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Looking for information on Fred Heywood, from Swindon Wilts.
I believe he escaped from a Japanese POW camp and made it back to the UK.
Sorry I can't be more specific.
Thanks for replying
Nick Tanner

I am looking for any information on my Father Sydney Martin. He was in the Indian Army and Captured in Singapore.
I think he ended up at Malai Camp No2 ?
Thank you

Hi Helen. Your Grandfather, Gunner Wilfred Heywood, service number 1587626, was a member of 241 battery, 77 Heavy Anti Aircraft Regiment (77 HAA). He was stationed at Soerabaja on Java. On 01.03.1942 with the impending Japanese assault, they moved to the Tjilatjap area. The Java capitulation occurred on 08.03.1942 and Wilfred became a POW, initially being taken to the camp at Tanjong Priok in Batavia. On 09.02.1943 he was taken to the docks and boarded the hellship Roko Maru, as part of "Java Party 13", for journey to Singapore and then destination to be decided thereafter. There were 1000 men put into the holds for what was thankfully a short journey arriving on 12.02.1943. Taken to Changi, and later Selarang camps, before a return to Changi, he avoided the shipments of many of the other men to the Death railroad or Japan Mainland. He is listed as still being within Changi at Liberation on 2nd September 1945. Copies of files available if wanted, showing his name.

Hi, I am looking for information regarding my grandfather, Wilfred Lionel Heywood. I know he was a Pow in Changi prison for some part of the war. He was in the British army. Any details gratefully received.

Linda. re your father Jack Halliday. He is not listed on the master lists as a POW, and also does not appear on lists of captures from the following years of the Burma Campaigns. Many had a terrible time just trying to survive against the Japanese, and would return home in a terrible state. Perhaps this could be the fate of your father. I believe it to be extremely unlikely he was on the Railroad.

My father would never speak of the war but was extremely damaged.
He was posted to Burma is all I know..
My mother was told he was near death on hi return.
His name was Jack Albert Halliday from London.
I wonder if he was on the railway?

Hi Jane. Unfortunately, despite a long period of search I have found absolutely no trace of your uncle. Hunting through all the main POW lists find just one Glyn Lewis but he died in Burma in 1945. (you have confirmed via email that your uncle did return to UK). His gravestone lists he was from Pontypridd and mother was named Gertrude, so no match.
So with no POWs by that name the next most likely result (no proof, just suggestions) is that he was caught in the Burma Campaign, fighting the Japanese, and possibly the battles in India at Kohima.
It seems highly unlikely he was ever at River Kwai as his name does not appear on any list, so this is probably a family story that has come from an assumption of where he was. This is extremely common and has occurred to hundreds over the years, and only now as documents are opened at the National Archives are true facts able to be confirmed or rejected. I do hope I am proven wrong and someone finds some evidence for you.

Long shot I know my dad’s brother originally from Rhhonda Valley in south Wales Glyn Lewis was a Japanese pow and was apparently part of the crew they were to build the bridge over the river Kwai. His mother was Annie May Lewis my dad was his younger brother Douglas Erith Lewis and I believe there were 2 older sisters myfanwy and I actually don’t know the name of the other sister. There were different fathers so am unsure of Glyn fathers name . 

David, yes thats him. Born 24/11/1917. Mother Ethel, father Samuel. 59 Lid Lane Cheadle. Not clear but I think it says he was a baker.

Thanks Mike - I never knew that information - I had always been told he was in Changi the entire war - Could there be another with the same name? He was from Cheadle, Staffs, born in 1917 (?}

Hi David. I am certain your father had a more dramatic experience than, as you quote, " He was kept in Changi until liberation" Gunner George Keeling, 842394, was in the 9th Coast Regiment, Royal Artillery. These were the Big Guns of Singapore. After surrender on 15/02/42 he was involved in Work Parties around Singapore. On 24/10/42 he was entrained for Siam to work on the Burma/Siam Railroad of Death. Unfortunately his Liberation Questionnaire is so feint it is impossible to read his camps. We do know however that he returned to Singapore as he boarded one of the hellships at Singapore on 3/2/45. This was the Haruyasa Maru which five days later arrived in Indochina at Port St. Jacques on the Mekong Delta, and then sailed up to Saigon. George was taken to Camp 10 on the Rue Catinat opposite the docks, where I assume he laboured until liberation.
Although I have not seen paperwork to confirm, most men from this camp were liberated by flying to Bangkok, then onwards to Rangoon. Many then boarded the Chitral for sailing to Southampton, arriving 28/10/1945.

My father - George William Keeling - served in one of the gunnery regiments
in Singapore and was captured by the Japanese when it fell. He was kept in Changi until liberation in 1945. Does anyone know the name of the regiment or the names of any others who served in the British artillery regiment at the same time?

Hi Holly. Reference Sgt. Frank Holmes. 16th Defence Regiment R A. Service number probably 860431 but often put as 860471. (The number you gave of WO361/2172 is a Government file reference and now stored at the National Archives). He was a regular soldier having enlisted on 11.07.1936. He listed his sister Mrs Rowbotham to be his contact back home in Sheffield. He was captured at the surrender of Singapore on 15.02.1942. Involved in work parties around Singapore until 24.10.1942 when he was entrained to slave on the Siam railroad. Five days of hellish conditions bought them to the southern end of the railroad. By 16.11.1942 he had moved to Kanchanaburi, a large transit camp and hospital. Further movements took him to Nakom Patan (June 43) and then Tamuang ( September 43). After this his final camp was Pratchai (many different spellings) in (May 1945). He was liberated from this camp on 01.09.1945. Although no documents have survived regarding passenger lists home, he probably was flown to Rangoon and then shipped home via Ceylon/India, Suez, to Southampton or Liverpool.

Hello...
We are currently doing our family tree and have come
to a dead end and are looking for some information on Frank Holmes.
We think he was a Sergeant in POW 4 Thailand. We have his WO number as 361/2172?
Any extra information would be fantastic as this is all we can find!

Hi Susan, The camp was Nakom Paton. This was about 50 miles from Bangkok and opened in May 1944 as a replacement hospital, ready built, for 10,000 men, as Chungkai closed down. You can confirm the camp name by looking at Michaels Liberation Questionnaire, and you will see his camp leader id James Sainter. If you now go back to COFEPOW and get James Lib. Q. you will see the correct spelling. (or at least one of many spellings)

Trying to identify POW camps where my father"s cousin Michael Henry Swann was held
https://lq-cofepow.org/collections/swaminathan-taylor/products/swann-michael-henry
I am familiar with/have identified all the camps with the exception of the second last one.
What I see is Noncompaton, which doesn"t fit at all.

Changi
Ban Pong
Chungkai
Ban Khao
Chungkai
??????
Kamburi (until 8/45 so assuming that"s when the camp was liberated)

Grateful if you can shed any light!

Michael survived the war, married, had two children, and passed away in 2015 at the age of 95.

Hi Stewart, As I stated when you previously posted on 20.01.2023, Liang is on Ambon Island, and your Dad would have suffered at the hands (and boots) of the Japanese Marines. If you pull up a map of Ambon, it is right up the north and slightly east.

Hello,
I understand that my father, Graham Lait, was one of the 1200 men of Liang. He died as a result of his privations in 1960, when I was 9. I plan to visit Indonesia in February 2024 and cannot find Liang in atlases or anywhere else. Can you give me any guidnce as to its location so I can set about getting transport from Djakarta.Thank you in hopes.

Hi,

I’ve got quite a bit of info on my Great Uncle but apart from the CWG and Gordon Highlanders museum here in Aberdeen I don’t know where else to look. Would be nice to see photos or anything else available to me that I’ve maybe missed. His name was Donald Findlay and enlisted in the 2nd battalion of the Gordon Highlanders. Service number 2876342.

Thanks for your time and help with this.

John, I believe the information already posted by Andrew and Glenda is going to be hard to add to.

I am looking for any information with regard to Frank Jeremy Hedges service number 915462.He was xaptured on 15 February 1942 and liberated on 4 September 1945.This is on behalf of a friend

Lisa, although I am not going to be able to offer any more clarity, and its only probably the service records will do this. Its beginning to look like the outcome is heading towards the fact that he was a member of occupying forces in Japan after the Japanese surrender.It sounds more likely that the Japanese became his POWs rather than he was a POW.

I’ve just found one of his army documents which states: 
14427112 Pte E Potter
H.Q. Coy
2nd Btln Dorsetshire Regt
British and Indian Troops in Japan
C/o 165 Sub Area
23 A.B.P.O
INDIA COMMAND

Is there a possibility that the listing that shows him with 1st Battalion was incorrect?

Thank you Mike and Dorsets Archives. Really appreciate you responding. 
That’s really helpful. We have photographs of him in the Army and they each have India and Burma written on the back.
Yes, family info can certainly get distorted. My Mum and other family members clearly remember him talking about being in Burma.
I have Malaysian currency and far east items that he came home with, which I think were dated between 1945-47, and so it’s a little confusing really.
We’ll apply for his service record and hopefully that will fill in the gaps.

Thank you Mike and Dorsets Archives. Really appreciate you responding. 
That’s really helpful. We have photographs of him in the Army and they each have India and Burma written on the back.
Yes, family info can certainly get distorted. My Mum and other family members clearly remember him talking about being in Burma.
I have Malaysian currency and far east items that he came home with, which I think were dated between 1945-47, and so it’s a little confusing really.
We’ll apply for his service record and hopefully that will fill in the gaps.