly possible to prolong the battle.Maltby's main tasks were to continue the fight to defend Java as long as equipment could be maintained and do everything possible to evacuate surplus units and personnel to Ceylon or Australia.
[4] The Japanese invasion force landed on Java at the end of February and the start of March.
On 12 March 1942 the senior British, Australian and American commanders were summoned to Bandoeng where the formal instrument of surrender was signed in the presence of the Japanese commander in the Bandoeng area, Lieutenant General Masao Maruyama,[5] who promised them the rights of the Geneva Convention for the protection of prisoners of war.