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Prisoners of the Japanese Empire.

• Message 1.Β 

  Posted by Amphion (U3338999) on Thursday, 19th February 2009

  As a Care Worker, I am privalleged to have the opportunity to caht with people who are living testiment to certain events in our world history.
  One Chap, who was a member of the 'Tigers' Leicestershire Regiment, told me that he was called up within three days of the declaration of war (06-09-39), and that his company/regiment formed part of the militia that went out to the far east. Although a little vague as to his capture and internment by the Japanese, he told me he was a prisoner of war for three years (whether this is an acurate memory, I cannot say). Can anyone (hopefullt former members of that regiment) shed any further light on these particular events???

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Slimdaddy101 (U2553470) on Thursday, 19th February 2009

  I mentioned this in another thread recently; I cannot recommend highly enough a book 'The railway man' by Eric (?) Lomax. It is a testament to the cruelty that man can sink to as well as the humanity and will to survive that exists that drove Lomax to keep living. He was captured by the Japanese and suffered for over 3 years.
  

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• Message 3

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  Posted by LairigGhru (U5452625) on Thursday, 19th February 2009

  In 1881 the 17th Leicestershire Regiment was renamed The Leicestershire Regiment. In 1946 it was renamed The Royal Leicestershire Regiment. It bears the name "The Tigers" because of the service it gave in India in the period 1804-23.
  
  A museum to the regiment exists in Leicester and you can ring the curator, Philip French, on 0116-225-4980. To see the web page, put the phrase "Royal Leicestershire Regiment" into your search engine. The museum's postal address is:
  
  The Royal Leicestershire Museum Collection,
  Newarke Houses Museum,
  The Newarke,
  Leicester.
  LE2 7BY

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• Message 4

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  Posted by LongWeekend (U3023428) on Thursday, 19th February 2009

  Amphion
  
  Was "Militia" the term he used of himself? The men called up in 1939 before the outbreak of war were enlisted in the Militia (resurrected for the purpose), as they weren't regulars and the TA (into which wartime enlistments were made) hadn't been embodied. If he reported on 6 Sep 39, he could have been one of the last of the militia men.
  
  The 18th (Eastern) Division, which was sent to Singapore just before the Japanese landings in Malaya, was a wartime division, consisting of a mix of pre-war territorials and wartime enlistments. The division was a "clone" of the well-established 54th Division,formed from cadres of the 54th's TA battalions, brought up to strength with conscripts. However, there were no Royal Leicestershire Regiment battalions in that division.
  
  The Regular Army 1st Battalion, Leicesters was part of the pre-war garrison of Malaya, and surrendered after a hard fight in Malaya. Your chap could have been part of a reinforcement draft (in the early part of the war, TA and wartime enlistees were sent out to replace a proportion of regular soldiers who could then be used as cadres in TA and war-raised battalions).
  
  Hope that helps.
  
  LW

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• Message 5

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  Posted by Amphion (U3338999) on Tuesday, 24th February 2009

  LostWeekend.
  
  First of all, understand that this man is now 89 (going on 90). Although the raveges of time have tacken their toll on the body, he was quite obviously a very well-built man in his day.
  
  He himself, although sometimes vague, made a reference to the Leicester's being disbanded,(as I was making comments about that regiment at the time of the First World War), and then he gave a number. I don't know if the number was a regiment, or his own personal service number???
  
  But yes, he did say that he was part of a militia. When I asked if he had volunteered (being so early into the war) he said "not bloody likely." He did say that he had to report within three days of the declaration of war, (Sept 06th). He made a reference to the far east and being a prisoner of war, commenting that he still didn't like "Japs". sadly, for the time being, he has been taken into a nursing home for a month, so I am not scheduled to visit him for a few weeks, so that is as far as I have got. But it is quite clear that he doesn't like talking about the period of his incarceration, or how he came to be captured!!!

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• Message 6

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  Posted by LongWeekend (U3023428) on Tuesday, 24th February 2009

  Amphion
  
  Not quite sure what you meant - I was offering information that might help you interpret your man's remarks, not questioning their authenticity.
  
  As to numbers. If it was an eight-figure number, it may well have been his Army number. If it was three numbers, it could have been his "last three" - the last three numbers of his Army number, most usually used for Regimental purposes. The Leicesters were the 17th Foot, so if it was 17, he was probably thinking of that.
  
  The regimental technically wasn't disbanded, but was amalgamated in 1964 as the 4th battalion of the Royal Anglians, but that battalion was disbanded in 1975 and I think a lot of Tigers regarded that as the end of the Regiment.
  
  However, after suffering heavy losses in the early battles in Malaya, 1st Leicesters was merged with 2nd East Surreys, who had also suffered heavily to form the ad-hoc "British Battalion" (they were the only two British infantry battalions in 11th Indian Division). A similar ad hoc amalgamation of 2nd Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders with the Royal Marine detachments from Prince of Wales and Repulse produced the "Plymouth Argylls" (most of the marines came from the Plymouth Barracks). So he might have been referring to that, if you think he was talking specifically about Malaya.
  
  I had an uncle in the Argylls, mercifully in NW Europe, not Malaya, from whom I heard about this episode.
  
  Another uncle and one of my teachers were taken prisoner in Singapore. They also were reluctant to talk about their time as POWs, at least to children, and both died relatively young, in their early fifties.
  
  LW

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• Message 7

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by caveman1944 (U11305692) on Saturday, 28th February 2009

  Try and get him to send for his service record which will be free. I doubt he will though.
  I sailed for Singapore in October 1941, arriving mid November and posted to a regular unit, 11 Battery, 3HAA.RA. We did our job, took our casulties and in action on the final day when we took on a formation of nine, and they turned back to dump a big one on us . A big crater to go with the many anti-personnel ones which had near wiped the battery out, killing seven.
  John

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