Stoakley-Charles-Victor

To honour those who served their country

“In this their finest hour”

2009987

Lance Corporal

Charles Victor Stoakley

1916/10/23 - Born Kings Lynn, Norfolk

Son of Alfred and Florence May (nee Juby) Stoakley

In 1921 Census Charles was staying with Grandparents Charles and Julia Juby at Swindon, Wiltshire

Occupation Concrete Worker

1939 Charles married Lenorah Florence Olive Craft at Cambridge

Home when enlisted was Cambridgeshire

Next of Kin Wife, Lenorah Florence Olive Stoakley, School House, Cambridge Road, Waterbeach

Royal Engineers

288 Field Company

18th Division

Service

The duties of Royal Engineers were numerous in World War 2, tunnelling, trench-building, forestry, quarrying, gas warfare, inland water transport, aerial survey, topographical photography, camouflaging techniques, bomb disposal, mine clearance, demolition, airfield construction, building Bailey Bridges, and the use of tanks adapted for battlefield engineering known as AVREs (Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers).

Early training in early 1940 was given to the 288 Field Company at a tented village on the Downs, Canterbury. Then Thetford in the Breckland district of Norfolk before being transported to the East Anglian coast line where they mined the beaches. In April 1941 the company was transported to Blackburn, training until June. In August again a move this time with the 18th Division to Ross-on-Wye, Scotland, where route marches followed. As tropical kit was issued the troops realised they were going to a warm climate, possibly the Middle East.

The 288 Field Company departed from Liverpool for overseas service with the 18th Division on 28 October 1941 as part of the 55 Infantry Brigade, 18th Division they arrived at Liverpool.

Orcades

Leaving Liverpool on the 30th October 1941 with the ‘Orcades’ in Convoy CT.5, sailing for Halifax, the final destination was unknown but was thought to be the Middle East.

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:-

USS 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 news reached the Company that Japan had attacked Pearl Harbour and Malaya on the 8th December. 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 and the Company were transported by train to Ahmednagar for further training. After a few weeks of training they were transported back to Bombay and again boarded the USS West Point on the 17th January.

The USS West Point formed part of Convoy BM 11 which left Bombay on 18th January, sailing with a British escort. The escort included HMS Exeter and HMS Glasgow with British and Australian destroyers, destination was now the Far East.

Passing Colombo, (Ceylon), crossing the equator for the third time, the convoy passed through the Sunda 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.

Two days after the West Point reached Singapore, Lieutenant-General Percival had the causeway joining Malaya to Singapore blown by Royal Engineers, leaving a 70 Foot gap. Believing the Japanese would cross the Johore Strait in the North East of Singapore Island, the Royal Engineers were used to mine the North Eastern Coastline. The Japanese had other ideas and Japanese General Yamashita who had set up the bluff, established landings on the North West of the Island, just before midnight on the 8th February.

Battle of Singapore

Map by Ron Taylor

By the 9th the Japanese had established a foothold. It was only time before the Japanese were able to push back the 8th Australian Division. The Japanese then repaired and crossed the causeway, with armoured vehicles and tanks.

Fierce fighting followed but the Japanese had the planes, tanks and the troops who had battle experience. It was only days before the Japanese threatened the Singapore water supply.

The 288 Field Company lost two engineers in the Battle for Singapore.

Singapore Surrender

Singapore surrendered 15th February 1942 a major factor being the Japanese could easily stop the water from the reservoirs reaching the population of Singapore City.

1943/03/27 - WO 417/40, Casualty List No. 782. Reported ‘Missing’.

1943/04/16 - WO 417/59, Casualty List No. 1111. Previously shown on Casualty List No. 782 as Missing, 15/02/1942. Now reported a ‘Prisoner of War’.

1945/09/29 - WO417/97_1, Casualty List No. 1871. Previously shown on Casualty List No. 1766 and 1111 as reported Prisoner of War. Previous Theatre of War, Malaya. Now reported ‘Killed in Action’.

Japanese PoW

1942/02/15 - Captured Singapore

PoW No. M-406

Japanese Index Card - Side One

Japanese Index Card - Side Two

Dainichi Maru

1942/10/27 - Transported oversea to Taiwan in the Dainichi Maru, via Saigon.

1942/11/14 - Arrived Takao, Taiwan

The British POWs boarded trains for the journey to the camp which lies roughly in the centre of the island of Taiwan. The journey took them all night to reach Taichu and early the next morning they were taken out to the site of the camp. There were approximately 300 POWs in this group.

New PoW No. III-2175

Camps in Taiwan:-

Taichu Camp

The PoWs work at the camp included excavation of a huge flood diversion channel in the river valley which ran adjacent to the camp.

Heito Camp

In late 1943 Charles was moved from Taichu to Heito.

In addition to working in the fields, where they gathered in the cane , some of the men worked at the nearby sugar factory in the town of Heito (Pingtung).

Heito Camp was bombed by the Americans on February 7th 1945 killing twenty-eight POWs, several of the guards, and injuring a further 80 POWs. The Japanese provided no medical assistance to the wounded POWs and this resulted in several more deaths, which included the death of Charles.

Died

Age 28

15th February 1945

Cause of death by Allied Bombing Raid, Taiwan