To honour those who served their country

“In this their finest hour”

Royal Engineers-tn

1864433

Sergeant

Guiseppe Vincenzo James Stracchino

jcross

1906/10/20 - Born  Norwich, Norfolk

Son of Vincenzo and Lottie. (nee Howes) Stracchino

Brother to Archille and Maria

(Father was a cook in a hotel and from Italy)

1911 Census the family lived Lambeth, London

On leaving school his occupation as a Clerical Man

 

1934/06 - Enlisted

Next of Kin:- Wife, Ada Elizabeth Stracchino (Born 1909/10/24)

Royal Engineers

41 Fortress Company

 

Service

The 41st Fortress Company, Royal Engineers was part of the Singapore Fortress. The Singapore Fortress was an Army Command responsible for the defence of Singapore Island, Commanded by Major-General F.K. Simmons.

1941/12/08 - Japanese invade Malaya, bringing the Japanese into WWII

Before Singapore fell to the Japanese on 15th February 1942, Guiseppe escaped by boat.

1942/03/27 - Guiseppe was picked up by a Dutch patrol boat and handed over to the Japanese to become a Prisoner of War in Sumatra.

 

1942/03/25 - WO 417/40, Casualty List No. 780. Reported ‘Missing’.

1943/10/28 - WO 417/67, Casualty List No. 1276. Previously reported Missing on Casualty List No. 780, 15/02/1942. Now reported Prisoner of War.

 

Japanese PoW

1942/03/29 - Captured

PoW No. VIII 46

Japanese Index Card - Side 1

Stracchino-Guiseppe-Vincenzo-James-01

Japanese Index Card - Side 2

Stracchino-Guiseppe-Vincenzo-James-02

1942/05/09 - The British Sumatra Battalion was formed with 20 officers and 480 other ranks. The service personnel were mostly escapees and considered to be trouble makers.

Leaving Padang, Sumatra by train they travelled to Fort de Kok. The next day a convoy of lorries took them to Uni Kampong Camp, where Dutch civilians were interned.

1942/05/15 -  The British Sumatra Battalion were packed into the hell ship ‘England Maru’ bound for Mergui, Burma, to build new runways, the death rate at Mergui was twelve.

The 10th of August saw another move on the hell ship Tatu Maru to Ann Hestletine Home at Tavoy, where the death rate fell to five.

The next move to Thanbyuzayat in November was the start of a hard toil on the Thailand to Burma railway, the death rate being:

Burma

 

Thanbyuzayat

14

18 Kilometer Camp

1

30 Kilometer Camp

6

55 Kilometer Camp

20

60 Kilometer Camp

16

84 Kilometer Camp

1

105 Kilometer Camp

1

114 Kilometer Camp

39

Thailand

Tamarkan

8

Kanchanburi

26

Nakan Paton

1

After the railway was finished, in March 1944, the British Sumatra Battalian were split up, 140 had died, 190 were at Kanchanburi Hospital and forty were still in camps along the railway line. The Japanese wanted parties for Japan and out of 2034 Dutch, Australian, American and British prisoners, seven parties (Kumis) were formed. Each kumis consisted of an officer, medical orderly and 150 other ranks. The British Sumatra Battalion formed the 51 Kumi Party  bound for Saigon, French Indo China.

Guiseppe taken from hospital to be with the 51 Kumis bound for Saigon, French Indo-China

New PoW No. VIII 15353

Kumis 49 (Americans), 50 (mixed nationalities) and 51 (British) arrived at the Saigon Camp situated on the Rue Catinat where one death occurred.

The 200 left behind in Burma when the 51 Kumis left, were forced from the hospital camps at Kanchanburi and Tarmakan and helped build the Tavoy Road, whilst others formed maintenance parties on the railway.

1944/03 - The 51 Kumis were transported by train to Non Pladuk where they spent a week.

1944/03/18 - then on to Bangkok. There followed a very long journey of about 400 mile by train to Phnom Penh in French Indo-China. which is on the banks of the Mekong River.

1944/04/ Barges were used to cross the Mekong and then a steamer for the final part of their transport to Saigon.

Their final destination was supposed to be Japan but the 51 Kumis but the PoWs were marched to an old French Barracks, finding the previous Australian and Dutch Kumis from Burma already there. They joined about 400 British Pows who had been at Saigon for the last two years occupying five large wooden huts.

Saigon Camp 10-tn

The 51 and 49 Kumis from Burma were housed in the old disused Jail.

Lt-Col. Hugonan was the Senior officer of the camp which was situated on the Rue Catinat on the main thoroughfare between the native quarter and French quarter of Saigon. All the huts were wooden, except for the bamboo and attap roofed hospital. All huts had electric lights. The main work was loading barges with rice but also moving oil drums from fuel dumps to the airfield.

The freshly arrived Burma PoWs were told two Pows had tried to escape but were caught at the station by the Vichy French trying to board a train for Hanoi. They were handed over to the kempetai, tortured then beheaded, this was a warning.

The camp was made up from English Resident Troops, or ERTs as they became known and the Burma Kumis (Transit Troops), the two groups were kept separate with different Japanese guards so they did not mix.

The hours of work were 9am to 6.30pm with a two hour break mid day for lunch. The PoWs found the situation far from the terrible conditions on the Thailand-Burma, they even had a tap for drinking water.

In May 1944 the Kumis, or TTs, were supposed to have continued their journey to Japan but it was delayed and their temporary huts were over crowded, so in June the Australians from the Burma railway were amalgamated with the ERTs.

While loading the sacks of rice into the ships at the docks, Guiseppe and his mates would urinate on them so the cargo swelled up in transportation, hopefully causing problems . They never found out if it worked.

In November an ERT escaped from the aerodrome and the Japanese built a bamboo  fence around the camp and the Japanese security was tighter. It did not help when an American pilot also walked out of the camp and the Japanese took it out on the remaining PoWs. Hourly roll calls were put into place.

Early in 1945 more PoWs arrived and were placed in the old hospital camp, this was  followed by increased bombing raids.

Then came the ditches being dug around the camps, the PoWs were in no doubt that the ditches were for them as the end was seen to be in sight. The guards were then replaced with much older men and the fighting guards were taken away. Japanese planes and shipping were bring destroyed in air raids and this added to the belief that the end of the war was near.

1945/09/01 - Guiseppe was on the Roll at Saigon

Security became less and then faded away completely. French families even invited the PoWs into their homes for meals but this was ended when the native population started attacking the French families, they wanted independence from French rule. The PoWs still did not realise that they were free until British and Dutch paratroopers dropped into the camp and got the PoWs organised.

Then the airlift to Rangoon, via refuelling at Bangkok, started taking place, and after being hospitalised in Rangoon - home.

Liberation Questionnaire

 

1945/10/16 - WO417/98, Casualty List No. 1885. Previously reported on Casualty List No. 1276 as Prisoner of War now Not Prisoner of War. Previous Theatre of War, Malaya.

 

1947/06/16

Report by Major D.P. Apthorp

British Sumatra Battalion Commander

Stracchino-Guiseppe-Vincenzo-James-10

 

pacific-star-tn

war-medal-1939-1945-tn

1939-1945 Star-tn

Pacific Star

War Medal

1939-1945 Star

 

Post War

1952/06/02 - WO102_29, Authority; Army Order 16/53. Warrant Officer Class 2

 

Died

7th February 1984

London

 

Information

Karen Bailey - Granddaughter

Andrew Snow - Thailand Burma Railway Centre

Malay Command

British Sumatra Battalion

Japanese Transports

Thailand-Burma Railway

Liberation Questionnaire - COFEPOW

Book ‘The British Sumatra Battalion’ by A.A. Apthorp

KEW Files:- WO 392/26, WO 361/2172, WO 345/50, WO 361/1955, WO 361/2196, WO 361/1112, WO 417/98,

*

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