Ackroyd George Harry

 Anfield - Bombardier

 Atkins, William, 41st fortress company

 Barnfield, Samuel

 Bevan, Sgt Cyril77 HAA

 Blain, George

 Bowman, Robert Andrew 2Lt- 6th Royal Norfolks

 Boyce, Bobby, 125th Anti Tank Regiment

 Brayan, Poeloe

 Brown, Bob - Royal Marine

 Cooper, Jack

 Crabb, Charles Henry

 Dovell, Ronald Leonard, Sgt, DFM

 Drysdale - Civilians, Sime Road Camp

 

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Ackroyd George Harry

Capt Chris Ackroyd REME - Christianackroyd@aol.com

I'm currently researching the missing gaps in my grandfather's service.
He is 2979950 GEORGE HARRY ACKROYD from Leeds. He joined 2 A&SH in
1937 and served through to 1948. He was captured in Singapore in 42, i beleive he went to the Tamakan camp. Can any one remeber him or his where abouts and shed anymore light on his service?

I'm hoping my purchase of moon over malaya might shed some light.

PLease E-Mail Christianackroyd@aol.com or telephone 0049 5162 9712732

Does anyone recognise the attached photo. I beleive it was taken about 1937, before Pte George Harry Ackroyd departed from the UK to India to join his Battalion the 2nd Bn Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. He served with the Bn in Malaya and was captured sometime in early Jan 42, at the time the Slim River battles. He spent his time as a POW in Puda Gaol and Tailand (Tamarkan?). After his release in 45 he continued to serve in the 1st Bn in Egypt and Palestine, unitil he left to get married in 1949.

I have a good idea of his service, but i'm trying to get first hand accounts of those who knew him, sadly he died in 1975. If you knew him i would really appreciate a chat.

C A ACKROYD
Capt

Arthur - >Chris, Sorry I am too thick to be able to operate all the security signals so could not view the pic. Have you read the book Moon Over Malaya, which concerns the Argylls mainly.
It is by Audrey McCormick and John Moffat maybe that will give some idea and point to those who were with George.

Denis - >Christian Ackroyd, The 2nd Batt. A & S were in Shanghai till Autumn 1941, and were the last British unit there except the Shanghai Volunteer Corps. They went to Singapore, were jungle trained and fought in the rearguard all the way to Singapore island. Their pipers were the last British to cross the bridge. This is depicted in a Christmas card from the A&S museum at Stirling Castle, which has a very complete history of the regiment with photos. Suggest you contact the curator.

 

Anfield - Bombardier

Jean - I am trying to trace a Bombardier Anfield from 3rd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery who was a friend of my father's when he was interned at Saigon in 1942/3.

I have done a lot of research in to my Dad's history and have discovered that there are some references to him in Major Close's diary. Close records Bom. Anfield as being my Dad's best friend. Dad was one of the 695 Gunners who were separated out from the rest and moved up to the railway. Bom. Anfield remained behind.

If anyone has any knowledge or information re Bom. Anfield I would be very pleased to hear from them.

Atkins, William , 41st fortress company

Ray - rd004a6636@blueyonder.co.uk

I am trying to find out more about my father-in-law WILLIAM ATKINS who was in the 41st fortress company r.e in changi.At the moment i do not know a lot what went on but wondered if you could help with how to obtain any information.I have lots of photos of changi and singapore before invasion but do not know anything after that.I know he was in singapore where he was captured and sent to changi.He was in the malaya command singapore fortress.Thanks for reading this hope to here from you soon.I have some photos at my site i am just building with more to follow. www.warfriends.co.uk

Barnfield Samuel

hrebing - Some Memories of my English and German Grandfathers

Does anyone have or can anyone help me with information about my grandfather?He was a member of the Royal Norfolk Regiment during the War.I believe he was in the 5th Battalion.He was captured after the fall of Singapore and I believe he was a POW for 3+ years.Thats about all I know ...when I visited with him before he passed away he did not discuss the past too much.I believe he one told me he was also at Dunkirk..his name is Samuel Barnfield. He was born in Tipton Staffordshire on Dec 1st 1919 and was married to Florence Louise Madden. They lived in Norwich until their passing
I was born in Norwich also but now reside in the US.
He also had a brother who seved in the 5th Army in the Desert Campaigns.
My Grandfather was a recipient of the Burma Star among other Medals.Which I have and display with honor and rememberance of him.My last visit to England in 94 I was able to be present at the Rememberance Day activities at the Abby in London.This was a very emotional experience for me as my grandfather had passed on in 1990 and I was never able to tell him how proud I was of him and his sacrifieces and pain he had to endure for the freedom I now have.I spoke to many FEPOW attendies and was glad to have been there by accident....I will never forget that day.

As you can see by my name I am also half German and also had a Grandfather who fought on the German side , he was captured also but by the Russians,and on his way to Russia he was able to jump off the train and make it back to Austria and surrender to the English Army.

I also have a somewhat curious story to add....my great great uncles one german one english, fought in the same battle at the Chaume Forrest in France during WWI, against each other where my German uncle was declared an MIA,and my english uncle was killed.....this has led to many discussions I can tell you....

Any information would be helpfull and appreciated

Thank You
Heinz Rebing...California U>S>A

khnglh - >Heinz, Wow...Interesting family history you got there...

I find it strange that your Granddad has the burma star medal. He would have the Pacific Star instead if he served in Singapore and Malaya.

If he is entitled to the burma star, i think he would be part of some other Norfolk battalion which fought in Burma.

Justin

RonTaylor - Norfolks

The 2nd Norfolk's disembarked in France in Sept. 1939. In May 1940 they were involved with a major German attack on their lines situated near the Maginot Line, on the borders of Belgium,Luxemburg and Germany.
Their first of the five Victoria Cross's won in WWII was won in this battle by C.S.M. Gristock, he died of his wounds.

The Battalion then fought a rearguard action for the retreating Allied troops to Dunkirk.

On the 22nd May the battle continued with heavy casualties, defending the position was made very difficult by German Snipers. The Battalion withdrew that evening and saw the terrible plight of the refugees who got caught by the German shelling. On the 23rd the Battalion had reached La Bassee, after a few hours they were given orders to make their last stand near Le Paradis on May 25th.
By 17.15 hours with most of the officers out of action the Battalion surrender, 90 men were taken prisoner at Le Paradis, they were badly treated by their captors with punctures, kicks and the use of rifle buts. After a time they were forced into a paddock where two machine guns had been set up and forced against a wall. The Germans fired about 200 rounds into them and then bayoneted the dying men where they had fallen. Luckily two of them had been hid by other bodies and although wounded missed the final coup do grace. After the Germans left, a farmer and his wife found the two and cared for their wounds, they were later taken into a German Hospital and survived the war. The evidence of Private Pooley and Private O´Callaghan at the War Crimes Court led to the German officer responsible to be put to death by hanging.

The 2nd were to reform and were later to fight at Kohima and into Burma. This is were his Burma Star could have come from.

The 7th Norfolks also fought in France and were amalgamated with the 51st Highland Div after they where left on enemy held soil after Dunkirk. They made their way to St Valery-en-Caux but as no boats were available to disembark they had to surrender June 12 1940. Only 31 returned to England to fight again, due to an escape in a fishing boat commandeered by Second-Lieutenant Walker.

I suggest you get his service records, this will establish which Battalion he was with during WWII.

Below are some details on the Royal Norfolk's I have put on the net, you could find interesting.

France:-
http://www.britain-at-war.org.uk/Royal_Norfolks_in_France/index.htm

Far East:-
http://www.britain-at-war.org.uk/royal_norfolks_in_far_east/index.htm

Kohima:-
http://www.britain-at-war.org.uk/html/randle.htm
http://www.britain-at-war.org.uk/Royal_Norfolks_in_Kohima/index.htm

D-Day:-
http://www.britain-at-war.org.uk/Royal_Norfolks_D-Day/index.htm
 

 

Bevan, Cyril, Sgt  77 HAA POW died Moena 44

H Fear - pow@fearhoward.plus.com

I am researching my G Uncle, who was probably captured in Java (he was on convoy WS14)-- and according to the book "The Sparrows" died at Moerba, Moena, (of which I know nothing). Sgt Bevan 848210 is buried at Ambon war Cemetry his Battalion 241 (I think), defended the port of Sourabaja. We beleive he was executed for stealing food 24 Oct 1944.

 

Blain, George

suegill - from Fepow Community Message Board

George Blain died Changi camp 1943

Posted 12-30-2002 16:18

I'm looking for any information on my Grandfather George Blain - a civilian who died in Changi January 1943.

Any information on either him or geneneral Changi information would be appreciated.

Bowman, Robert Andrew 2Lt- 6th Royal Norfolks

Mat Bowman - mat_bowman_plumbingheating@hotmail.com

I would be grateful if anybody might have any information on the above person who was my father. He was captured during the fall of Singapore and remained on the Burma railway for the rest of the war. I do know that he was commissioned from the HAC to the Norfolks, spent time training and working on coastal defence in Norfolk, before leaving for the far east. His Company was involved in the ambush by the Japanese at Ayer Hitam (I believe) in which his company commander, Stuart Boardman, was killed.

If anybody knows of any books that mention these parts of the Norfolks history, or of the above incidents, or know of any people who were there, or knew my father I would be most grateful. As with all POWs there is a desire to forget what happened, so talking with my father I only picked up small pieces of indidents before he shut off from the subject.

Thanks Ron for your advice on contacting the records office - but there appears to be some confusion over what the address is judging by the emails sent to me - could you please confirm it

Boyce, Bobby, 125th Anti Tank Regiment

BillyB - Does any recall my dad, Bobby Boyce, 125th Anti Tank Regiment.

He was captured of Singapore, and spent his time on the Burma Siam Railway

Brayan, Poeloe

Andrew - frogknot57@bigpond.com

I have recently joined this list and wonder if anyone has information or experience of the above camps. I have had very little success after many web-searches. The main three that I find are in Dutch which, unfortunately, I cannot translate.

My grandmother was kept at Aik Paminke (at least) and I am waiting for her diaries and letters to be sent from the UK. I gather she also has cards etc. with messages fro the other women in the camp. She was Agatha Simmons, (nee Mussell), known as May or Simmie. She and her husband, Arthur Simmons, were captured while Arthur was managing a rubber plantation in Sumatra.

I'm not sure, yet, where Arthur was held. He had early onset Parkinson's Disease (before the war). Both he and May survived the camps and lived into the early 1960s.

If your are interested, I would be happy to post excerpts from their letters etc. to the list.

I hope that this is an appropriate use of the list.

Ron - Welcome to the Fepow Group and hopefully other members can be of help.
George was on Sumatra, also we have some Dutch members, Lilian's translations could be required again.
I am sure others will agree, we would like you to post the information and look forward to reading it.

Any information is another piece of the jigsaw and could help others.

Maxine - My father was a pow in Sumatra along with Syd Berkley who is also a member of the group. My father was in a camp in Banka and then taken to Palembang camp Sumatra. There was a camp for European women and children in Palembang but this was called (according to a Dutch publication) Prinzes Irenelaan en Prins Bernhardlaan, Talang Semoet 1.4.1942-20.9.1943. There is also more information about the camps in Palembang on the fepow community site under the monthly review. Good luck with your research.

Sharif Dayan - >MaxineThe Bangka Island, now a province. It used to be the part of South Sumatera province.

>Prinzes Irenelaan en Prins Bernhardlaan, Talang Semoet

I think I know this. Is it a church around there ? Please contact Mr. Peter Uiterwijk <peter.uiterwijk@hetnet.nl>. He may could give some enlightment about this. I have invited him to join this list.

 

Brown, Bob - Royal Marine

Tom - Tom.Brown135@btopenworld.com

>Ron, I saw mention of Prince of Wales survivors being amalgamated with Argyle & Sutherland Highlanders and thought I would let you know that Royal Marine Bob Brown was with us in the 135 Regt. RA.I would welcome contact with him if possible. He was a survivor from the Prince of Wales and gave us some interesting talks of their exploits when chasing the German Battleships. I wish to thank you and all others for the research and information and especially the pictures of the convoy. I was in the 135 Field Regt. RA.and travelled from Gourock to Halifax NS.on Sobieski, then to Singapore on Mount Vernon.Thanks for giving me the dates etc.and filling in gaps in my memory.

Peter Bennett - CarolannBennett@aol.com

In the revue for november I saw under the heading Brown, Bob a message from someone called Tom who said he was with the 135 field reg. if it is possible I would like to contact him, as my research is to find the history of an ex 135 man namely
Jack Cooper (also on the nov.revue)
hopefully he may help to fill in some gaps .
 

 

Cooper, Jack 135 hertfordshire yeomanry field reg. R.A.

peterbennett - CarolannBennett@aol.com

my mothers first husband JACK COOPER 135 hertfordshire yeomanry field reg. R.A. Died in thailand 1943 and is buried in Chungkia.I am looking to find any records of camps that he was in and if kept, camp hospital records.I have his service records which only tell me that he was a prisoner of the japonese from 15.02.42-10.09.43. when he died of septicaemia.(not much for £25) I would be obliged if anyone can point me in the right direction.

Keith - I have no idea if you have had a reply, so I will start from scratch. May I suggest you contact;
The British Prisoner of War Graves Archives,
Mr. P.G.Dunstan,
23,Page Street,
Mill Hill,
London. NW7 - 2EL.
Please enclose a stamped addressed envelope to keep his costs to a minimum. You should state full details of 1104085 Gunner Jack Cooper, in short tell him as much as you know.
Chungkai, as well as being the headquaters camp for work group 2, the main hospital camp for work groups 2 and 4, is also one of the main war cemeterys in Thailand. After the war bodies of the POWs who had died on the railway were concentrated in several cemeterys, so it may mean that he did not die at Chungkai. Mr. Dunstan may be able to help you with this.
As it stands at present, I have been informed that the Japanese went to great pains to destroy all records relating to the POWs, and they did keep detailed records. There is no way Army Records would have any information regarding his time on the railway. Is there a Hertfordshire Yeomanry Museum do you know, and if so, would they have a copy of the 135th Field Regiment nominal roll compiled at Changi after the surrender? Just a thought, you might like to try tracking that down. The IWM Documents section may be able to help too. Let me know what Peter tells you, and we may be able to go from there.

peterbennett - CarolannBennett@aol.com

Thanks for the info,I will follow it up and post any replies I obtain on this site. (yours is the only reply I've had)

Ron - Sorry about the late reply.

Try the pages on the Death Railway as background on the Thailand - Burma Railway at:
http://www.fepow-community.org.uk/research/Death_Railway/index.htm

Also there has been alot of messages on the subject, these can be viewed at:
http://www.fepow-community.org.uk/monthly_Revue/html/thailand-burma_railway.htm

The information on Jack Cooper was also added to the Monthly Revue under Researching POW's.
I hope this generates some feedback for you.

Keith - >Peter,
Just a quick note, I will be going to the PRO and the IWM sometime just after Christmas, and will be pleased to look to see what I can find. If my memory serves correctly, Ron Taylor's father was in this camp for quite some time. I have no doubt Ron will help with what he knows, he's like that. I cannot give you an exact date, as it will be a weekend visit, but I will get there no worries. I too am searching for a number of answers.

justin1970 - Would be very grateful to recieve any information on sick lists. My granfather's army book shows he spent two periods here with Cholera

 

Crabb, Charles Henry

Darren Standen - dazza_stan@yahoo.co.uk

I am assisting my wife in searching for any details of her
grandfather.

He was taken prisoner after the fall of singapore and he was a csm in the singapore vlounteer corps. We know that he is buried in kanchanburi cemetery but she wants to know if anyone met him while working on the railway.

He died in January 1943 and was approximately 29 years old his wife was called amy (armina) and was from sumatra. He had 3 children Harry Ellen and william all who made it safely to the uk.

He was also an employee of the tiger beer company pre war.

If anybody has heard or knows anything regarding the singapore volunteer corps please please contact me.

Arthur - >Daren, I can not assist you personally, But as the saying goes I know someone who can. I would suggest that you write or phone Mrs A McCormick 30 Kirk Brae Kincardine Clackmannanshire Falk FK10 4PX , Phone 01259731708

Audrey was born and lived in Singapore, her father was one of the volunteers, He was executed by the Japs 19th Feb.42. Because of this Audrey set out to find out what happened to him and the rest. so she has accumulated a considerable amount of research on the FMSV. complete names and units, and can possibly put you in touch with someone who knew your father.

Anne Ozorio - Please count me in on this one too. Perhaps you could tell us something about the rest of the extended framily and how they fared ?
Privately is welcome.

One should pause to think about the volunteers, whose whole communities were destroyed. It's bad enough being a prisoner but at least for the whites, they knew that their families and homes were relatively safe. Nearly everyone I know became destitute, homeless and worse. Local POWs locals knew all about the Rape of Nanking and so on and that their loved ones were in the thick of it, without support.

Hong Kong fell on Christmas day 1941 and that was effectively the end of a whole society. Years later I understood why my Welsh aunt organised festivities. Although a Wren, she was the only one not to have personally experienced horrors. And the reminders were all around, too, so that generation couldn't blank anything out. Each time they went out, memories clung to their surroundings.

My father confessed that he dreaded December and the black mood that started descending as soon as the weather cooled, which did not lift until the new year. "I hate bloody Christmas", he used to say. Once they survived by eating maggots. When i married there was someone who complained to me how she'd suffered because they couldn't get chocolate. This was a person who pushed proudly to the front at Nov 11 ceremonies. My father who "had" to do the ceremonies for official reasons, found the experience physically gutting.

Darren - I would like to thank all the people who responded to my message regarding the Singapore Volunteer Corps.

Firstly they seem to be very difficult to get any information on (even the burma star association have never heared of them !) and all i have recieved has been of a great help.
Secondly i wondered if anyone who reads this remembers WO2 Crabb may be so kind as to tell us where he was born.

Once again thanks to all and happy new year to you all.

Keith - >Darren, I think Jonathan Moffatt is doing some research into the Volunteers, and I believe Pudu Jail (if I have spelt it correctly). I do not know if he has responded to any messages on this. Would you like me to drop him a line with your address, just in case.

Maurice - >Darren, The "Singapore Volunteer Corps" is there any connection between this group and the MSV (Malay Service Volunteers) that my father and members of SOE trained, if it is look at this page on my site and then come back

Darren - >Keith, Thank you kindly but jonathon has already been in touch!! He has given me some information and also passed my requests on to some other people.

 

Dovell, Ronald Leonard, Sgt, DFM

Brian Cull - mail@author.freeserve.co.uk

I am the author (with Chris Shores) of Bloody Shambles mentioned in recent e-mail correspondence - and thank those contributors for their kind words about the two volumes, which took many years of research.

I have an enquiry - I wish to trace Sgt Ronald Leonard Dovell DFM who served with 232 (Hurricane) Squadron at Singapore and in the NEI. He was taken prisoner on the fall of Java and survived imprisonment. It is known that he returned to England and I believe at one time lived in Dudley, although originally from North London. I have made many enquiries over the years but to no avail. Can anyone help, please?

Drysdale - Civilians, Sime Road Camp

Ron - I have forwarded this on to the list, any ideas of where Wendy can search.

Sime Road Camp

My Grandmother, mother and aunt were in the camp during the Japanese occupation in Singapore during 1945 & 1956 and I am looking for documentation proof. I was wondering if you could help.

Grandmother – Iris Dulcible Drysdale
Mother – Valerie Jean Drysdale
Aunt – Auriel Brenda Drysdale.

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