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5773664
Private
Alfred George Newman
1919/02/28 - Born Catfield, Norfolk
Son of Edwin and Ellen Newman
Royal Norfolk Regiment
5th Battalion
Service
The orders to double the 5th battalion in 1938 was seen to be a good move as the battalion was up to strength when war was declared in 1939. The object was then to split the battalion into two, making the 5th and 7th battalions. On the 1st October 1939 this became a reality and two battalions were formed and trained separately.
The Battalion HQ was at Dereham with Lt.-Col. G.N.Scot-Chad in command with other units at Aylsham, North Walsham and Holt. For the first few months individual training was at Holt and Weyborne and the men were given the task of building and manning the North Norfolk Coastal Defences. The battalion colours were in Sheringham Church, as Lt.-Col. Scot-Chad carried the Kings Colours and Maj.B.Savory the Regiment Colours.
In March 1940 section training begun and Lt-Col. E.C.Prattley, who had served with the 2nd Battalion in France, took over command of the battalion and Maj. H.T.Crane took over as second in command. In May company training begun only to be interrupted during the early summer months, after Dunkirk and with the threat of invasion, the battalion was given the job of manning the Coastal Defences at Weyborne. Whilst building the defences they carried on with their training and were achieving a high degree of skill as a unit.
With the threat of an invasion past the battalion was issued with transport vehicles and advanced training was then carried out. The battalion was moved to Gresham School at Holt in September and they now had an assault course in the woods. Being now brigaded with the 6th Royal Norfolks and the 2nd Cambridgeshires to be part of the 53 Brigade of the 18 Division, brigade training was applied.
A move to Kings Lynn in October had the battalion billeted in the uncomfortable warehouses in the dock area. They stayed here until January 7th 1941, having seen a few air raids on the town, they then moved by train to Scotland for advanced training. The troops were developing into a fighting unit under the Scottish route marches, and apart from helping in Glasgow after a heavy air raid it was all training.
On April 7th the brigade was moved to Northwich, near Liverpool, this move had two reasons. The city had very heavy bombing raids and needed the troops for fire watching duties plus full scale brigade attacks were to be carried out in the Birmingham and Carlisle districts. The battalion took alternate roles in attack and defence in these exercises. They were now a fighting team ready for action. One final move on October 5th was back to Glasgow where on the 22nd a detachment of one officer and 55 other ranks were inspected by the King before going overseas.
The battalion embarked on the Duchess of Atholl (21,000 tons) on the 30th October and sailed for Halifax with the 18th Infantry Division convoy.
In Canada they were transhipped to the U.S.S. Mount Vernon (26,000, formally the Washington) along with the rest of the 53 Brigade. Leaving Halifax on the 10th November for Trinidad and then reached Cape Town on December 9th, where four days were spent sleeping on board. The convoy carrying the 18th Division sailed for Bombay on December 13th but the Mount Vernon was then ordered to turn back as her destination would be Mombassa, arriving there on Christmas Day, where shore leave was granted.
On 28th December she sailed again and it was then announced her destination was Singapore. The troops knew of the Japanese invasion of Malaya, and were given lectures on jungle warfare whilst sailing across the Indian Ocean before reaching her destination on January 13th 1942.
The troops disembarked in pouring rain and settled in at Woodlands Camp which was near the navel base, Singapore.
Before the troops were moved, some hurried jungle training took place by officers who had been fighting in Malaya. This training was very sparse as the troops were needed to stop the Japanese who had landed and infiltrated behind the allied lines in Malaya.
The 53 Infantry Brigade moved into Jahore on the 16th January and were under the command of the 11th Indian Division.
Moving in military transport they reached the area of Ayer Hitam and took up positions around Yong-Peng but very soon were on the move again to Jemaluang, east of Ayer Hitam. Having made no contact with the Japanese the battalion was moved into divisional reserve at Ayer Hitam on the 20th January.
South Malaya
Showing Japanese Advance down Malaya
The first clash happened on the next day when a patrol was ambushed by a forward Japanese patrol, this left two injured and one missing. The Japanese were attacking the coast at Batu Pahat and also trying to infiltrate the allied lines by landing troops further south near Senggarang and Rengit which was over ten miles behind their present positions.
That evening the road from Ayer Hitam to Batu Pahat was crossed by the Japanese but the next morning the road was still in allied hands. It fell to the battalion to keep it open, at 4pm the enemy crossed the road again and gained possession near the 73rd milestone.
Capt. S.C.H.Boardman leading “D” company made contact with the enemy near their road block, the casualties included the company commander. The battalion were then ordered to move to Batu Pahat but as the road was blocked they stayed at the 72 milestone and prepared an attack on the Japanese block for the next morning.
The following morning the battalion found the road block to be heavily defended. Capt. A.J.Self attacked with “B” Company but received many casualties including 2nd/Lt.McKean who was killed, later Lt. G.H.Pallister died of his injuries, they were driven back. “C” company led by Maj. C.P.Wood managed to get round the southern side of the road block but the battalion was then recalled to take temporary positions near Ayer Hitam.
Later that evening the battalion made a detour south from Ayer Hitam spending the night near Skudai. Starting early they went through Pontain Ketchil and Rengit reaching the outskirts of Batu Pahat at 7am the morning of the 24th. They met the 2nd Cambridgeshires who had been ordered to withdraw from the town. The Royal Norfolks were given the task of retaking positions in the centre of the town as a holding operation to allow other troops to withdraw, the operation began at 10.45am. With very little artillery support the task was partly successful, the right flank being heavily engaged by the enemy, there was a constant threat of the enemy getting behind them and cutting off a withdrawal, these threats cam from two high spots overlooking their positions and held by the Japanese. “B” company was given the task of clearing these high positions of the enemy, which they did only to be later driven off themselves. At 4am on the 25th “C” Company with the remainder of the 2nd Cambridgeshires attacked these high points again but were stopped by heavy machine gun fire making an advance impossible. The battalion were then ordered to hold their present positions and cover the 2nd Cambridgeshires withdrawal. At 9pm, the task completed, the battalion withdrew four miles out of Batu Pahat.
On the morning of the 26th January the battalion found the Japanese had landed south of their lines and cut off their withdrawal. An attempt was made to clear the road for the transport but failed. The Brigade Commander sent orders at 5.45pm to destroy the 250 transport vehicles and continue on foot through the jungle. It was to be a long strenuous 18 mile journey which on the top of the five days of fighting took its toll.
The biggest part of the battalion, 500 in total, kept together under Maj. Wood and reached Benet on the coastal road on the evening of the 27th.
Capt. H.E.Schulman led a party to the coast and were evacuated by the Royal Navy. The men left behind to blow the bridge at Senggarang were cut off from the main party but with the C.O. they successfully made their way to the coast and escaped in a canoe.
The following day, 28th January, the Battalion was taken to Serangoon Road Camp on Singapore Island and all allied troops were ordered to fall back to Singapore.
1942/05/05 - WO 417/42, Casualty List No. 815. Reported ‘Missing’.
1944/09/15 - WO417/81, Casualty List No. 1552. Casualty List No. 815. Previously posted Missing, 15/02/1942. Now reported ‘Prisoner of War in Japanese Hands (Thailand)’.
Japanese PoW
1942/02/15 Captured Singapore
PoW No. M-191
Japanese Index Card - Side One
Japanese Index Card - Side Two
1942/10/29 - Transported overland to Thailand with ‘T’ Letter Party, train 5
23rd train to Thailand
Commander Lt-Col. J. Dean, 125 Anti-Tank Regiment, RA
New PoW No. II 7056
Attached to Group 2
Working first from Chungkai to Wang Pho then to Tha Khanun.
1943/10/25 - The lines from Thailand and Burma were joined near Konkoita.
Returning to Chungkai in early 1944. From Chungkai he then returned to Singapore.
Boarded the Hofuku Maru which sailed from Singapore to Miri, Borneo as part of convoy SHIMI-05. The convoy consisted of 10 ships, 5 of which carried, in total, 5,000 POWs, all in appalling conditions.
At Borneo, the Hofuku Maru left the convoy with engine problems, and sailed on to the Philippines, arriving on 19th July. She remained in Manila until mid-September while the engines were repaired. The POWs remained on board, suffering terribly from disease, hunger, and thirst.
On September 20, 1944, the Hofuku Maru and 10 other ships formed Convoy MATA-27, and sailed from Manila to Japan. The following morning, the convoy was attacked 80 miles north of Corregidor by more than 100 American carrier planes. All eleven ships in the convoy were sunk. Of those on the Hofuku Maru, 1047 of the 1289 British and Dutch POWs on board died.
Alfred died in the sinking of the Hofuku Maru.
1946/01/17 - WO417/101, Casualty List No.1962. Previously shown on Casualty List No.1860 as Missing whilst Prisoner of War. Presumed Killed in Action whilst Prisoner of War
Died
25 years old
21st September 1944
Loved Ones
Son of Edwin and Ellen Newman, of Catfield, Norfolk
Memorial
Column 52.
Singapore Memorial
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Pacific Star
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War Medal
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1939-1945 Star
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Information
Andrew Snow - Thailand Burma Railway Centre
Convoy William Sail 12X
Royal Norfolks in the Far East
Thailand Burma Railway
Royal Norfolk Regiment 5th Bn - Killed in Action 8th Dec. 1941 to 1st Jan. 1947
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
KEW Files:- WO 345/38, WO 361/3005, WO 361/2167, WO 361/2057, WO 361/2178, WO 392/25, WO 361/758,
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