Philpot-Herbert-George

To honour those who served their country

“In this their finest hour”

5779283

Private

Herbert George Philpot

1913/07/06 - Born Leiston, Suffolk

Son of Walter Charles and Ruby (nee West) Philpot

Brother to Gwen, Dorothy, Grace, Leonard and Arthur

1940 - Herbert married Mary E. Mallett in Suffolk

Next of Kin Wife, M E, Seewell Road, Leiston, Suffolk

Royal Norfolk Regiment

6th Battalion

Service

1940/06/24 - Enlisted

September 1st 1939 in Norwich saw the battalion mobilised with 24 officers, 27 warrant officers and sergeants, and 483 other ranks. Lt.-Col. D.C.Buxton was in command and Maj. H.S.Ling MC was second in command. The battalion was organised into three rifle companies at the outbreak of war with a further “D” company being formed on November 30th when the battalion reached a strength of 785 in all ranks. At the end of 1939 they were moved to Sheringham and were billeted in the town. They were then brigaded with the 5th Battalion, Royal Norfolks and the 2nd Battalion, Cambridgeshires to form the 53 Infantry Brigade which was part of the 18th Division.

During the bad winter of early 1940 the brigade helped the Norfolk County Council with snow clearing in the area, it was very cold work with high drifts of snow. The bad weather made out door training difficult and there was not many halls big enough for them, their training suffered. The dining room of the Sheringham Hotel came to the rescue and helped the men train in the warmer conditions. The main training was the handling of rifles, bren gun and anti-tank rifle.

When the weather improved, training begun outside in ernist, with route marches up to 15 miles, but equipment was still short with only six bren guns and one 2 inch mortar within the battalion.

As the spring came night patrols were performed and the Sheringham golf course became their training ground with a rifle range in Upper Sheringham. With the invasions of Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg the battalion was given the task of guarding West Raynham aerodrome and Cromer Pier. The battalion manned the coast from Overstrand to Sheringham in four places Overstrand, Cromer, East & West Runton, and Sheringham.

When a roundsman reported seeing parachutists at Felbrigg on May 14th, a platoon from “D” company was sent out to search the area. They had no luck in their search and when cross examined again it was found the roundsman was lying.

On May 22nd, Lt.-Col. Buxton was relieved in command by Lt.-Col. F.L. Cubitt. Further coastal defences were laid. With the invasion threat now over in July and although still manning the coastal defences, serious training begun with larger scaled exercises with the 5th battalion. In August they were relieved of their coastal duties by the 2nd Cambridgeshires and moved to the Gresham School at Holt for a month of training. During this period Lt.-Col. J.F. Ross took over command and Maj. F.M.E.D. Drake was put as second-in-command from the 1st Battalion.

The 6th Battalion relieved the 5th Battalion at Weybourne on September 21st, training continued till October when the battalion was relieved by the 9 Lincolns, this took the whole of the 18 Division into reserve with quarters at Swaffham in Houses and farms.

In January 1941 a move to Scotland for the 18th Division saw more advanced training, the 6th Battalion being entrained for Dumfries. The day before their departure a German bomber dropped its bombs on the Swaffham Railway station, causing the death of six privates who were loading the train.

February saw the Scottish weather prove hostile with snow on most days, training continued in the companies and it wasn’t till the weather improved during March that battalion, Brigade and Divisional exercises could take place. The hills helped develop the men physically, and by the beginning of April 1941 the battalion looked in shape.

A move to Hartford saw more specialised training with large scale exercises and assault crossings of the Rivers Weaver, Teme and Severn. Each rifle company was put through a three day march covering 60 miles which finished with a night attack.

Lt.-Col. I.C.G.Lywood took over command on July 15th and in August the division was moved to Lancaster with the battalion being accommodated at Knowsley Park. They were put under canvas until wooden buildings were erected. An attack on Carlisle was carried out at the end of the month, testing its defences. A further attack, this time on Otley in Yorkshire, was carried out at the beginning of September.

The battalion, division and brigade were then given news that they were ready for posting abroad and on October 27th the battalion embarked from Gourock on the Duchess of Atholl for Halifax.

US Mount Vernon

At Halifax the whole of the 53 Brigade was transshipped to the Mount Vernon. After a brief visit to Trinidad to refuel, Cape Town was reached on December 9th only to find Japan had entered the war the day before, attacking Pearl Harbour and Malaya.

Shore leave was granted before sailing on the 13th December for Bombay only to be then ordered on the 23rd to sail for Mombassa and then finally Singapore. She was escorted by the H.M.S. Emerald and reached Singapore Harbour on January 13th 1942, the battalion disembarked in heavy rain and moved to Tyersall Park Camp by truck.

Preparations for moving the troops from the Tyersall Camp to Malaya, were made on the 14th January. Four experienced F.M.S.V.F. officers were attached for communication with the Malays as interpreters and interrogators.

No training was given before they were dispatched and the hope they were to receive any in Malaya was quickly demised as they were put straight into the battle for Malaya.

On January 16th Advance Battalion H.Q. were moved along with “C” and “D” companies by transports to Yong Peng, on the following day Maj. A.B.Cubitt and the rest of the battalion joined them.

Moving west from Yong Peng “C” and “D” companies took up defensive positions along the Bakri Road at the defile marked on the map. “A” and “B” companies were moved in just to the rear to support. The battalions task was to cover the lines of communication with the 45 Infantry Brigade who were under heavy attack near Muar.

The 19th January was spent patrolling the road and the Simpang-Kanan River although they made no contact with the enemy, the Australian “B” Echelon transport passed through the battalion lines and was attacked six miles north.

On the 20th a patrol suffered casualties when attacked near the river, then later a full attack took place. The Japanese attacked from the forward positions and also having infiltrated got behind “C” and “D” companies and attacked them from the rear, cutting off help from “A” or “B” companies.

“D” company held out and stayed together but “C” company having been out on patrol during the attack were separated and lost contact. During the attack “D” company lost their commander Capt. P.M. Westagate. “C” company had their commander, Capt.H.P. Pilkington wounded and 2nd/Lt. J.E. Parker was killed. Fighting carried on during the night but with the Japanese in control of the south of the defile “D” company was in a dire position. Early the next morning the 3/16 Punjabis and then “B” company tried in vain to force out the enemy, both attacks failed. With “D” company still cut off the defile was given up and a new line of defence further south was set up.

On the 22nd January the 2nd Loyals got into a position to attack the defile but with no artillery fire it was called off. In the afternoon the battalion which now consisted of less then two companies were ordered to withdraw to Yong Peng. “B” company fought bravely in in a rearguard action for the brigade and they reached Yong Peng late that evening.

Command of the battalion was taken over by Major A.B. Cubitt when Lt-Col. Lywood was evacuated to Singapore with illness.

On the 23rd the battalion was moved to Skudai, just south of Ayer Hitam. Early on the 24th the battalion moved up again to Benut on the coastal road, where it was reorganised as Battalion H.Q. and “A” and “B” companies, their support was by the 4.5 Howitzers and one section of Royal Engineers. There orders were to keep the road open for the 5th Norfolks and 2nd Cambridgeshires, this also included a mixture from the Leicestershire and East Surrey Regiments. “A” company supported at Rengit whilst the remainder moved forward to Seggarang, eight miles south of Batu Pahat. Although no enemy were reported in the area the rear of the force came under heavy machine-gun fire and suffered casualties, snipers did not help their situation neither.

Having taken control of Senggarang, they could not cover their rear and the enemy infiltrated and set up road blocks behind them, cutting them off from “A” company. The 15 Brigade was then ordered to withdraw from Batu Pahat to help at Senggarang. Late on the 26th the Cambridgeshires were ordered to fight their way south and “A” company to attack from the south, to try to clear the road, both failed. The bridge at Senggarang was then blown and the 250 transport vehicles destroyed, the troops were ordered to find their way back through the jungle.

“A” company by this time had been surrounded by the Japanese at Rengit, they held off attack after attack until it was seen to be a hopeless situation, they then took to the jungle and two officers and 85 other ranks made their escape to Singapore.

After the withdrawal from Senggarang about 200 men made their way through the jungle to Ponggor on the coast, where they were taken off by Royal Navy gunboats to make a rather uncomfortable trip back to Singapore, they were then housed near the Seleltar River.

The causeway joining Singapore to Malaya was blown on 31st January 1942 to stop the Japanese advance.

On the 9th February the Japanese attacked the North West coast of Singapore. General Percival had set his main defence on the North East coast line, and the Japanese quickly gained the advantage.

By the 15th February the Japanese were in danger of taking control of the water supply at the reservoirs, which would endanger the Singapore City water supply. General Percival had no alternative but to surrender.

1942/02/15 - Singapore surrendered to the Japanese

1942/04/10 - WO 417/41, Casualty List No. 794. Reported ‘Missing’.

1943/07/08 - WO 417/63, Casualty List No. 1181. Previously shown on Casualty List No. 794 as Missing. Now reported a ‘Prisoner of War’.

Japanese PoW

1042/02/015 - Captured Singapore

1942/02/27 - Alexandra

PoW No. 2351

Japanese Index Card - Side One

Japanese Index Card - Side Two

1942/10/24 - Transported overland to Thailand with ‘Y’ Letter Party, train 1

Commander Major P.S.F Jackson, 7 Coast Regiment, RA

Attached to Group 4 13(E) work Battalion

Under Major John Franklyn Elliott, 1 Heavy Anti Aircraft Regiment, HKSRA

New PoW No. IV 5369

Herbert worked in the Kannyu area.

1943, August - Admitted to Tha Sao Hospital.

1943/10/25 - The tracks from Thailand and Burma were joined near Konkoita, Thailand

From Tha Sao he moved to Tha Muang.

1944, June - Transported back to Singapore, River Valley Camp.

1944, September - Embarked the Kachidoki Maru to be transported to Japan.

The Kachidoki Maru was built by New York Shipping Company in Camden, New Jersey and originally named ‘President Harrison’. The ship was 524 feet overall length with a displacement of 10,500 tons and was painted battle grey, flying the merchant marine flag, which was a red ball in the centre of a white field. It had no red cross markings.

The Japan party consisted of 2,250 prisoners, 1,500 were British the remainder Australian, the number who actually sailed with the convoy was 2,217. The Kachidoki Maru held 900 PoWs (all British) and The Rakuyo Maru a further 1317 (Australian and British).

On 4th September 1944, the two ships joined convoy HI-72 and sailed from Singapore.

On the 12th of September the convoy was attacked by US submarines and both the PoW hell ships were hit. The Kachidoki Maru was hit by a torpedo from the US submarine Pampanito.

USS Pampanito

Three torpedoes were fired at the Kachidoki Maru at 22.40, two hitting the ship, one at the stern and the other amidships. Both blew holes in the hull plates, flooding the entire aft end of the ship.

Most of those rescued from the Kachidoki Maru were picked up by Japanese trawlers and continued their journey to Japan on the Kibitsu Maru.

All of those who survived the sinking of the Kachidoki Maru jumped within the first ten minutes of the ship being hit.

1944/09/31 - Transported to Fukuoka 25B, Shinkai-machi, Omuta, Japan

Camp Leader Captain Wilkie

New PoW No. 14065

Aerial View of Fukuoka 25B

Worked at a carbide mfg. plant, Denki Kagaku Kogyo, Electro-chemical Industry Co.

Survivors of Kachidoki Maru Sinking

Department of Transport

Point Grey Monitoring Centre

Radio Tokyo, JZI. - February 26th 1945

"Humanity Calls"

Announced by Radio Tokyo:- List of British Prisoners of War who were interned in the Prisoner of War Camp in Thailand and who were rescued when the ship on which they were en route from Thailand to Japan was attacked and sunk by an American submarine on September 12th, 1944. The following men are now alive and well, and are interned in the Fukuoka Camp. Here is a list of 30 names:-

4863417, Pte. Frederick William Pay
5773517, Corp. John Pearce
5779283, Pte. Herbert George Philpot
1062877, Dvr. William John Pask
943444, Gnr. George Alfred Parker
4195376, L/Corp. Evans Cyril Parry
2877569, Pte. Albert Reid
6475281, Gnr. Albert John Robinson
2349045, Sign. Arthur Richards
2876668, Pte. Robert Riddick
1873780, Spr. Albert Ashley Rosier
909515, Gnr. Thomas Robinson
948050, Gnr. Clifford Rothwell
5831895, Corp. Michael Ruane
1871247, Corp. Robert George Roberst
872690, Gnr. Thomas Henry Robertson
T183924, Pte. Arthur Kenneth Rivers
5950229, Pte. Albert George Roberts
998919, Gnr. Ronald Thomas Sidney-Smith
4860488, L/Corp. Daniel Simpson
876229, Gnr. John Edward Sawyer
5836445, Pte. Edward Leonard Stanbridge
2364915, Sigmn. John Alfred Smith
2332605, Sigmn. Peter John Stalker
911, Spr. Samuel Sandison
4859190, L/Corp. Eric Stanley Sharpe
487314, Sgt. Harry Squires
PIX3806, Marine Dennis Southgate
1874108, Spr. Allan Sims
7611528, Pte. Thomas Herbert Saynor

1945/08/15 - Radio Surrender Announcement by the Japanese Emperor

1945/08/21 - Announcement, ‘war has ended’.

1945/08/28 - First food drops to camp

Letter to Japanese Commander of Fukuoka 25 Camp

Dated 2nd September 1945

To:- Lieutenant SHIORIRI., Commanding NO. 25 Camp., I.J.A. Detachment

From:- Captain R. D. WILKIE, Commanding Allied Troops., No. 25 Camp, FUKUOKA

Following upon our conversation of the 1st and 2nd of September 1945, I place on record the undernoted mutually decided arrangements for the welfare both of Allied Troops and Japanese Troops and Civilians. Please acknowledge forthwith.

Following the receipt of the Radio Broadcast at 1700 hours today announcing freedom for all Prisoners of War, you are to withdraw Outside the perimeter of the Camp into quarters which you will provide for yourselves. In this respect 48 hours extension of residence in your present quarters is permitted in the view of the possible difficulties in Obtaining other suitable quarters.

For the maintenance of discipline and as a precautionary measure you will supply, complete with equipment, 5 rifles and bayonets and 3 pistols. 50 rounds of ammunition for the former and 30 for the latter will be kept in the safe, the key of which will be held by an Officer. The foregoing arms and equipment are to be delivered to me within 12 hours of receipt of this letter.

Existing supplies, excepting rice, are at present distributed in various parts of the neighbourhood; these rations are to be collected during the course of the next 2 or 3 days and handed over to us at this Camp in bulk. Vegetables and other perishables perishable and semi-perishable rations will similarly be handed over, further supplies being provided by you on demand. You agree to provide transport for this purpose to the Camp. It is understood that the Japanese Civil and Military Police have been asked by you to cooperate in the provision of essential rations. This does not include more or less luxury items such as sugar.

All stores at present in this Camp, together with such others belonging to the Camp which are dispersed over the countryside and which will be brought into the Camp by you, are to be handed over to us as the property of the Allied Armies.

If you have what may be termed ‘personal stores’ they may be kept in the Camp. We will take every precaution to ensure the safety of these but will take no responsibility should damage or loss occur.

Fuel is to be provided by you in conjunction with the factory.

Materials and tools for barrack maintenance will be supplied, as heretofore, by the Factory who will also provide one carpenter to cooperate with our own tradesmen.

You agree to provide a reasonable supply of tobacco on repayment at current ruling prices, up to, if required, 10 cigarettes per man per day. The quantity, however, will not exceed this figure and will provided airborne supplies are maintained. not be necessary.

You are to make arrangements for the removal of night soil every other day. We will place the filled buckets outside the Camp for your collection and disposal.

Direct telephone communication (eliminating the exchange) is to be provided to No. 17 Camp by you. We will provide working personnel if required and local authorities the materials as soon as possible.

The following are the arrangements for parties leaving Camp for exercise, recreation, etc;

(a) For the time being, the parties will be of a minimum size of 5 men including an N.C.O. in charge who will carry a pass as per specimen enclosed.

(b) Bounds in town to be decided after a reconnaisance has been made with you. In any case the Railway Station and the brothel area are forbidden to all troops.

(c) No men will be permitted to leave Camp between 1800 and 0600 hours excepting Officers and Warrant Officers who will be provided with passes accordingly and of whose intention you will be notified. Warrant Officers will be in groups of not less than 3 in number.

(d) Police picquets consisting of an N.C.O. and 4 men will be provided by us to patrol the town area by day. These will be armed with batons. All will wear a white brassard marked in red "R.P." on the left arm.

(e) Troops found out of bounds or misconducting themselves in any way will be apprehended by our own patrols or, failing that, by the Civil and Military Authorities of the country and detained by the latter until relieved by our own police. Force is only to be resorted to as a last resort. Persuasion is first to be attempted and this Camp at once notified of the location of any disturbance, whereupon a police picquet will be sent in aid of the Japanese Authorities.

(f) The following articles must not on any account be given or sold to troops :-

(1) Raw fruit and vegetables

(2) Unboiled drinking water

(3) Alcohol of any description

(g) Passes, excepting those for Officers, are valid for the day of issue only.

(h) Passes will be produced at the request of the Japanese Authorities.

(i) Japanese Civil and Military Police may be in plain clothes.

(j) Officers may be recognised by their badges of rank, pass and will be armed with a pistol, excepting Medical Officers who will be wearing the Red Cross brassard on the left arm.

It is strongly recommended that an interpreter be maintained at Police Headquarters.

Specimen leave passes, bearing signatures of myself and Lieutenant MILLER., the two officers authorised to sign passes, are attached here in duplicate.

There will be no time signal. It is the duty of personnel on leave to be back in time.

As requested 5 Entry Passes each for the Japanese Military and Civil Police are enclosed herewith signed in blank. The holders must complete them and return the attached sheet of recognition-signatures before the receipt of which in this Office no Entry Pass will be valid.

Captain.,

Commanding Allied Troops No. 25 Camp., FUKUOKA.

1945/09/04 - British and American Flags raised

1945/09/05 - Herbert on roll for Fukuoka 25B

1945/09/16 - POWs depart by train for Omuta, to be shipped to Manila

1945/09/19 - On Roll Medical Report

Liberation Questionnaire, filled in by Herbert after being liberated

Repatriation

'HMS Glory'

1945/10/09 - Embarked Manila as a Hospital Walking Patient.

Destination Esquimalt Naval Base, Canada.

British then entrained to the East Coast and transported to UK.

1945/10/22 - WO417/98, Casualty List No. 1890. Previously shown on Casualty List No. 1181 as reported Prisoner of War now Not Prisoner of War. Previous Theatre of War, Malaya.