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4976937
Private
Charles Henry Palmer
1919/02/23 - Born Belper, Derbyshire
Son of Charles and Dorothy Palmer
Occupation Woodworker
Next of kin:- Parents, Charles William and Dorothy Grace Palmer, of Belper, Derbyshire.
Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment)
1/5th Battalion
18th Division
Service
The 1/5th (Derbyshire) Battalion was a Territorial Army formation originally serving with the 148th Infantry Brigade, part of the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division. In December 1939, the battalion was reassigned to the 25th Infantry Brigade and saw service with the BEF in France and Belgium in 1940 and being evacuated at Dunkirk. In late 1940, it was again reassigned to the 55th Infantry Brigade, 18th Infantry Division.
1941/10/30 - The 1/5 Sherwood Foresters left Britain in ‘Orcades’ with Convoy CT.5 from Liverpool to Halifax
Final Destination Unknown
1941/11/08 - Arrived Halifax
1941/11/10 - Transferred to USS West Point and departed Halifax in Convoy William Sail 12X
Convoy William Sail 12X continued with six American troopships, two cruisers, eight destroyers and the aircraft carrier Ranger, the Convoy William Sail 12X was under way, destination still unknown.
(Above Photo supplied by the late Maurice Rooney)
Vought SB 2U Vindicator Scout Bomber - USS Ranger which was flying an Anti Submarine patrol over the convoy.
Ships Front Line Top to Bottom
USS West Point - USS Mount Vernon - USS Wakefield - USS Quincy (Heavy Cruiser)
The convoy passed through the Mona Passage between Puerto Rico and St Domingo.
1941/11/17 - Arrived at Trinidad in glorious sunshine so troops changed to tropical kit, but no shore-leave, left Trinidad after two days of taking on supplies.
1941/11/24 - The equator was crossed, there was a crossing the line ceremony.
After a month the convoy arrived at Cape Town, South Africa. By this time the 1941/12/08 - 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.
1941/12/13 - The convoy left Cape Town and sailed along the coast of East Africa past Madagascar and into the Indian Ocean heading for Bombay.
1941/12/27 - After 17,011 miles at sea Bombay was reached.
1942/01/18 - The convoy sailed with a British escort, the H.M.S. Exeter and H.M.S. Glasgow with British and Australian destroyers. Destination was the far East. 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 Japanese Planes, there was no damage.
1942/01/29 - 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.
1942/04/07 - WO 417/41, Casualty List No. 791. Reported ‘Missing’.
1943/06/11 - WO 417/62, Casualty List No.1158. Previously shown on Casualty List No.791 as Missing, 15/02/1942. Now reported a ‘Prisoner of War’.
Japanese PoW
1942/02/15 - Captured Singapore
PoW No. IV 1817
Japanese Index Card One - Side One
Japanese Index Card One - Side Two
Japanese Index Card 2 - Side One
Japanese Index Card Two - Side Two
1942/10/14 - Transported overland to Thailand, train 5
11th train to Thailand with 390 PoWs
Group 4 08. (B) Battalion
New PoW No. IV 12374
Thailand Camps:
Tha Sao, 125km from Nong Pladuk
Wang Pho, 111.50km from Nong Pladuk
Chungkai, 60km from Nong Pladuk
Tha Muang, 38.90km from Nong Pladuk
Nong Pladuk
Nakhon Pathom, 15km from Nong Pladuk towards Bangkok
Transported to Mergui Road, Thailand-Burma
This was a Japanese relief road in case the railway was bombed for supplies and an escape route.
Died
Age 26
1945/06/18
Cause of Death Rickettsia and Malaria
Place of Death Mergui Road, 12km Camp Cemetery
Pratchapkirkan Grave No. 034
Loved Ones
Son of Charles William and Dorothy Grace Palmer, of Belper, Derbyshire
Memorial
6. E. 27.
Kanchanaburi
‘GOD'S GREATEST GIFT IS REMEMBRANCE. SADLY MISSED BY MAM, DAD AND THREE SISTERS’
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Pacific Star
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War Medal
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1939-1945 Star
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Information
Philip Pickering - Uncle
Andrew Snow - Thailand Burma Railway Centre
Convoy William Sail 12X
Japanese Transport
Thailand - Burma Railway
Roll of Honour - Mergui Road
Commonwealth War Grave Commission
KEW Files:- WO 361/2172, WO 345/39, WO 345/39, WO 361/2196, WO 392/25, WO 361/1987, WO 361/1623, WO 361/1623, WO 361/2169, WO 361/2235, WO 361/2178,
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