Monday 15 August 2011

Royal Navy Floating dock Singapore

Alan Peddell born in Singapore writes:-
Together with my parents and one younger brother aged 2 ( I was nearly 4), we managed to leave Spore on a small ship which took us to Djakarta and then we boarded the ss Plancius which took us to Colombo, where we stayed until the war ended. My father was an electrical engineer working on the Royal Naval Floating Dock. As both my parents are dead now, I would like to have any information regarding the ship that might have taken us to join up with the Plancius. I understand we were delayed from leaving because my father had to assist the demolition of the floating dock, and all other large ships had left Keppel because of the heavy bombing.

1 comment:

Michael Pether said...

Hi Alan,

My grandmother, Mrs Annie Clark, was also on the "Plancius' from Batavia to Colombo - you probably slept on a straw mattress down in the holds like many people on that voyage . One of the little ships which left Singapore and managed to reach batavia during that last week before the Surrender was the "HMS Scott Harley' the story of which is on the COFEPOW website under Annie Clark's name as well as the ships name.

I would be interested in the names of all your family since I am compiling a pssenger list for the ship.