Guestbook

I have been tracing the journey of a family member, who was very little spoken of. In fact I have never been able to track down any photographs of him.
The gentleman’s name is John Edward Parkins Private 4977341, and was in the ⅕ Battalion of Sherwood Foresters.
He was captured at the Fall of Singapore and like others spent time in Pow camps. I have traced him (through his Liberation Questionnaire )to the camps of Changi ; 19th February 1942 - 10th April 1942
River Valley ; 10th April - 20th August 1942, Tanhong (Tanjong) Rhu ;  20th August - 30th October 1942 Haiko ; 30th  November 1942  - May 2nd 1943, Kinkaksi ; May 2nd 1943 - 21st February 1945 and Fukuoka  24B March 1945 - August 1945. Obviously he had to travel on the Hell Ships to get to Taiwan and Japan, I haven’t been able to clarify which one/s. After liberation I have tracked him to Nagasaki on the 14th and 16th September 1945.
After this long ramble my question/sis that I have found him in Manila, how would he have got there, then find him down as a passenger on the Implacable.Researching recently how he got back home is proving a mystery, as I have read the Implacable stopped off Esquimalt in Canada. Did the Implacable travel on to Britain or did he travel by another ship?

Apologies, I forgot to add my email to my previous post.

I"m looking for information on my great granda, James McNab. He was a POW that worked on the Thai-Burma railway. I"m currently reading the book he wrote so any more information would be gratefully received!

I recently obtained one of the Thai-Burma Rail Link Commemorative Medallions which were presented to officials at the opening of the rail link on 17/10/1943. I have found very little info on the net other than an example held in the IWM and would very much appreciate any info/links/contacts that could assist me to determine its history. My uncle"s brother was a POW on the railway and his date of death is recorded as 17/10/1943, consequently I have a particular interest in this item. Appreciate any help with my quest.

Thank you for your reply Mike, I cant imagine what it must
have been like to be put in that situation, I am doing this for
my mum so anything I am able to collate will be appreciated.
I would very much like to take you up on your offer of copies of any
info on Herbert that you might be able to send to me
it will help me piece together his journey,
the family never spoke about Herbert according to my mum,
but his story is important and should be
documented for my family and future
generations.

Many thanks
Susan

Hi Susan, re Private Herbert Simmons. According to his Liberation Questionnaire courtesy of Cofepow, he was a regular soldier who had enlisted in 1936 and not 1941 as you believed. Also, the camp of Kiangwan is in Shanghai, China and is where the survivors of the Lisbon Maru were taken to for recovery. This camp had many Americans who had become prisoners on Guam. Most of the men remained in this camp from October 1942 to May 1945. An entry written in Japanese on his Index Card, translates to something like "Nov.14th 1944, charged with stealing alcohol. Slept in Heavy Pipe Warehouse overnight" A short period in Peking then saw them sent to Hakodate 2B Akahira., where slaves for the coal mines were needed. His liberation in September 1945 saw him bought to Manila in the Philippines and he sailed homeward as passenger 338 onboard USS General Brewster. She sailed on 18.10.1945 for San Francisco via Hawaii, and arrived on 03.11.1945. No further paperwork trails have been found after this, but it is known that most took a train up to Vancouver, and then had a further 5 day journey across Canada and down to New York. Queen Mary would have been a likely target for the final journey. I have various files if you want copies.

Private Herbert Edward Simmons was my
Mothers Cousin, he was born in 1918.
Herbert joined the Middlesex Regiment
as his Father Joseph had done in WW1,
when he joined 1941 Herbert was was
located to Hong Kong, he was captured
in 1942 as far as I can make out and sent to
 Sham Shuipo Camp He was 23 years old,
I know from the information I have that
he was on the unmarked ship The Lisbon
Maru which was torpedoed and sunk by a
US Sub, he was thought to be missing but
was found to have been recaptured by the
Japanese and taken to Kiangwan Hakodate
 Camp. He was liberated in 1945.
He is on a hospital list with other soldiers
but I don’t have the name of the hospital he
was taken to.
 This is all I have been able to find out so
far. He died in Huntingdon in 1981.
I don’t have any other information or photos.

Hi Linda, ref. your Grandfather, Gunner William Williams. He was a regular soldier having joined up 7 years earlier in 1934. There was very little paperwork to follow a trail which was mainly due to the fact that as a POW he never seemed to leave Singapore. His Liberation Questionnaire which he completed himself, lists his camps as Changi, Havelock Rd, Chinese High School, Selarang and then back to Changi., and confirms he was taken prisoner at Singapore on 15/02/1942, the date of capitulation. His main regiment seems to have been the 7th Coast Regiment, but he was seconded to work in the HQ of Penang Fire Command. I am unclear whether this was in Penang or Singapore, but he was definitely back in Singapore at the date of surrender.. He is listed as being liberated from Changi in September 1945. There is nothing to show him as ever being in Rangoon unless he stopped there on his journey home, but he was certainly not a POW there, as he would have included it on his Liberation Questionnaire.

Hi, I"m looking for information on my grandfather William Howard Williams who was in the Royal Artillery and a POW in Rangoon. His service number is 840604.

Hi Lynn regarding your comments with regard to Edwin Alexander Marmaduke Hay and Leslie Harrison i can tell you that the best place to look is the Forces War Records Web Site. I hav ehad a look and there e are records for these two gentlemen. This is a subscription site and i am a member, if you would like to send me your email i may be able to send the information to you.

Mike just to thank you for the information with regard to my wifes uncle Charles Frederick George Greenway. You mentioned that his final camp was blurred but i have found out that it was Prachuab Kirikhan. This was a camp to which lots of men ex Thai Burma Railway from Nakom Paton were moved. They were working on the Mergui Road. Many who had managed to survive on the railway died there.

Has anyone got any information about Edwin Alexander Marmaduke Hay, service number 4447244.

I am also looking for any information about Leslie Harrison, service number 11051992.

I would be extremely grateful for any information or advice on where to find out about them.

Thanking you in advance

Hi John. Gunner Charles Greenway, 1107750, 80th Anti Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery. (272 Battery)
The newly formed regiment were sent up to Gourock, north of Glasgow, and embarked on the troopship RMS SCYTHIA, bound for a destination unknown at this time. RMS SCYTHIA sailed on 31st August 1941, as part of a convoy of 19 ships, and was known as the WS11 Convoy, sailing via Sierra Leone, and Durban. At Durban the regiment was transferred to 2 smaller ships, with the 215 and the 2 Minden battery embarking on the HMT New Zeeland, and the 272 and 273 battery on the SS Johan de Witt which sailed on 7th October, and arrived in Bombay on 22nd October. A depleted convoy of 6 ships left Bombay on 27th October, calling into Colombo, Sri Lanka on 31st October, and sailed onto Singapore, arriving 6th November 1941). Upon arrival the regiment was split up with each of the 4 batteries being sent to different locations in Malaya. The next time the men met up was as prisoners in Changi on 15/02/1942. Charles completed a Liberation Questionnaire which enables us to see all his camps. Our thanks to Cofepow. Changi to June 42, Non Pladuk to Sept.42,
Tamarkan (Kwai Bridge) to July 43, Kanyu to Nov 43, Tarsoa to April 44, Nakom Paton to Aug 45. .His final camp he lists as (blurred) "Palm beach" Kirikah which I have never heard of.

My Wifes uncle Charles Frederick George Greenway was a POW at Maial 1 .He was captured on 15/02/1942 and liberated on 30/08/1945. His Service Number was 1107750 and he was in the Royal Artillery. We have no other information so any help would be greatly appreciated

Hi Chris, Your uncle completed a Liberation Questionnaire in feint pencil, but someone has enhanced and created a very readable copy. Thanks to the volunteers at Cofepow this can now be viewed. His camps were: Changi to 14.5.42, Havelock Rd to 9.10.42, Kinsaiock (Thai) to 3.4.43, Chunkai to 21.11.43, Non Pladuk 1 to 22.12.43, Non Pladuk 2 to 24.3.44, Nakon Paton Hospital to 20.3.45 and Kanchanaburi to 2.9.45. Most from this location would then have been liberated to Bangkok, flown to Rangoon and ship home via Colombo and Suez. Camp 4 was actually meaning he worked with men within Group 4 and it covered many camps.

Hi Coreen,

I can add a few answers for you. Sgt. Leslie Stephens, Dockyard Police 0027, was in the third transportation to Japan, so this was probably on the hellship Tatsuta Maru, arriving Moji on 22/01/1943. I believe he was originally in Sakurajima Camp, Osaka 4D, which later changed number to Osaka 8D. The main job here was shipfitting. On 17/05/1945 the camp was destroyed in an air raid and all the men were transferred to Akenobe, Osaka 6B, which was a copper mine.
His Liberation date is shown as 09/09/1945 and he started his journey home from Wadayama railway station. in city of Asago (NOT Wakayama). Others from his camp state they went by train to Yokohama, then by ship to Okinawa, then another ship to Manila, Philippines. I cannot see proof of this part of the journey for Leslie, but the probability is high. The next stage where evidence of him re-emerges, is he is listed on the passenger list of the Hospital Ship Tjitjalengka heading for Wellington, New Zealand. In his notes he is recorded as "Obs. T.B." (Observation ?) and "Next of kin in Australia". The Tjitjalengka sailed onwards to Australia the next day with those wishing to disembark there as long as they were not going to be a burden on Australian medical services. Leslie had recorded Mrs W M Stephens as living in Brisbane. I have no information thereafter.

My uncle William Keith Hargreaves was captured on
15 Feb 1942. His POW card shows he was a Lt with
Recce Corps of 18 Division. Service no 160567. Do
we know where he was imprisoned. I"ve always under-
stood he was at Camp 4 on the railway. I"d be grateful
for any information and/or guidance as where to
search further. Thanks

I"ve taken possession of my grandad"s long service medal as part of the Royal Naval Dockyard Hong Kong Police and understand that he was captured in Hong Kong and taken to a POW camp in Osaka.
Unfortunately the history has been lost as he never spoke about his experiences but I have found a photo of the dutch ship Tjitjalengka in some old paperwork so I"m presuming that might have been how he came back to Hong Kong after the war.
Any information you can supply would be so appreciated as I"m trying to fill the gaps.
His name was Leslie George Stephens. Many many thanks.

Hi Kimberly. Charles George Blease, 3528232, was a regular soldier having joined up in 1935.
He had already seen action in Palestine during the Arab Uprising before 1st Battalion Manchester Regiment was sent to Singapore in 1938. The regiment was stationed at Tanglin Barracks and they took charge of all East Coast Protection duties. The regiments Commanding Officer was Colonel Holmes, who was to take command of all UK and Australian Forces, a few years later, in Changi, after Lt.Gen. Percival and all high command were sent to Taiwan for imprisonment.
Charles records his camps as Changi Feb 1942, Non Pladuk (Thai) Oct 42, Arrow Hill (110Km north) July 43, Non Pladuk Nov 44, and finally Ubon April 45. Ubon is 450 miles from the Railroad in N.E.Thailand and the men were enslaved in airfield construction. Upon liberation, it is believed most of the men were flown to Rangoon, Burma, and then a sea voyage home via Colombo and Suez.

Hi to whomever is reading this, I hope you are well?

I am looking for any information regarding my ancestor, I have gathered as much info as possible via searches but am now at dead end. His name is lance corporal Charles George Blease, Manchester Regiment of the 1st Batallion. Service number 3528232 I believe he may have been capture in the Fall of Singapore in 1942, as a pow camp card I found via ancestry and the national archives states his place of capture as Singapore in 1942. I do not know which camp or camps he went to inbetween this period, only that in 1945 he was sent to the ubon camp in thailand and then liberated some time after. He unfortunately passed 8th May 1946 in an unfortunate train accident. I am looking for any information at all regarding where he was inbetween this, any info at all on him would be greatly appreciated. thank you for the great effort you put into the website, it is incredible

My grandfather, Raymond Johnson, was a of War who died while captive by the Japanese. I’m looking for any information.  I don’t have his service number. Wife’s name was Helen Helmouth. They were both Philippine
 Citizens.

Hi Howard.. BSM Kenneth Street actual name was Ralph Kenwyn Street and that is the name he is buried under. He was in the 241 Battery of the 77 Heavy Anti Aircraft Regiment , Royal Artillery.
This regiment was formed , and consisted of many sportsmen from Cardiff and Newport areas. The regiment arrived in Batavia (now Jakarta) in early Feb 1942, and the men joined a road convoy to Sourabaya, but with more men than lorries many troops were to make the journey by train.
At 3:00am the next morning the train was in a head on collision with a goods train carrying bombs and 3 trucks of gasoline. Around 30 men died and 100 were injured. Although never proved it was rumoured to be sabotage by a Japanese loyal signalman. All these men had died within 24 hours of arrival in Java. The date was Feb 5th/6th 1942 and Java capitulated on March 8th so none of the men who died were ever prisoners of war.

I am trying to trace the death of Cardiff rugby
player BSM Kenneth I Street who I think was killed
in "a terrible train crash" on Java in 1942.
More than that I do not know.

Karen, I have just read a report on the Ying Ping which includes the details of Cpl Robert Seddon of the Royal Marines. I believe others would wish to read it also, and this is the address (copy"n"paste). This report includes Roberts affidavit for the War Crimes Trial. https://www.malayanvolunteersgroup.org.uk/uploads/1/0/7/3/107387685/passenger_list_hms_yin_ping_november_2020.pdf
As you can see from the pdf address you will also benefit and possibly find relatives of survivors at the Malayan Volunteers Group as they have a detailed section of Singapore Evacuation Ships.
https://www.malayanvolunteersgroup.org.uk/ (copy"n"paste)

My uncle sent on here a message below. He unfortunately didn"t have any answers
Did anyone knew or shared stories about Robert Henry Seddon?

"My father, Robert Henry Seddon cpl RM. on Repulse and Yin Ping. POW muntok camp. Witnessed Australian nurses murdered on the beach Banka Island. If anyone has a relative who may have shared this part of his life, i would like to share the information i have".