Plumb-Ernest-Hugh

To honour those who served their country

“In this their finest hour”

1889231

Sapper

Ernest Hugh Plumb

Known as Hugh

1918/12/12 - Born Walsoken, Norfolk

Son of Frank and Harriett Plumb

Brother to George Thomas (b.1916), Mabel Lucy (1901), Reginald Jack (b.1920)

Occupation Concrete Worker

1940 - Married Queenie Florence Taylor

1939/10/20 - Enlisted

Wife: Q.F, 30 Station Road, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire

Royal Engineers

287 Field Company

18th Division

53 Infantry Brigade

Service

The 287 Field Company were transported to Liverpool and sailed from Great Britain on the 30th October 1941 with Convoy CT.5.

1941/11/08 - At Halifax the 287 Field Company personnel were transferred USS Mount Vernon with the 53rd Infantry Brigade.

1941/11/10 - Left Halifax with Convoy William Sail 12X, destination unknown, believed to be Middle East.

Above Photo of Convoy William Sail 12X supplied by the late Maurice Rooney

Vought SB 2U Vindicator Scout Bomber - USS Ranger which was flying an Anti Submarine patrol over the convoy.

Front Line Top to Bottom:-

USS West Point - USS Mount Vernon - USS Wakefield - USS Quincy (Heavy Cruiser)

Back Row Top To Bottom:-

USAT Leonard Wood - USS Vincennes (Heavy Cruiser) - USS Joseph T Dickman

(USS Orizaba Ap-24 also sailed with Convoy though not pictured in photo)

1942/11/25 - Arrived Trinidad

1941/11/26 - Departed Trinidad

1941/12/08 - Japan entered war by bombing Pearl Harbour and invading Malaya

1941/12/09 - Arrived Cape Town, South Africa and shore leave granted.

1941/12/13 - Departed Cape Town

The 18th Division diverted from Middle East, their new destination was Singapore.

1941/12/25 - The Mount Vernon arrived Mombassa now in Convoy DM1 (Durban Malaya One

1941/12/29 - Departed Mombassa, escorted by the H.M.S. Emerald.

1942/01/13 - Arrived Singapore

1942/02/15 - Singapore surrendered to the Japanese

1942/04/02 - WO 417/41, Casualty List No. 787. Reported ‘Missing’.

1942/10/13 - WO 417/52, Casualty List No.953. Previously shown on Casualty List No.787 as Missing, 15/02/1942. Reported ‘Wounded and Missing’.

1943/06/05 - WO 417/62, Casualty List No. 1153. (Casualty List No. 953. Previously reported as Wounded and Missing, 15/02/1942). Now reported a ‘Prisoner of War’.

Japanese PoW

1942/02/15 - Captured Singapore

Changi Camp

PoW No. I 5090

Japanese Index Card - Side One

Japanese Index Card - Side Two

1943/04/25 - Transported overland to Thailand with ‘F’ Force, train 8

71st train to Thailand

Commander Lt-Col. F.W. Harris, 148 Field HQ, Royal Artillery

The route in cattle trucks to Thailand:-

1943/04/26 - Kuala Lumpur (0300 hrs), had rice and dried fish at Ipoh (1600 hrs)

1943/04/27 - Reached Pai (0200 hrs), arrived Haadyi (1700 hrs)

1943/04/28 - Water in cattle trucks very short, heat stifling in trucks all day..

1943/04/30 - 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.

1943/05/01 - 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.

1943/05/13 - PoWs from train 7 party moved out at 1930 hrs.

1943/06/02 - Reached Songkurai, many of the PoWs had dropped out along the route.

New PoW No. 8648

Camps included:-

Upper Kami Songkurai Camp 1 - 300 km from Nong Pladuk

‘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%*

1943/12/21 - Returned to Changi, Singapore

1945/09/05 - On Changi Camp roll

1945/11/02 - Liberated Singapore

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

1945/11/23 - WO417/99, Casualty List No. 1918. Previously reported on Casualty List No. 1153 as Prisoner of War now Not Prisoner of War. Previous Theatre of War, Malaya.