[41] The newly arrived 18th Infantry Division (Major-General Merton Beckwith-Smith)[42][43]was at full strength but lacked experience and training. [43], Percival gave Major-General Gordon Bennett's two brigades from the 8th Australian Division responsibility for the western side of Singapore, including the prime invasion points in the northwest of the island. Of the few survivors eight were picked up by the Japanese and later six more were found by the steamer Mata Hari. Her passengers included the skippers wife, a civilian nurse Alice Wilkinson, and 12 Dockyard personnel, plus 50 from the RAF and Army. Meanwhile two small naval launches arrived full of miscellaneous Army and Navy personnel. The Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse soon after the Japanese landings on Malaya, the fall of Singapore and other defeats in 1942, severely undermined British prestige, which contributed to the end of British colonial rule in the region after the war. on January 13, 2021, There are no reviews yet. RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1974. The final naval evacuation from Singapore in February 1942 was a tragedy of epic proportions, resulting in death and misery with few redeeming features except the eventual safety of the few survivors. Spotlights had been placed on the beaches by a British unit to illuminate an invasion force on the water but many had been damaged by the bombardment and no order was made to turn the others on. [151][137] Elphick also claims that Australians made up the majority of stragglers. 488 Squadron RNZAF, a Buffalo squadron, had converted to Hurricanes; 232 Squadron became operational on 20 January and destroyed three Nakajima Ki-43 "Oscars" that day, for the loss of three Hurricanes. On passage she met the armed merchant cruiser HMS Kedahwhich had sailed two days previously laden with evacuees. [58][4][65] The British had the means to conduct counter-battery fire opposite the Australians that would have caused casualties and disruption among the Japanese assault troops. On 16 February a small Dutch steamer Tandjong Pinangarrived and embarked the women and children and those who were critically injured, but it was sunk about 12 hours later with only 15 persons reaching land. [38] Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival, commander of the garrison, had 85,000 soldiersthe equivalent, on paper at least, of just over four divisions. [63][64], Blowing up the causeway had delayed the Japanese attack for over a week. [17][18] Prior to the Battle of Singapore the most resistance was met at the Battle of Muar which involved the 8th Australian Division and the 45th Indian Brigade. Malaya Tribune: Colombo Man as Deputy Master Attendant, 24 November 1936. The men were detailed to help the undermanned crew and the women assisted in the galley and saloon. Yamashita and his officers stationed themselves at Istana Bukit Serene and the Johor state secretariat buildingthe Sultan Ibrahim Buildingto plan for the invasion of Singapore. Thailand resisted landings on its territory for about 5 to 8 hours; it then signed a ceasefire and a Treaty of Friendship with Japan, later declaring war on the UK and the US. Financial constraints had hampered construction efforts during the intervening period and shifting strategic circumstances had largely undermined the key premises behind the strategy by the time war had broken out in the Pacific. With the Japanese now within gun range on the opposite side of the Causeway a few thousand more persons escaped in an organized convoy on the night of 11/12 February. [124][125] The Japanese largely avoided attacking the Australian perimeter but in the northern area, the British 53rd Infantry Brigade was pushed back by a Japanese assault up the Thompson Road and had to fall back north of Braddell Road in the evening, joining the rest of the 18th Infantry Division in the line. Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2001. They get buzzed by a Zero that inexplicably doesn't fire, they get fired upon by a Zero who inexplicably doesn't finish them off, they meet a drunken Dutchman, they eat poorly (but not _that_ poorly), tempers fray, etc. [111] The counter-attack was repulsed by the Imperial Guards and the 27th Australian Brigade was split in half on either side of the Bukit Timah Road with elements spread as far as the Pierce Reservoir.[112]. After settling in Australia he became known as a sportsman and journalist. Previous ed. In addition, HMS Laburnumwas badly damaged by bombing and she, together with HDMLsPenghambat(LEUT F Man RNVR) and Penyengat were scuttled at Singapore to prevent them falling into enemy hands. After landing a tortuous trek began across mountainous terrain making for the west coast port of Padang. 226 Group RAF, they flew from an airfield code-named P1, near Palembang, Sumatra in the Dutch East Indies, while a flight was maintained in Singapore. After some boring to-ing and fro-ing, a small band of some twenty or so British officers are selected to escape to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) on a dubious native craft. The report also contained an order of battle for the defence of Singapore and the roles to be played by Australian and New Zealand forces should Japan enter the war. [96] The Japanese were given a firm foothold to "build up their force unopposed". A number of MLs and HDMLs had completed building at Singapore within weeks of the evacuation. 198 p. 23 cm. One young Indian prisoner with a Bengaluru connection was. Finally, on sighting a friendly vessel, they hoist an improvised distress signal, not realizing that the one they select is a warning of their intention to attack. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. A yarn of adventure in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean. Bennett attempted to reinforce the 22nd Brigade by moving the 2/29th Battalion from the 27th Brigade area to Tengah but before it could be used to recapture Ama Keng, the Japanese launched another attack around the airfield and the 2/29th was forced onto the defensive. On paper the escape plan seemed straightforward, a 20-mile passage over the Singapore Strait at night, and then laying up under cover of one of the numerous Netherlands East Indies islands, before island hopping to cover the next 60 miles and crossing the Banka Strait to the large island of Sumatra. Another well-known escape was of 65 Australian nurses aboard HMS Vyner Brooke which sailed on 12 February. REEL 1 Account of Japanese invasion of Singapore and her escape from Malaya, 2/1942: blackout; procession of Chinese and Malays taking to woods; work of civil defence; arrival of evacuees from Malayan Peninsula; daily Japanese air raids; behaviour of civilians under air raids; ordered to leave Singapore; problems getting to ship; having to leave ship during air raid prior to departure. That is why the surrender had to be at once. With only a few Navy men and a Merchant Marine among them, and no navigation gear, they make their way to what they hope is safety, where they are reabsorbed into the military machine. Japanese authorities asked that she be moved away from the proximity of legitimate shipping targets. [25], Although more Commonwealth unitsincluding some from the 8th Australian Divisionjoined the campaign, the Japanese prevented them from regrouping. His father and grandfather were interned. He invited me to accompany him in his pram-dinghy, a flat-bottomed boat about 12 feet long, bermuda-rigged with bamboo mast and boom, and designed for racing in the sheltered waters of . Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon. Only 24 Australian Army nurses survived the bombings, massacre and POW captivity. Table of Contents The Commonwealth having thought the terrain made them impractical, had no tanks and only a few armoured vehicles, which put them at a severe disadvantage. Many of those aboard the ships perished. Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. With the decision taken to relocate major royal naval assets to Java, most naval personnel were evacuated in MV Empire Staron 12 February. Colonels and brigadiers, civilians and civilservants,battle-hardenedwarriorsandarmy deserters intent on escape at any price, left in launches, junks, rowing boats, naval craft, in fact anything that floated. Captain K. R. King and Sergeant J. E. Iliffe, who were with an Ordnance auit in Malaya, met the other day for the first time since the fall of Singapore. [157], The Japanese occupation of Singapore started after the British surrender. Escape from Singapore, 1942;: The story of an incredible voyage through enemy waters [Skidmore, Ian] on Amazon.com. able aboard ahead anchor arms army arrived asked attack battery became began better boat bobby bombs british broke broome brought called ceylon chance climbed coast command craft crew danger dark. [14][15] This was virtually simultaneous with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor which precipitated the United States' entry into the war. Life on the Line Podcasts Japanese troops were closing in on the British island of Singapore and it was only a matter of hours, if not days, before the embattled island would be forced to surrender. SSPerak, a 1,200-ton passenger/cargo steamer of the Straits Steamship Company, had sailed from Singapore a few days before the surrender with personnel from No 36 Squadron RAF embarked. Most women and children who wanted to escape by ship had already gone albeit that most of the ships which had left in the previous couple of days were doomed to be sunk. Silver, Lynette R., The Heroes of Rimau, Leo Cooper, London, 1990. : At the same time, bowing to Japanese political pressure and possibly compounding foreseen weakness, Britain withdrew from its Chinese based garrisons at Shanghai and Tientsin and repositioned these regiments in Singapore, leaving the last east Asian outpost at Hong Kong alone and vulnerable. on Amazon.com. Please try your request again later. by Ian Skidmore. The remaining nineteen men including the Executive Officer of ML 310, SBLT Malcolm Henderson RANVR, the Admiral and the Air Marshal died of disease when on the island. He was convicted and hanged in the Philippines on 23 February 1946.[176]. The men were forced into a series of small, badly ventilated rooms where they were held overnight without water. [170][171], An Indian revolutionary, Rash Behari Bose, formed the pro-independence Indian National Army (INA) with the help of the Japanese, who were highly successful in recruiting Indian prisoners of war. McKerron, P.A.B., Escape from Singapore Dalforce, Journals 65-67 of the Overseas Services Pensioners Association (OSPA) April 1993 April 1994, London. The British outnumbered the Japanese but much of the water for the island was drawn from reservoirs on the mainland. He admitted that towards the end it was all but impossible to return men to their units. This was mostly mangrove swamp and jungle, broken by rivers and creeks. Preview Book Please try again. They were whimsically known as the Plymouth Argylls (Plymouth Argyle is a football club). A trio of old Yangtze river steamers Kung Wo, Kualaand Tien Kuangwere crewed as naval auxiliaries: RNR officers Brooks and Terry, plus 100 men, embarked in the largest of these, Kung Wo.Others aboard Kung Wo were a five strong media contingent which included an attractive budding Chinese film actress, Doris Lim. Unable to add item to List. Blackburn and Hack give a total of 226 for British artillery pieces captured during the siege of Singapore itself, including fortress guns (172 without them), Two brigades from the 8th Australian Division had been dispatched to Singapore and then Malaya in February 1941, while its third brigade had been dispersed to garrison. . About the author Ian Skidmore 24 books Ratings &Reviews In February 1942, out of approximately 40,000 Indian personnel in Singapore, about 30,000 joined the INA, of which about 7,000 fought Commonwealth forces in the Burma Campaign and in the northeast Indian regions of Kohima and Imphal; others became POW camp guards at Changi. Later that day as they were passing close to and masked by the Karim Islands a Japanese destroyer was sighted. [114] The withdrawing troops received harassing attacks all the way back. Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. Japanese aircraft continuously bombed the civilian water supply which was expected to fail within days. Unfortunately, despite all efforts, some military at the point of a gun, forced their way on board. As Kedahs engines could not be repaired she was towed by Dragonand both safely reached Colombo. [57] Much of the equipment and resources of the garrison had been incorrectly allocated to the north east sector, where the most complete and freshest formationthe 18th Infantry Divisionwas deployed, while the depleted 8th Australian Division sector with two of its three brigades had no serious fixed defensive works or obstacles. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. This was achieved by moving the defending forces from the beaches along the northern shore and from around Changi, with the 18th Infantry Division being tasked to maintain control of the vital reservoirs and effecting a link up with Simmons' Southern Area forces. The Japanese forces also used bicycle infantry and light tanks, allowing swift movement through the jungle. With only two boats it would take several trips to get all personnel to some wooded islands about 5 miles distant. For the rest of December there were false alerts and several infrequent and sporadic hit-and-run attacks on outlying military installations such as the Naval Base but no raids on Singapore City. With that in mind, thoughts of evacuation were therefore unnecessary. [79] The lack of an effective air early warning system throughout the campaign meant that many Commonwealth aircraft were lost in this manner during Japanese attacks against airfields. The rest of the crew, with little seafaring experience, were from Dalforce. [69] The Australians numbered just 3,000 men and lacked any significant reserve. The book starts by recounting the events leading up to the Japanese conquest of British Singapore. These recordings can be accessed through Apple iTunes or for Android users, Stitcher. Brigadier Archie Paris with Major Angus Macdonald commandeered a private yacht Celia, skippered by Captain Mike Blackwood, and together with a number of other Highlanders made their way to Padang, only to join the ill-fated SS Rooseboom. Along the way, the severe class-conciousness of the British Army in WWII becomes quite clear, and not a whole lot happens. A further requirement was that the Japanese Rising Sun Flag be hoisted over the Cathay Building, the tallest building in Singapore. Army officials were instructed that passes should go to men of outstanding ability with the intention of integrating this nucleus with Javanese troops in Batavia. I rely on you to show no mercy to weakness in any form. Copy and paste this code into your Wikipedia page. Those remaining of the ships companies from Prince of Walesand Repulse after successive drafts had been sent to other ships, among them two officers, LEUT G. Brooks and LCDR A.H. Terry, with about 200 men. [160], The loss of Singapore, along with other defeats in Southeast Asia in 1942, reduced British prestige in the region. Print This Page. Escape from Singapore, 1942;: The story of an incredible voyage through enemy waters, ASIN It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness. As they had destroyed all code books the Rear Admiral Malaya was thereafter unable to read signals. [85][86] That evening, three Fairmile B motor launches attacked and sank several Japanese landing craft in the Johor Strait around its western channel on the evening of 9 February. Over the final five-day period before surrender on Sunday 15 February 1942, about 5000 souls escaped but less than one in four made a safe landing, the rest being killed or captured. [117] With the Commonwealth still losing ground, senior officers advised Percival to surrender in the interest of minimising civilian casualties. According to Woodburn-Kirby the majority of deserters were from administrative units or were men who had only recently arrived in Malaya and were inadequately trained. Urgent requests for fire support were made and throughout the night the 2/15th Field Regiment fired over 4,800 rounds. 64 Sentai lost three Ki-43s and claimed five Hurricanes. [118][119] The Japanese captured the water reservoirs that supplied the town but did not cut off the supply. The next day the irrepressible Bill Reynolds arrived in Kofoku Maru and took off a further 70 walking wounded. Three small patrols were sent on the evening of 6 February, one was spotted and withdrew after its leader was killed and their boat sunk and the other two managed to get ashore. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! ML 310was waiting in the stream for Rear Admiral Spooner and Air Vice Marshal Conway Pulford to embark. Conventional British military thinking was that the Japanese forces were inferior and characterised that the Malayan jungles as "impassable"; the Japanese were repeatedly able to use it to their advantage to outflank hastily established defensive lines. On 11 November 1940 the German raider Atlantisencountered the Blue Funnel liner Automedon. Government authorities had been tardy and inefficient in the evacuation of civilians until only a few days before and now, as the last vessels that could be remotely called ships prepared to leave, chaotic scenes were taking place at the Singapore wharves as dozens of European and Eurasian civilian men, together with hundreds of servicemen from the UK, Australia, India and New Zealand scrambled onto any vessel departing that would take them. Trouble signing in? Many European and Eurasian women and children were evacuated before the end of December. Please try again. [174] British forces had planned to reconquer Singapore in Operation Mailfist in 1945, but the war ended before it could be carried out. [88] Throughout the day, the 44th Indian Infantry Brigade, still holding its position on the coast, began to feel pressure on its exposed flank and after discussions between Percival and Bennett, it was decided that they would have to retire eastwards to maintain the southern part of the Commonwealth line. While we do not have a crew and passenger list, LTCOL McKerron and LCDR Whitaker were both serving in Colombo in 1942 and it is assumed they arrived in Perak. The main weight of the Japanese force, about 13,000 men, from 16 assault battalions, with five in reserve, attacked the 22nd Australian Brigade. Along the way, the severe class-conciousness of the British Army in WWII becomes quite clear, and not a whole lot happens. [126], The following day, the remaining Commonwealth units fought on. From The Daily Telegraph 14 November. Carew, Tim, The Fall of Hong Kong, Anthony Blond, London, 1960. Naval Historical Society of Australia Inc. 4 Bill Reynolds, later working for American Intelligence, was landed behind enemy lines in Malaya in November 1943. [141] They returned with orders that Percival himself proceed with staff officers to the Ford Motor Factory, where Yamashita would lay down the terms of surrender. The RAF provided meals and then loaded their guests onto three buses which took them to the nearest railhead. Lord Langford, who has died aged 105, was one of Wales's most colourful characters; during the Second World War he was involved in a daring escape from Singapore after the Japanese took control of the island, an adventure described by Ian Skidmore in Escape From the Rising Sun in 1973. The flight from the island became a lottery with the odds stacked heavily against the escapees. Michael Pether (Pether 2018), whose parents were in Singapore2, also describes the scene: On the evening of 13 February 1942 as the Japanese Army tightened its encirclement of the central area of the city of Singapore the Allied troops and civilians endured constant bombing and artillery shelling the city was in flames; thousands of dead bodies littered the streets and much of the city lay in ruins. An important ship to reach Padang was the cruiser HMS Dragonwhich embarked many evacuees. [60] In comparison, following the withdrawal, Percival had about 85,000 men at his disposal, although 15,000 were administrative personnel, while large numbers were semi-trained British, Indian and Australian reinforcements that had only recently arrived. [61], In the days leading up to the Japanese attack, patrols from the Australian 22nd Brigade were sent across the Straits of Johor at night to gather intelligence. Pether, Michael, Extensive research papers & web sites,Auckland, 2018. Property of the Rajah of Sarawak, she was requisitioned by the Admiralty, lightly armed andgivenacoatofgreypaint.Sheretainedher civilian crew who were given naval reserve ranks, commanded by Captain Richard Borton. To avoid capture, the senior officers came ashore before she was examined by a Japanese boarding party and her engines disabled. The General, accompanied by his ADC, Lieutenant Gordon Walker, and staff officer Major Charles Moses3plus some Malaysian officers arranged to hire a junk. When Automedonrefused to stop she was raked by shells, killing the captain and his bridge team. I could not help wondering why such an outflow of civilians, Europeans as well as Asians, should have been allowed at this late hour. A boarding party discovered a small weighted bag destined to have been thrown overboard. Major Geoffrey Rowly-Conwy of the Royal Artillery refuses to by Ian Skidmore The British Lieutenant-General, Arthur Percival, commanded 85,000 Allied troops at Singapore, although many units were under-strength and most units lacked experience. This is without a doubt the most boring WWII book I've come across. Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app. Brooke, Geoffrey, Singapores Dunkirk, Leo Cooper, London, 1989. The Armys strength was further limited by a lack of tanks, armoured cars and a shortage of anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns. After some boring to-ing and fro-ing, a small band of some twenty or so British officers are selected to escape to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) on a dubious native craft. Naval Historical Review, Ship histories and stories, WWII operations, History - WW2 Singapore, Ship losses, Australian Naval History Podcasts The British troops left in the city of Singapore were basically garrison troops. 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