McColl-William

To honour those who served their country

“In this their finest hour”

3653362

Private

William McColl

1918/10/12 - Born Lancashire

Son of John and Margaret McColl

1938/10/04 - Enlisted

Occupation Regular Soldier

Next of Kin - Parents: J & M McColl, 4 Vernon Street, St. Helens, Lancashire

Loyal Regiment

2nd Battalion

1942/02/15 - Singapore surrendered to the Japanese

1942/03/25 - WO 417/40, Casualty List No. 780. Reported Missing.

1943/08/07 - WO 417/64, Casualty List No 1206. Previously posted on Casualty List No 780 as Missing. Now reported Prisoner of War.

Japanese PoW

1942/02/15 - Captured Singapore

Changi Camp

PoW No. IV 5353

Sime Road, Singapore

Japanese Index Card Side One

Japanese Index Card - Side Two

1943/04/30 - Transported overland with ‘F’ Force, Train 13 to Thailand

76th train to Thailand

The route in cattle trucks to Thailand:-

Day 1 - Kuala Lumpur (0300 hrs), had rice and dried fish at Ipoh (1600 hrs)

Day 2 - Reached Pai (0200 hrs), arrived Haadyi (1700 hrs)

Day 3 - Water in cattle trucks very short, heat stifling in trucks all day..

Day 5 - reached Ban Pong

The PoWs were ordered off the Cattle trucks on arrival and after a walk of nearly a mile to a transit camp where they were then informed they would be marching North West along the railway route in 14 mile stages. Many of the PoWs tried to sell their possessions to the Thais but not at a good price as the Thais knew the the PoWs from ‘F’ Force were already in bad shape and could not carry their baggage for long.

After two days of walking through the night, as it was too hot in the daylight sun, they reached the small town of Kanchanaburi. Many who tried to carry their possessions left them at this staging camp.

Walking at night caused many problems as the track was uneven with bamboo shots cutting into their feet, in time tropical ulcers would form.

Reached Songkurai, many of the PoWs had dropped out along the route

Kami Songkurai - 299.20km from Nong Pladuk

(Walked all the way at Night)

New PoW No. IV 7125

‘F’ Force had the most deaths on the Thailand Burma Railway

‘F’ Force Summery

	*British*	*Australian*	*Total*
*Departed April 1943*	*3336*	*3664*	*7000*

*Returned Dec. 1943 - Sime Road*	*175*	*165*	*340*
*Returned Dec. 1943 - Changi*	*835*	*2060*	*2895*
*Returned Apr. 1944 - Changi*	*295*	*411*	*706*
	*1305*	*2636*	*3941*
*Less Died at Changi*	17	32	49
	*1288*	*2604*	*3892*
*I.J.A. Custody (Including Changi Hosp.)*	11		11
*Alive as at 30th Apr. 1944*	*1299*	*2604*	*3903*


*Died Thailand Burma Railway*	*2013*	*1014*	*3027*
*Died Changi*	17	32	49
*Missing*	7	14	21
*Total Casualties*	*2037*	*1060*	*3097*

*Casualty Percentage*	*61.03%*	*28.95%*	*44.21%*

1943/12 - Transported back to Changi, Singapore

1945/09/05 - On Nominal Roll at Chang

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.

Liberation Questionnaire

1945/10/31 - WO417/98, Casualty List No. 1898. Previously reported on Casualty List No. 1206 as Prisoner of War now Not Prisoner of War. Previous Theatre of War, Malaya.

Post War