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thanks mike you have been a great help could you let me know when you send email, can i make a donation of your choice reguards chri m

In 1941 B Squadron 3rd Hussars was sent to Singapore as reinforcements but were diverted to Java when Singapore fell, where after a brief fight they were ordered to surrender and spent the rest of the war as prisoners of war. Fifty four members of B Squadron died as prisoners of the Japanese Army.

hi mike your are such a great help i surpose im asking to much to no every detail, im sorry on his questonair form it states his detachment or block leader joe write hussars 3. alongside camp leader l/t frowe . i managed to locate l/t frow to osaka 4b its the hussars 3 bit i dont understand. i would love to no when he travalled to the far east from which port and ship. i have done my homework on the norfolks ,and have also written army personael centre regaurding is records and medals if he had any, hope you understand all that . thank you so much mike x

Hi Chris, ( re Private Joseph Morris)
I think you are at the point where you have to start putting a few assumptions into play. You probably already have more information than many are able to get but sometimes you have to accept that the jigsaw has a few missing pieces.
The first problem is how/why was he in Java. The 6th Norfolks never went to Java, but fought in Malaya. Josephs file lists him as Missing at Sanggarang (Malaya) on 26.01.1942. When they became cut off, the troops were told to make their own way back to Singapore through the jungle. About 200 men made their way to Ponggor where they were taken off by navy gunboats. I believe you have to assume that a gunboat took him to Java rather than Singapore.
The next assumption has to be the discrepancy where he states he was in Java until 23.06.43 and then Japan from 23.06.43, yet the files state October 1943.
I believe you have to assume that he was probably in Bandung Camp (mid country) until 23.06.43 and then moved to the coast at Batavia where he remained until October 43, before going on the hellship.
I will email you some files that show the dates.

hi again mike, i have a few dates can you make any sence of it please im going round in circles. here are dates from his questionair form , also i no you are on the right track as p/n is correct 6023. date of capture 7/5/42 java untill 23/6/43/ then osaka 23/6/43 untill 15/6/45 then it states15/6/45 untill 8/9/45 ikuno , would like to a little something i understand osaka and ikuno part , its java i dont understand ie why so long in java when my research has come up against a brick wall, hope you can understand what i mean brains overloaded a big thank you

thanks mike great help

Hi Paul, re Driver James Anthony Jacob Straker . The only information I can add for you is that he was sent to the Death Railway on 20.03.1943 in train 6. This would make him as part of D Force, who were spread over a wide area including Tarsao, Hintock, Konyu and Kinsayok and some worked on the notorious Hellfire Pass cutting.

Hi Gerry. . Yes I can see your uncle on the "N Party" list. Why dont you contact Bobbie Collins direct and see if he wants a copy of the photo, and maybe for Georges daughter in Australia.

Hi Mike

I believe that i may well have photo of g poltock with my uncle on board empress of canada if you do not have all ready.

Hi Mike

I have just found that my uncle George Homewood was also part of N party, who was also in 3 rd corps.

1092991 Driver James Anthony Jacob Straker Royal Artillery.07/11/1940 Enlisted at Bristol into Artillery-embodied Territorial Army12/12/1940 Embodiment & posted to 3rd Field Training Regiment10/06/1941 Posted to 135 Field Regiment-499 battery
15/02/1942 Reported missing (Fall of Singapore 14th Feb 1942)Transferred to No 1 Camp Siam Thialand Changi (possibly Feb 1942)
19/10/1945Repatriated & arrived in United Kingdom (Bangkok Rangoon-Liverpool). Thats as much as i know of my fathers time as a POW. He never spoke about it, although he did have a apperback book in the 1960's which he hid the pictures from us children. If anyone new anyhting else I would appreciate it. He died in 1990 aged 69 years. Thankyou

Chris ........ Bandung POW Camp under Lt.Col. "Weary" Dunlop. Sailed to Singapore appx 29.09.1943 (or 01.10.43) probably on Makassar Maru or possibly Ussuri Maru, as part of Java 17 Party. Sailed onward to Japan . Liberated from Ikuno Prison Camp . Osaka 19B renamed as Osaka 4B. Prisoner number 6023. Made to work in the Mitsubishi Copper Mines.

Chris, to get you going, the common spelling is BANDUNG but sometimes also BANDOENG.

please can anyone help im trying to trace the movements of private joseph morris 5773189 6th norfolks captured java . i have been on many a site most differ on information and some even spelling my dads name wrong , which is really annoying. anyway has anybody heard of pow camp bendeng java. after much research i still cant locate this camp. short story i have only just discoverd my dads past as he died back in 1965 in a car crash i was just one at the time, i only just traced his family that refuse to help , well almost apart from sue who is a star but info sketchy. please anyone would be a great release of pressure, its so hard researching about your own father regards chris m

Mike, I know that George and Stanley were together in the POW camp for some time and that my Dad did not take the train up to the Burma railroad. This is because of stories my Dad told us near the end of his life. He did talk about demonstrating in the POW camp about the better rations that the British officers received. So he and other POWs ate grass as a gesture of their disgust.

My Dad, Stanley Attwood, and George Poltock were together for some time after the surrender.The movements I referred to in my email were about what happened to them after being captured. Stanley & George remained lifelong friends and died within weeks of each other in 1993. I am still in contact with George's daughter, who has lived in Australia for about 50 years. Thanks for your help.

Isobel ... Corporal Cyril Ashmead. Service number 5776740. Captured Singapore 15.02.1942. At the time of capture he is not listed with the Norfolk Regiment , but with HQ 53 Infantry Brigade. Address shown as 74 Snointon (? faded) Dale, Nottingham. Sent by train to Siam Railroad on 19.03.1943 on train 5, as part of "D Force". The Canada aspect of his journey east, was that he sailed from the Clyde (Gourock) on 30.10.1941 probably on the Sobieski for Halifax, Nova Scotia, arriving 08.11.1941. In Halifax they transferred to the American troopship Mount Vernon. The unusual part of this, is that America was not yet in the war, yet were offering a convoy. This convoy was destined for Basra. This was a convoy of 6 troopships and 12 American destroyers etc. They sailed south to Trinidad and then east to Freetown in Sierra Leone. During the voyage Japan attacked Pearl Harbour and America was now at war. The destroyers returned to America and British destroyers took over the protection. The troopships were also diverted from their destination of Basra, to Singapore. They arrived late January 1942, so hardly had time to unpack before they became prisoners of war about 2 weeks later.

Bobbie ... Sgmn George Poltock. Service number 2358903. Address, 16a Wells Drive, Kingsbury, London. Sent to the Siam Railroad on 04.11.1942 as part of "N Party", under the command of Lt. Col. Scott of the 2/17 Dogra Rgt. 13 trainloads of 650 men, total 8,450 men over 13 days. George was 3rd Corps. and not 11th Div. as was your father. Im a bit confused what you mean when you state that you hope his movements will help to identify your Dads movememnts as you already know he remained in Changi. If you mean prior to the surrender they seem NOT have been together, so you may need to get the War Diary. If you need this Diary, I can email you a contact who may be able to help.

I am the daughter of Cyril Giles Ashmead who was a POW with the Norfolk regiment. I know he went a long trip to Canada before getting to Singapore and then being involved in the building of the railway. Any information would be greatly appreciated. He died before telling me much about it all apart from doing a class talk on a "Town like Alice" When I was 15. Now I have children of my own and would love to know more...

You are doing great, Mike. Thanks!

I am trying to follow the journey of my great uncle during WW11
Leo Ryan signalman Australian imperial Force
8 division.
He was a p o w Fukuoka 22 and possibly Kobe House.
I would appreciate any information on him and / or these institutions.

Bobbie, Sorry , information below is incorrect. I have confused a George Poltock with an William Poltock. I can now see that George was a signalman and also at singapore. Will check for more detail

Bobbie, Lt. George Poltock was taken prisoner on Christmas Day 1941 in Hong Kong, so was more than 1,500 miles away from your dads location of Singapore. They would not have the same storyline.

You could not find out much about my father and his POW records in Singapore. Any chance you could find something about two of his POW friends: George Poltock (British army) and Russell Braddon (Australian army & well known author and media personality)? That may give us an indication of my Dad's movements.

Thanks, Mike for looking for information on my father, Stanley Gordon Attwood.