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5952748
Private
Stephen Robinson
1919/02/26 - Born Kinsbourne Green, Hertfordshire
Son of Stephen and Elizabeth (nee Read) Robinson
Occupation Painter and Decorator
1939/10/18 - Enlisted
Next of Kin Parents: S and E Robinson, Kinsbourne Green, Hertfordshire
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment
5th Battalion
Service
The 5th Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment was formed as a Territorial Unit in August 1939.
In mid 1940 after brief training, the Battalion moved to Thetford in the Brecklands of Norfolk and became part of the 55 Infantry Battalion, 18th Division. While in Norfolk the Battalion took up defensive duties at Wroxham and North Walsham where in August they received an inspection by King George VI.
In January 1941 the 5th Battalion moved to Scotland for more training in the bitter weathered, snow-covered hills. After a short stay they moved to Uttoxeter, England for a further move to Merevale Park, in Warwickshire, where further training was undertaken.
In September the Battalion was mobilised for an oversea posting and was moved to Whittington Barracks, Lichfield. Some officers and Battalion equipment left for Birkenhead, Liverpool on the 16th October in the SS Bonnikom (ship R277). and Sailed for the Middle East. The Battalion were entrained near midnight, on the 27th October in bad weather to Liverpool.
On the 28th October 1941 the 5th Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment sailed in the CT.5 Convoy from Liverpool in the ‘Reina Del Pacifico’, although embarking with tropical gear, their destination was unknown most thought it would be the desert of the Middle East as that was were the SS Bonnikom was now sailing with the Battalions equipment.
‘Reina Del Pacifico’
The CT.5 Convoy consisted of mainly East Anglian Territorials from Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire but there were also the 1/5 Sherwood Foresters, 9th Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, 5th Beds and Herts and the 5th Loyals from Lancashire. The journey was rough and seasickness on a crowded boat has its disadvantages but it can also help bind men together and spirits were high. Halfway across the Atlantic our small British escort changed to a large American force including an aircraft carrier the Lexington, two heavy and two light cruisers and destroyers.
‘USS West Point’
On reaching Halifax on November 10th, they were transferred to USS West Point as part of the 55th Infantry Brigade 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.
Convoy William Sail 12X
Above Photo supplied by the late Maurice Rooney
Detailed Account by Thomas M. Allison
A reproduction of an account by Thomas M. Allison who is understood to be serving as an American Naval officer in the convoy.
Aircraft
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)
Ships Back Line Top to Bottom:-
USAT Leonard Wood - USS Vincennes (Heavy Cruiser) - USS Joseph T Dickman
The convoy passed through the Mona Passage between Puerto Rico and St Domingo.
Arrived at Trinidad 17th November in glorious sunshine so troops changed to tropical kit, but no shore-leave, left Trinidad after two days of taking on supplies. The equator was crossed soon after leaving Trinidad on the 24th, there was a crossing the line ceremony.
After a month the convoy arrived at Cape Town, and soon after on the 8th December news reached the regiment that Japan had attacked Pearl Harbour and Malaya.
Britain and America were now at war with Japan and the rumours were that the convoy was now heading for the Far East and not the Middle East as first thought.
On the 13th December the convoy left Cape Town and sailed along the coast of East Africa past Madagascar and into the Indian Ocean heading for Bombay.
After 17,011 miles at sea Bombay was reached on 27th December. Travelling up country by train to Ahmednagar, near Poona where they trained for the next twelve days, route marching in the sun to get used to the heat and wondering what all this was for, they were soon to find out.
Embarking on the West Point on the 17th January, the convoy departed Bombay on 18th January, meeting with an escort of British ships off Ceylon that included HMS Exeter, HMS Glasgow, HMS Durban, and couple of deep-blue coloured Australian destroyers (HMS Encounter, HMS Enchantress and HMS Electra). Destination Singapore. Passing Colombo, (Ceylon) and crossing the equator for the third time, the convoy passed through the Sundra straits between Java and Sumatra and then the Banka straits. The convoy was then bombed by Japanese Planes, there was no damage.
The convoy reached the safety of Keppel Harbour, Singapore on 29th January. 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.
The 5th Battalion had lost all of its equipment on the SS Bonnikom, when it was torpedoed by a German raider and lost off the coast of South Africa, as well as the transports aboard the Empire Star, which had sustained damage during enemy attacks and was not able to discharge her cargo at Singapore: it would therefore have to acquire the majority of its equipment and carriers from other units.
With the threat of Japanese aircraft bombing the fleet, the Beds and Herts were transported by the Australian RASC to Birdwood Camp in Changi Village. The exodus from the West Point was quickly reversed as women and children embarked to take up the empty cabins, ready to be evacuated from Singapore. The rest of the day saw the Japanese bombs falling in hourly raids on the harbour area.
The 18th Division were to take defensive positions along the North-East coastline of Singapore to stop the suspected Japanese attack in this area from across the Straits of Jahor. Two days after the West Point had docked the last troops were piped across the causeway by the Argylls, and the causeway connecting Singapore to Jahor was blown.
Singapore 1942
Map Supplied by Tim Lloyds
In the meantime the Beds and Herts had to find the necessary transport vehicles and Captain Corner, the Motor Transport Officer, was allocated 47 abandoned vehicles. The vehicles were urgently needed as the battalion were moved behind the Seletar Aerodrome that afternoon, the move took until 3am next morning.
18th Division Positions
Map from Story Board (Old Ford Factory)
The whole of 55 Infantry Brigade had taken defensive positions up in this area awaiting the suspected Japanese assault, with the Beds and Herts position on the approach to Sungei Seletar, ‘A’ and ‘B’ Companies close to Sungei Seletar, ‘C’ to the rear and ‘D’ Company midway. The 1st Cambridgeshires were at Seletar’s right flank and the 1/5th Sherwood Foresters in reserve. The 88th Field Regiment, RA were supporting the 6th Norfolks on the Seletar left, The Northumberland Fusiliers in defensive positions along the coastline, ensuring good fire power with their machine guns.
Everything changed when the Japanese attacked the North-West coastline on the 9th February, attacking the Australian positions, and by evening the causeway had been repaired by the Japanese and their tanks were crossing.
The 55 Infantry Brigade were now in the wrong defensive positions and had to be moved. Lt Col Thomas return from Brigade ‘HQ’ with the news that the Battalion was to be split up. ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘D’ and part of ‘HQ’ Company under Lt Col Thomas and Major Ditton, was to be moved to Southern Command. ‘R’ Company, ‘C’ Company and ‘B’ Company Echelon Platoon, and the majority of ‘HQ’ Company to Thompsons Village, at Hill 105. ‘D’ Company were put into 18th Division Reserve, while ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ Companies were moved that night to Adam and Lornie Road under the 1st Malayan Reserve, Southern Command. ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘D’ Companies were then moved and with the 2nd Loyals took positions blocking railway bridges and hills 125,100 and 80. ‘A’ Company engaged the Japanese on Hill 125 (Rochester Park) and ‘D’ Company ambushed Japanese troops marching along Ayer Raja Road inflicting Japanese casualties. ‘C’ Company took up their positions at Hill 105, MacRitchie Reservoir and joined by ‘Wells Force’, ‘HQ’ Company under Major Tom Well.
By the 11th February ‘A’,’ B’ and ‘D’ were still in reserve positions in the Buaona Vista Road area, apart from the shelling there was no enemy activity. ‘B’ taking positions on Hill 80 and the Chinese Cemetery.
On the 12th February a final line was established to defend the City from Bukit Timah and Alexandra Road to the coast and another line from Adam Park to Thompson Village. The defence of the MacRitchie Reservoir was handed to the 55 Infantry Brigade along the southern shore of the reservoir. The 54 Infantry Brigade were at Mount Pleasant and Bukit Brown Cemetery on the left flank and the 53 Infantry Brigade on the right flank, close to the rubber factory.
The fighting over the next days was intense with ‘C’ Company deaths mounting on Hill 105.
A full coverage of the battle before ceasefire on the 15th is available in his book ‘From the Woods to the Jungle’ by Martyn Fryer.
Singapore had Surrendered 15th February 1942
1942/05/07, WO 417/43, Casualty List No. 817. Reported ‘Missing’.
1943/08/09 - WO 417/64, Casualty List No. 1207. Previously shown on Casualty List No. 817 as Missing. Now reported a ‘Prisoner of War’.
Japanese PoW
1942/02/15 - Captured Singapore
1942/02/19 - Changi Camp
PoW No. M-2928
1942/04/13 - Bukit Timah
Japanese Index Card - Side One
Japanese Index Card - Side Two
1942/10/17 - Transported overland to Thailand
Work Group 2
New PoW No. II 7743
Working in the area from Chungkai to Wang Pho.
Then onto Tha Khanun.
1943/10/25 - Thailand and Burma lines joined ar Konkoita, Thailand
1944 - Returned to Chungkai
New PoW No. 13750
1945/08/30 - Liberated Thailand
Flown from Bangkok to Rangoon to be shipped home
Liberation Questionnaire filled in by Stephen after being liberated
1945/09/21 - WO417/96_2, Casualty List No. 1864. Previously reported on Casualty List No. 1207 as Prisoner of War now Not Prisoner of War. Previous Theatre of War, Malaya.
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Pacific Star
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War Medal
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1939-1945 Star
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Far East Medals
Post War
In 1946, Stephen married Daphne Humphrey from Wheathampstead.
They lived in Harpenden all their married life together.
Stephen died in January 2012 aged 92.
Before he Stephen died, he asked his daughter Diane, to scatter his ashes on the ‘Ups and Down’ common where he had played as a boy, it was only a stones throw from where he lived as a boy, then he lived later with Daphne after their marriage.
Information
Diane George - Daughter
‘From the Woods to the Jungle’ by Martyn Fryer (Book highly recommended)
Andrew Snow - Thailand Burma Railway Centre
Fall of Malaya and Singapore
Beds and Herts Regiment, 5th Btn
Thailand Burma Railway
KEW Files:- WO 361/2178, WO 345/44, WO 361/2167, WO 392/26, WO 361/2196, WO 361/2167, WO 361/2172, WO 361/1955,
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