Machine gun pill boxes at Labrador Park

On the waterfront at Labrador Park there are a number of machine gun pill boxes of which the one shown below is most prominent. They served as part of the costal defense strategy and similar pill boxes remain on Sentosa Island as well. A lot of these defenses were manned by the Malayan Volunteers but saw little direct action as the brunt of the invasion came from the North when the Japanese forces invaded Singapore from mainland Malaya.

Kranji Beach battle site

Scenes from the Kranji Beach battle site on the North West of Singapore where the main thrust of the attack on Singapore took place. The photo of the map is from the Kranji War Memorial.

Adam Park Project

The excavation project at Adam Park  continues to receive good media coverage with another quality write up on the Straits Times today. It is a fascinating project and the search is on for eye witness accounts that can bring the research to life. One of Singapore's last battles before the fall.

The Adam Park Project

The ongoing excavations at Adam Park received some good coverage in the Singapore Straits Times today. Well done Jon Cooper

70th anniversary of Operation Jaywick - 26th September 2013

Some images from the moving 70th anniversary service for Operation Jaywick at the Kranji war memorial hosted by the amazing team at the Changi Museum

Felix Roussel

Tricia Gosling writes...read your site with much interest re the evacuations from Singapore.   I'd like to see my mother's and my names added to the list of passengers on the FELIX ROUSSEL,  8th Feb?  My mothers name was Hetty Giles (aged 19), my name is Patricia Giles (now Gosling).  I was 3 months at the time.   My father did not survive internment.

Old Changi Hospital

While visiting the Changi Sailing club last week I walked past the now derelict former Changi Hospital. A lot of history in those walls....

Some amazing footage on the Battle for Singapore from this old documentary

Keppel Harbour

While running along Keppel Harbour on the weekend outside Vivo City I was encouraged to see a new plaque telling the story of the raids on Keppel Harbour by operation Jaywick and also a write up about the evacuation ships including mention of the Vyner Brooke. Very encouraging to see this history being preserved.

BBC Documentary - The Great Betrayal

Came across this interesting documentary on UTube..."This landmark film by Paul Elston tells the incredible story of how it was the British who gave the Japanese the know how to take out Pearl Harbor and capture Singapore in the World War 2. For 19 years before the fall of Singapore in 1942 to the Japanese, British officers were spying for Japan. Worse still, the Japanese had infiltrated the very heart of the British establishment - through a mole who was a peer of the realm known to Churchill himself.This is a very rare documentary on the fall of Singapore in WW2 by BBC Two broadcasted in Northern Ireland only."

Some fascinating footage - 1942 The Taking of Singapore - Japanese Footage Only -

"

Battle for Bukit Timah by Jon Cooper

Research on Arthur John Jones RAF

Christine Fisher writes..."I have just come across your blog regarding "Research on Arthur John Jones RAF - can anyone help?"

My father servied in the RAF as a leading aircraft man in Singapore from 1941 to 1942 when he sailed from Singapore days before the fall. He sailed to Sumatra / Java then on to India to Ambala. He was in 100sqd, the 36sqd then No 4 AACU at RAF Tengah.

He mentioned being in  convoy of 3 ships, the ship in front of the convoy was sunk, as was the one at the back, my fathers ship was originally intended to sail to Australia, but the Captain turned it around and headed for India.

Could it be possible they served at the same base, sailed out on the same ships?

His name was Harry Pollitt

Happy to share what details I have if you can give any more details.

PUGH – WILLIAM GORDON S/54084

Jenny Hill writes.....My father was General Wavell and Percivals short hand writer in Singapore and actually wrote the diary of Singapore.  He escaped Singapore on the 13th February and although he was listed missing presumed dead for a long time he (or the 30 men he had in his control) were never captured.

He told the story of the Chinese paddle ship S. S. Wuchang.   They had no guns or ammo so my father got them to upturn a wheel barrow and threw tarpolelin over it and place two broom handles to represent guns.   The paddle ship was torpedoed but as the paddle ship had a flat bottom it went straight underneath and they watched it come out the other side.  They apparently walked across Sumatra 

PUGH – WILLIAM GORDON     S/54084

Enlisted as Clerk R.A.S.C. 1931, to Singapore February 1939

 

Staff Sergeant Major (W/O 1) No S54084, W.Q. Malaya Command, Chief Clerk Gerneral Staff Operations, Captain 366394 on Staff ROYAL ARMY SERVICE CORSPS, authorised to escape from Singapore on H.M.S. MALLACCA to Sumatra where it was scutted, then via H.M.S.DAME from Padang  to Cilicapl Java. Then to Ceylon on Chinese paddle ship S.S. Wuchang, April 1942.

Further staff postings in Ceylon, and UK 1944 S.T. Directorate, War Office, then OIC Pembroke Dock Barracks, and Chief Instructor Hereford Training School. Retired 1948 and joined T.A. as Captain R.A.(T.A.) 425 Pembs. Coast Regt. Transferred to 302 Pembrokeshire Yeomanry Field Regt. R.A. until disbanded .

Decorations – territorial Decoration.

1939-45 Star: Pacific Star, Defence Medal; War Medal.

details: -
Arrived Singapore March 1939. Attached 52 M.T. Coy R.A.S.C. at Alexandra Barracks. Duty with Transp Service ort Office R.A.S.C. Malaya Command and later as Chief Clerk with mixed military responsible for allocation of Military and civilian transport, civilian labour, water transport (held by No.4 Water Transport R.A.S.C. AT Pulan Brani) and all shipping movements and control. (Military).

My father died aged 90 in 2002. 

A great book on the fall of Singapore - "a naked island"

Dr. Nigel Starck, Biographer of Russell Braddon visits Singapore

By Andrew Glynn

In January I had the chance to meet with Nigel Starck and talk about his excellent biography on Australian author Russell Braddon.

Surviving the horrors of the Thai-Burma railway, Russell Braddon aged 21 weighed just 32.7kg.

Drawing on his experience as a Gunner in the 2/15^th Field Artillery and the horrid conditions as a Japanese prisoner slave, Braddon wrote a gripping yet critical narrative. The “The Naked Island”, condemned by Australian officers, has sold over 2 million copies and remains in print.

Struggling to re-adjust in post war Australia, Braddon suffered a mental breakdown, attempted suicide and spent five months in a mental institution.  Booking a passage to England with the last of his army pay, what followed was a prolific writing career of 15 fiction and 15 non-fiction books and a distinguished BBC career.

Finally, the fascinating life of Russell Braddon has been immortalized in “Proud Australian Boy”, by Dr. Nigel Starck, of the University of South Australia.

Braddon hoped a biography would never be written. Indeed after a long career in London, he destroyed his personal papers before returning to Australia. Beneath the façade of Russell Braddon, lay a largely concealed personal life at odds with values of that time.

Which makes this biography all the more extraordinary. Building from Braddon’s surviving papers, Nigel Starck embarked on a remarkable journey of discovery that brought him in contact with his former Managers, Accountants, friends and partners. Including Dame Joan Sutherland (who writes the forward), the artist Ronald Searle (creator of St. Trinians and Thai Burma railway veteran) and actress Lesley Hazlitt (formerly Piddington).

This is a remarkably detailed and captivating biography (now an entrant for Australian Biography of the Year), and I thank Dr. Starck for sharing details of his journey of discovery with us.  It’s a little hard to buy, and the best way to get a copy is direct from Australian Scholarly Publishing www.scholarly.info.

Reginald L Nunn

Philip Nunn writes

 

It is only in the last few weeks that I have been tracing my family history and discovered that my Grandfather's cousin Reginald L Nunn and his wife Gertrude were lost on the SS Roosaboom in 1942. It is essential and indeed encouraging and that these facts are recorded and not forgotten about.

 

Kind Regards

Research on Arthur John Jones RAF - can anyone help?

Hua Jones writes....

My father, Arthur John Jones, died in 2011 at the age of 92. During his life he sometimes referred to his time in the RAF as a flight mechanic/rigger, particularly in India (Peshawar I think) and Singapore.

In relating his story about leaving Singapore I hope it might “ring a bell” with someone. As a child of the fifties I have been fortunate not to have witnessed the things that my father did, I therefore feel that the stories I recall may have been censored.

He was in RAF 36 squadron working on Wildebeests and Swordfish and described being on the base during bombing raids when the “old hands” like him, would just roll under their bunks as the Japanese methodically bombed the officer’s quarters and the cookhouse.

He was always adamant that he was on the last ship out of Singapore (I assume that many ships were the “last” ship) but he described his experience as follows. He was ordered, with some other RAF men to go up to the hill where there were British troops overlooking the straits. He had been told that they (the troops) had spare shaving kit etc. And that they were to collect it and report to the dock. In conversation the troops told him they would be on the next boat out – the one after his – but he always maintained that this would not happen as he was on the last boat - a fact which he did not pass on to the soldiers.

My recall is that he says he left Singapore on the SS Mendoza which I suspect is incorrect – either in my recall or his. However he told a story that they were instructed to liberate anything (loot) which might help them survive the passage out of Singapore. The only “food” they could find was tinned asparagus and boxes of chocolate which they loaded on the tramp steamer that was taking them out. As he walked along the dock with an armful of boxes of chocolates a submariner called him over to his docked vessel and asked could he have a box of chocolates, to which my father said “yes”. The submariner told him to wait a moment and disappeared. He re-appeared with a book, a Pears Cyclopaedia, which he gave to my father. When he tried to refuse it the submariner said “one thing on one thing off”. He still had the book in 2010 but after his death it had disappeared from his effects.

He only talked about his voyage from Singapore in his last years, I believe they were attacked by Japanese aircraft and he told me they were pursued by a Japanese warship but escaped by hiding in a shallow river in Sumatra where the warship could not follow. Other stories involved the captain of the all India women’s hockey team – which, as any child would I found embarrassing and didn’t pursue too far.

Interestingly though he described an Anglo Dutch matriarch and hospital matron who, with her daughter,  entertained him and some other colleagues on his way out to Singapore (would it have been in Java?). His descriptions were very vivid and when, one evening I watched a documentary on the facts behind the fictional series Tenko, one of the women the series was based on was being interviewed. I telephoned him immediately and he confirmed it was his hostess from around sixty years  previously.

I am visiting Singapore in a few weeks time  so my father’s stories a very real to me at the moment, I hope these ramblings are of interest to you and that they might help someone give me a few clues to research.

Russell Braddon

Dr. Nigel Starck, Biographer of Russell Braddon visits Singapore

By Andrew Glynn

In January I had the chance to meet with Nigel Starck and talk about his excellent biography on Australian author Russell Braddon.

Surviving the horrors of the Thai-Burma railway, Russell Braddon aged 21 weighed just 32.7kg.

Drawing on his experience as a Gunner in the 2/15^th Field Artillery and the horrid conditions as a Japanese prisoner slave, Braddon wrote a gripping yet critical narrative. The “The Naked Island”, condemned by Australian officers, has sold over 2 million copies and remains in print.

Struggling to re-adjust in post war Australia, Braddon suffered a mental breakdown, attempted suicide and spent five months in a mental institution.  Booking a passage to England with the last of his army pay, what followed was a prolific writing career of 15 fiction and 15 non-fiction books and a distinguished BBC career.

Finally, the fascinating life of Russell Braddon has been immortalized in “Proud Australian Boy”, by Dr. Nigel Starck, of the University of South Australia.

Braddon hoped a biography would never be written. Indeed after a long career in London, he destroyed his personal papers before returning to Australia. Beneath the façade of Russell Braddon, lay a largely concealed personal life at odds with values of that time.

Which makes this biography all the more extraordinary. Building from Braddon’s surviving papers, Nigel Starck embarked on a remarkable journey of discovery that brought him in contact with his former Managers, Accountants, friends and partners. Including Dame Joan Sutherland (who writes the forward), the artist Ronald Searle (creator of St. Trinians and Thai Burma railway veteran) and actress Lesley Hazlitt (formerly Piddington).

This is a remarkably detailed and captivating biography (now an entrant for Australian Biography of the Year), and I thank Dr. Starck for sharing details of his journey of discovery with us.  It’s a little hard to buy, and the best way to get a copy is direct from Australian Scholarly Publishing www.scholarly.info.

Eric John Batten - can anyone assist?

Peter Batten writes......

I have been doing some Family tree research and eventually got a round to trying to document my Fathers Career.

ERIC JOHN BATTEN 1907-1982

He worked for the Admiralty in the Naval Base at Singapore  and had 3 tours of duty in there:-

1937-1942
1946-1950
1956-1959

So he was there and got out from Singapore when the invasion and fall occurred.

I don't have much information , like many he was rather reticent about talking through events . though he did say he escaped through the jungle and managed to get a ship, which I think was a Destroyer, he used to play the piano and I believe he did some entertaining to keep spirits up on the journey out. Though where that was to I dont know. He also remembered the huge cranes being toppled into the docks to deny them to the Japs

His retirement record shows detached duty in Hong Kong, Bombay, Java, Columbo and Sarawak though again don`t know what this involved.

He was an Engineering Design Draughtsman and went on to be involved in Torpedo Tube design for the rest of the war then to Hamburg and Kiel German Naval Dockyards after VE day to research what ever could be found!.

Thats just a bit of background , having seen your site after a few idle searches I thought I would ask if you might have any suggestions or indeed knowledge of where and what I should be looking for to give me some more insight into those chaotic last days.