Next of Kin - Mother, E A Lynn, 23 Bywell Terrace, Seaton, Sluice, Northumberland
Northumberland Fusiliers
9th Battalion
Service
The 9th Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers were formed in 1939 as an offshoot of the 7th Battalion. In August of that year they were amalgamated into the 18th Division and transported to Norfolk, defending the coast between Wells-on-Sea and Great Yarmouth.
In January 1941 they moved to the Scottish Boarders for training with their HQ at Bowhill House.
1941/10/30 - Equipped for Middle East the 9th Royal Northumberland Fusiliers left Liverpool in the Warwick Castle, Convoy CT.5.
1941/11/08 - Arrived Halifax and after much debate amongst the troop at Halifax the 9th Battalion eventually boarded the USS. Orizaba, which was not a luxurious ship.
1941/11/10 - The 18th Division left Halifax in Convoy William Sail 12X and was escorted by the US Navy.
Convoy William Sail 12X
(USS Ranger was flying on antisubmarine patrol for the convoy)
The convoy passed through the Mona Passage between Puerto Rico and St Domingo, arriving at Trinidad on 17th November in glorious sunshine so our tropical kit came out, but unfortunately no shore-leave, the convoy left after two days of taking on supplies. On 24th the equator was crossed and there was a crossing the line ceremony.
1941/12/02 - USS Orizaba was refuelled at sea
After a month the convoy arrived at Cape Town, South Africa. By this time the Americans were in the war as the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbour and attacked Malaya and the rumours were that they were heading for the Far East and not the Middle East as first thought.
Japan had entered the war by attacking Malaya on 8th December 1941, destination was now the Far East.
1941/12/13 - The convoy left Cape Town and sailed along the coast of East Africa past Madagascar and arrived Mombassa where the troops disembarked and trained with route marches.
From Mombassa they changed ships to the West Point across the Indian Ocean heading for Bombay.
1941/12/27 - After 17,011 miles at sea Bombay was reached and the troops disembarked for training.
1942/01/22 - Embarked Felix Rousell and the convoy sailed the next day with a British escort, the H.M.S. Exeter and H.M.S. Glasgow with British and Australian destroyers.
Passing Colombo, (Ceylon), crossing the equator for the third time, the convoy passed through the Sundra Straits between Java and Samatra and then the Banka Straits. The convoy was then bombed by Jap Planes, there was no damage to the ship but Leslie was wounded and treated for a shrapnel wound to the right side of his head.
1942/02/05 - The Convoy reached the safety of Keppel Harbour, Singapore. Ships were ablaze in the harbour, clouds of smoke drifted across the sky and the smell of fumes was overpowering, this was not the best of greetings. The Japanese had taken most of Malaya in the last three weeks and were only thirty miles away from Singapore City.
1942/02/15 - Singapore surrendered to the Japanese
1942/04/16 - WO 417/41, Casualty List No. 799. Reported ‘Missing’.
Japanese PoW
1942/02/15 - Captured Singapore
Changi Camp
PoW No. i 4206
Japanese Index Card - Side One
Japanese Index Card - Side Two
New PoW No. 7073
1945/09/05 - On roll at Changi (Numbers on roll below)
British Army
3067
Royal Army Medical and Dentest Corps
191
Indian Army (British)
Combined
225
Indian Army Medical Services Dept.
Royal Navy Marines and Volunteer Reserve
126
Royal Air Force
Combined
379
Royal Air Force Medical Service
Volunteer Forces
Combined
369
Volunteer Medical Services
British Mercantile Marines
45
Norwegian Mercantile Marines
4
British Civilians
8
New Zealand Forces
5
Royal Canadian Air Force
2
American Forces
69
Italian Forces
21
Australian Imperial Forces
4585
Royal Australian Air Force
14
Royal Australian Navy
8
Total
9148
1945/11/02 - Liberated
General Seishiro Itagaki, Japanese Commander of Singapore, would not accept the surrender. Plus it gave him time to cover up all Japanese Atrocities in Singapore. The allied naval landing force 'Operation Tiderace' were delayed as it was still understood the Japanese would dispose of all the PoWs in Singapore if they landed. Mountbatten ordered British paratroopers into Singapore to protect the camps. To many of the PoWs in Singapore, those red berets of the paratroopers were the first signs that the war had ended. All this delayed organising the PoWs. It wasn't till the 12th September that Lord Mountbatten accepted the Japanese surrender at the Municipal Building. Hospital cases were the first to leave Singapore 1945/09/10 on the HMHS Koroa. They were soon followed by Repatriation ships which started reaching the UK about the 15th of October 1945. Why many of the liberated PoWs on these ships had November on their Japanese Index cards, I don't know as in other areas of the Far East, PoWs were marked as Liberated at their PoW camps with the correct date. Unless General Seishiro Itagaki did not make the cards available when the camps were liberated.
1945/11/13 - WO417/99, Casualty List No. 1909. Previously shown on Casualty List No. 1147 as reported Prisoner of War now ‘Not Prisoner of War’. Previous Theatre of War, Malaya.
