He served during World War II as a pilot for the Royal Australian Air Force.

Both de Kantzow and Farrell were ex-air force pilots who had flown The Hump,[3] a route over the Himalayan Mountains.

[5][6] Although initially based in Shanghai, the two men moved to Hong Kong to found Cathay Pacific Airways.

[7] De Kantzow resigned from Cathay Pacific in 1951 and died in a high-speed car accident in 1957.

[1][3][5] He and his wife Angela Mary (1924 – 2005) had son Peter,[5] a director and co-founder of Waterfront Air of Hong Kong.