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This page contains requests by COFEPOW members and others seeking information relating to FEPOWs and their stories. It has been some considerable time since requests. The following requests therefore are now only for information purposes.
Gunner Thomas Menzies I have acquired a postcard sent from Thomas Menzies (Rank -
Gunner) from No. 4 POW Camp, Thailand to Mrs T Menzies, 15 Croalchapel,
Closeburn, Dumfrieshire, passed by the British censor and the Japanese
censor. Would this be of interest to anyone? Peter Titheridge Email: titheridge@onetel.com
Jack Ford - 4th Suffolk Regiment Nicholas Samson writes - Can anyone help please? My father-in-law is trying to trace details of his father - Jack Ford - Private, who served with the 4th Suffolks and was captured and imprisoned in Changi at the fall of Singapore. His duties whilst in Changi, saw him acting as a medic. He was subsequently transferred to Hokkaido Island, Japan in May 1943. His route to Hakkaido, we think, took him through Moje, to Muroran and finally held at Hakadate. If anyone has any information, we would love to hear from you. Please email me:
Nicholas.m.Samson@btinternet.com
Pte Frederick George Hale - 5th Bn Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Regiment Alexander Peck writes - I am trying to research as much as possible into the life of Pte Frederick George Hale, 5951764, 5th Bn., Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment. Any information relating to Fred or his regiment, or indeed any information about the 18th Division (Fred's battalion was part of 55th Brigade) would be appreciated. I am particularly interested about his time as a POW and any information as regards to the camps that he served in or indeed the work he did as a POW would be most helpful and gratiously accepted.
Please send any information to alexandergpeck@yahoo.co.uk
Harry Leonard Watson I am trying to trace the son of late Harry Leonard Watson, he will also be the grandson of Reginald M. Filmer. Harry Watson died in Palembang POW Camp, Sumatra in 1944 as a Japanese Prisoner of War. I think that prior to capture he was at H.M. Naval Base, Singapore, so it seems possible that he was in the Navy. I believe Harry lived in Bath, Somerset before the war and had connections in Darlington, Co. Durham. COFEPOW has been donated many artefacts for the new Far East Prisoners of War Memorial Building and a bible, once belonging to Harry Watson has come into my hands. I know he had a son, but not his name or his whereabouts, if he is still alive. I would dearly like to return this bible to Harry's son or any member of the family, can anyone help trace him. Thank you. Carol Cooper COFEPOW Chairman - Email Carol.Cooper@cofepow.org.uk
35th Regt LAA (78 Btty) & Kuching POW Camp Alan Jordan writes:- i would like to hear from any ex-serviceman (or family & friends) who shared my late father's WWII experiences on joining 35th LAA Regt (78 Btty) RA and/or in Kuching POW Camp (Borneo) after his capture on Java in 1942. I would be interested in any personal photographs, documents, books etc. which give some insight into his Army service. If you can help please Email pljordan20@yahoo.co.uk or write to A Jordan at Higher Lodge, North Molton, Devon, EX36 3HP. Thank you.
Jack Ford - 4th Suffolk Regiment Can anyone help please. My father-in-law is trying to trace details of his father - Jack Ford
- Private, who served with the 4th Suffolks and was captured and imprisoned
in Changi at the fall of Singapore. His duties whilst in Changi, saw
him acting as a medic. He subsequently was transferred to Hokkaido Island, Japan in May 1943. His route to Hakkaido, we think, took him through Moje, to Muroran and finally held at Hakadate. If anyone has any information, we would love to hear from you. Please email me: Nicholas.m.Samson@btinternet.com
Lt Col (Jake) John Corbet Yale Andrew Yale writes :- I would like to hear from anyone who knew Lt Col (Jake) John Corbet Yale , the Command Hong Kong & Singapore Royal Artillery who was killed on 20th December 1941. Please contact AndrewCJYale@aol.com
Lt Col Edward Barclay Holmes COFEPOW member Rebecca Bennett writes ;- I am looking for any memories, information or anecdotes about my great grandfather, Edward Barclay Holmes (1892 - 1964). He was commanding officer of the 1st Manchester Battalion (machine gun) and part of the Singapore Fortress under Malaya Command. After capture, when the senior officers were sent to Formosa, Holmes was appointed to command British and Australian troops in Changi. We know very little of his personal experiences during these years as he didn't speak about them at all on his return after the war. His wife and daughter went for two years with no knowledge of where he was or even if he was alive. A few things I have been able to find out are that in October 1943 he was admitted to hospital - not sure what this was for or for how long - and then on 24th July 1944 he was replaced by Lt Col Newey of the Singapore Volunteers as representative officer in charge of camp administration. Holmes was himself a Freemason and allowed meetings and other activities in Changi. We also have a photograph of him with Mountbatten in Singapore at the end of the war (possibly 2nd week of September 1945 ) but I haven't found details anywhere yet of Mountbatten's visit to Changi. Does anyone remember him or know the names of any other POWs who he would have worked alongside in the camp or know of any others in the 1st Manchester Battalion? Any assistance would be very much appreciated. I visit Singapore in September and would like as much information as I can get before I go. Anyone who can help should please Email Rebecca Bennett at alexander.n.bennett@btinternet.com
Robert Guy & Margaret Young Davidson Drew Davidson writes:- My great aunt and her husband, Robert Guy & Margaret Young m.s. Davidson were rubber planters in Malaya. The family never heard anything from them after the war. The family verbal history stated that their son was a pilot like his father and was killed. Margaret met and married Robert in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1919 where Robert was a lieutenant in the RAF. His address on the marriage certificate was given as The Manse, Kuala Lumpur, Federated Malaysian States. Margaret had occasionally written to her brother in Canada before the war and had sent a couple of photos, one below, which I think shows Robert and Margaret and maybe their son.
Any assistance on finding what happened to them would be appreciated. Please contact : - macdhaibhidh@blueyonder.co.uk
77th HAA Regiment RA COFEPOW member Kathleen Booth writes :- "My late father, Harry Hamer, was captured on Java on March 1942. He spent about 7 months at Camp No. 9, Tanjong Priok before being transported to Japan on the 'Singapore Maru'. He spent the rest of the War working in the coal mine at Ohama Camp on Honshu Island. This Camp was variously numbered Fukuoka No. 9, Fukuoka No. 4 and Hiroshima No. 9. I would love to hear from anyone who can remember my father or who recognises anyone on the photos below ( taken at the beginning of September 1945). Can anyone tell me how many of the 77th HAA went to Java and how many returned from each of the 3 Batteries? Or where I could find out this information , as the 77th HAA no longer exists." Contact : Mrs Kathleen Booth, 58 Oaklands Avenue, Heanor, Derby, DE75 7BB
The Fall of Hong Kong & 2nd Battalion Royal Scots COFEPOW member David Stanford writes :- I would be grateful to receive any stories relating to any or all of the following topics:- 2nd Battalion Royal Scots - what life was like in India and Hong Kong, socially, economically, ex-pat life in general. Evacuation stories to Australia and New Zealand, especially prior to the Japanese attack. Absolutely anything to do with conditions in Hong Kong in pre-war years and up to the attack. Any memories that anyone has regarding 2nd Batt. and if there are any about C Coy then wonderful. I am trying to get a general overview of the life, times and events leading up to the fall of Hong Kong. Anyone with memories or stories which would be useful to my project please send to :- stanford@djkl.fsnet.co.uk or to - 2 Montrose Avenue, Welling , Kent, DA16 2QZ
Experiences after demobilization and Civil Resettlement Units My name is Alan Allport and I'm a British Ph.D. history student at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. I'm researching the experience of demobilized British ex-servicemen (including ex-POWs) in the immediate aftermath of World War II. The Second World War is a big part of our popular culture today, but it's surprising just how little has ever been written about what happened to ex-servicemen after they were demobbed and returned to civvy street. How easily did they readjust to lives that had been rudely abandoned up to six years before? What were the difficulties involved in getting home, finding a job and a place to live, and settling down again into family life? These are some of the questions I'm trying to address. I hope eventually to turn my research into a book. The challenges facing ex-POWs, particularly those from the Far East, were probably greater than those of any other group of demobilized men, but there's virtually no historical record of what happened to them after their return to the UK. For example, the government at the time did try to take their special needs into account by creating voluntary Civil Resettlement Units (CRUs) as an aid to rehabilitation,and I know that tens of thousands of former POWs entered these units for various lengths of time; but how effective were they? The record is currently blank. It's the process of resettlement at the individual human level - often a traumatic experience - that I'm trying to recapture for posterity. I would be extremely grateful if any COFEPOW members would be willing to contact me to provide information about their own, or a relative's, experiences following World War II demob. I am hoping to arrange face-to-face interviews with former POWs next year, but even a letter or email would be invaluable. If you are interested in helping me with my research please contact me at my email address allport@sas.upenn.edu or at - Alan Allport, 73 High Street, Hook, Goole, E Yorks, DN14 5PA. All mail will receive prompt response and will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Malayan / Singapore Volunteer Forces (FMSVF & SSVF ) I am searching for copies of 'The Volunteer' (FMSVF) and 'The SSVF Journal' of the Straits Settlements Volunteer Force. If anyone has any copies they no longer want and are looking for a good home for them I would be delighted to look after them. Alternatively if I could borrow your copies to photocopy I would be extremely grateful. Paul Riches: E-mail: paul@far-eastern-volunteers.co.uk
Information required on 'Pow-Wow
and 'The Scrounger' Letter received by COFEPOW from Roger Bourke Please let me introduce myself: I am a researcher with the University of Western Australia's department of English, Communication and Cultural Studies. I recently completed my Ph.D, 'The Last Subject in the World : Fiction of the Prisoner-of-War Experience under the Japanese', and I am now adapting the thesis for possible publication as a book. During my research, I came across some interesting material about two prisoner newsletters that were published by the civilian internees in Changi: 'Pow-Wow' and 'The Scrounger'. 'Pow-Wow' was the women's newsletter, published briefly in Changi Prison by the well-known Freddy Bloom, and is described in her published diary, 'Dear Philip: A Diary of Captivity, Changi, 1942-45' (London: The Bodley Head, 1980) and by the journalist Leslie Bell in his 'Destined Meeting' (London: Odhams Press, 1959). 'The Scrounger' seems to have been the men's newsletter, published either in Changi Prison or, later, in Sime Road camp. I have found no published references to it and just a single reference on the Internet, which states that shortly after the war in 1945 a 'souvenir edition' was published in Singapore. I would like, through you, to make an appeal for further information about 'Pow-Wow' and 'The Scrounger'. I would be particularly keen to hear from anyone who has actual copies of either of these newsletters. I would greatly appreciate your help with this request. My postal address is:- Roger Bourke Many thanks and best regards Roger Bourke
Lieutenant Canute Phillips LARSON 2/12 Frontier Force Regiment. Assistant Brigade Major 8th.Indian Infantry Brigade ( 9th. Indian Infantry Division) Kota Bahru, Malaya April 1941 to February 1942. Company Commander 2/9 Jats Regiment (15th.Brigade) February 1942. Missing during escape attempt from Bukit Timah area 12/13th February 1942. Any sighting, meeting, or anything else please contact :- Trevor Austin - Email :
ktaustin@11greeenlane.freeserve.co.uk
'SS Zaandaam' Received from COFEPOW member Nigel Killeen "I see that COFEPOW has a list of ships involved in SE Asia. This
states that the 'SS Zaandam' arrived in Fremantle 6th March 1942.
Elsewhere I have read that she was a Dutch merchant vessel sunk by torpedo
off the coast of Brazil on 2/11/1942. Anyone who can help should contact Nigel at nigelk@dplanet.ch or contact COFEPOW
48th LAA Regiment RA Keith Clarke would like to postively identify the photograph which appears on this website under 'Armed Forces - 48th LAA'. This was thought to be 242 Battery but may be 95 Battery. If anyone can help please contact Keith - keithclarke@btinternet.com.
Women & Children Escapees from Singapore in January 1942 by air The following letter has been sent to COFEPOW by member Mary Harris :- "I would like to contact any women and children who remember staff at Raffles College, Singapore and/or who left Singapore in January or February 1942 by air. My father was Norman Alexander, Professor of Physics at Raffles College and he was interned as a civilian in Changi because, although a Volunteer, he was acting as Scientific Advisor to the Singapore Government up to the Fall. At the very end, he was working in the General Hospital as a volunteer because he had the skills to keep the X-ray machines going. When not doing that he acted as an orderly. Other Raffles College staff became POWs and many worked on the Railway as well. My mother, Elizabeth, was also a scientist and did work both in geology and in Radio Direction Finding at the Naval Base until January 1942. She and her three small children (I am the middle one) left by flying boat some time in the middle of January to go to my father's family in New Zealand. Her plan was to leave us in safety and return to Singapore with some secret radar gear from Sydney, but Singapore had fallen by the time we arrived. In New Zealand she took work in radar research and during that time she kept a diary which I am now preparing for publication. Now that records have been de-classified her work is being recognised as very significant in the field of radar history. I am writing my book entirely from the point of view of what happens to women and children in Wars and what happened in this War in particular. I intend to include childrens' memories of the escape, the experiences of women escapees (not internees this time), the lives they made for themselves, often under very difficult circumstances and the problems they had looking after traumatised husbands on their release. There is very little in the massive literature of those times on what the women and children suffered and I intend trying to redress the balance at least a little." Anyone who can help should please contact Mary at mary@maryeharris.plus.com
James Colin Walter Elliott - 1st/5th Sherwood Foresters Colin Elliott writes :- " My late father James Colin Walter Elliott of the 1st / 5th Sherwood Foresters was captured and became a POW in Changi. He passed away some 32 years ago in Roehampton Hospital from the injuries and medical condition caused by his time as a POW I am trying to find out about his regiment and anyone who may have known or served with him." If anyone can help please contact Colin - Email :- explok9@hotmail.com
Jewish FEPOWs Martin Sugarman, Archivist of the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen
and Women of the UK (AJEX) Museum is seeking information on Jewish
British and Commonwealth Far East Prisoners of War including civilians
and Dutch citizens. Anyone who can help should contact Martin.
2nd Battalion Royal Scots David Stanford is seeking ANY information from any survivors or people with stories that relate to the following topics :- 2nd Bat. Royal Scots in Hong Kong/India pre-1941 and/or Lisbon Maru 2nd Bat. Royal Scots in Osaka docks who survived the Lisbon Maru 2nd Bat. Royal Scots 'C' Company in the defence of Hong Kong 8th - 25th December 1941 and finally...any evacuees, whose fathers/husbands/brothers were members of the Royal Scots (2nd Bat. if possible), who were shipped to Australia via Manila shortly before the capitulation of Hong Kong. All replies to stanford@djkl.fsnet.co.uk
Norman Isaac Winning MBE Kevin Bovill writes :- I am a researcher at the Army museum in Perth, Western Australia. I would like to contact any civilian who had any form of contact with the large Anglo-Dutch plantation company the Pamanukan en Tjiasemlanden. (P&T). I am seeking information about NORMAN ISSAC WINNING MBE. A Scot born at Oban in 1906 and employed by the P&T pre and post war. He worked around the Subang, West Java and was killed at the Sumur Barang plantation on the 5th December 1950. The subject of my quest was known to many who were interned in 1942-45. In her book 'Java Nightmare', Dorothy Jackson mentions the Leslie family. I was able to contact a member who could recall Norman but was too old to be of any assistance. As many of the P&T employees and families were interned and returned to Java post-war there may be a member of COFEPOW who can remember him and possibly attended his funeral or know something of the company policy regarding burials at Subang. Norman Winning was not a POW but came to Australia and served with
distinction in the If anyone can help please contact Kevin Bovill - Email: kbovill@iinet.net.au
Gunner John Waite Guy - HAA -RA Gloria Howell writes :- I would be most grateful if you could advise
me of any other sites I could visit for information regarding my father
and/or his prisoner of war camp and friends. Surname: GUY Forenames: John Waite Date of Birth: 20th June 1915 If you can help please contact Gloria Howell - Email: grailandpreece@btconnect.com
1653703 Gunner Harold Gissing 49 LAA Regt RA Brian Gissing is seeking information on his father Harold who served with 49 Btty, 49 LAA Regt RA. He was killed during February 1942 at Kalidjati Airfield, Jakarta. Brian would particularly like to trace any photographs in which his father appears. Anyone who can help should please contact Brian - BPGissing@aol.com
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