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The Fall of Singapore
5:15 pm, Sunday, 15th
February 1942
Probus Club of Ottawa – Rideau Valley
Guy Goodman 2013.11.06
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The audio of this talk is at http://www.probusorv.org/13.11.06Goodman.mp3.
Due to a technical glitch with the audio system, there was a huge amount of
distortion in the recording. Our audio man Mike has done a great job in
filtering and editing it to the point where, when it was posted on 13.12.05, most
of it was intelligible, although it was hard work in places.
Mike continues to try to improve the quality but, in the mean time, this
compilation of the slides and expanded speaker notes has been posted to help
those interested with the bits that are too difficult.
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Prime Minister Winston Churchill described the
fall of Singapore as
“the worst disaster and largest
capitulation in British history”
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Just after 5:15 pm on Sunday, 15th February,
1942, Lieutenant General Arthur Percival,
Commander in Chief, surrendered unconditionally
to the Japanese
Winston Churchill described this event as
“the worst disaster and largest
capitulation in British history”
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• How did I get involved in all this? When I was cleaning out my
father’s house after he died in 1983, I came across this small binder.
• It contained two documents:
• The first was a 59 page report, written by my father, describing
the journey undertaken by a group of 17 men as they escaped
from Singapore to Sumatra
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Albert Charles Goodman,
44458, Lt., RA
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• How did I get involved in all this? When I was cleaning out my father’s
house after he died in 1983, I came across this small binder.
• It contained two documents:
• The first was a 59 page report, written by my father, describing the
journey undertaken by a group of 17 men as they escaped from
Singapore to Sumatra
• And here he is, Albert Charles Goodman, in the Royal
Artillery and, at the time of the story, a Lieutenant
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Thomas Edward Pickard,
164295, Capt., RA
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• How did I get involved in all this? When I was cleaning out my father’s
house after he died in 1983, I came across this small binder.
• It contained two documents:
• The first was a 59 page report, written by my father, describing the
journey undertaken by a group of 17 men as they escaped from
Singapore to Sumatra
• And here he is, Albert Charles Goodman, in the Royal Artillery
and, at the time of the story, a Lieutenant
• The second was a 15 page report by Thomas Edward Pickard,
also in the RA and, at the time of the story, a Captain, which
describes his experiences in the last few days before the
capitulation of Singapore
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Ronald Frederick Hailwood,
4757382, Cpl., Tank Corps, Burma
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• I have to mention this fine fellow who had a very special place in
my life, Ronald Frederick Hailwood
• He wasn’t actually in Singapore but he served in the Tank Corps in
Burma
• When he went off to win the war for Britain, he left behind a
pregnant wife who, a few months later, gave birth to a little baby girl
• When Fred came back from the war, she was 3½ years old
• 21 years later, when I asked him for his daughter’s hand in
marriage (laughter), he said “Oh, that would be nice”.
• I think he liked me and I certainly liked him a lot
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• This is Joe Cusselle. I found his story on a website and he
features later on in our story
• He actually served in the same fort as my father and came within a
whisker of escaping – but he didn’t and was captured
• However, he did survive, as you can see from this picture which
was clearly taken well after the war
• More on him later
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William Godfrey Soar,
148308, 2nd Lt, RA
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• This is William Gregory Soar
• Many of you will know his son John, who is a member of this
Probus club, and who actually gave us a talk on “Canada Day,
African Style” in July last year
• Bill Soar was his father and was also in the RA and was an anti-
aircraft gunner
• He was captured by the Japanese and sent to unload Japanese
ships in Saigon and then to work on the railway in “Bridge on the
River Kwai” country
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William Godfrey Soar,
148308, 2nd Lt, RA
His grave in Kanchanaburi
Bridge on the River Kwai
We shall
remember them
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• This is William Gregory Soar
• Many of you will know his son John, who is a member of this Probus
club, and who actually gave us a talk on “Canada Day, African Style” in
July last year
• Bill Soar was also in the RA and was an anti-aircraft gunner
• He was captured by the Japanese and sent to unload Japanese ships in
Saigon and then to work on the railway in “Bridge on the River Kwai”
country
• He did not survive and this is a picture of his grave in
Kanchanaburi
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• Credits
• Background
• Capitulation
• Escape
Singapore
Japan
French
Indo-China
Rengat, Sumatra
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Outline of Talk • First I’ll credit some people who provided a lot of very helpful information
• Then I’ll give a little bit of the background of how we came to be where we
were in February 1942
• People have written 800 page books on this
• I will condense it into 2 slides so it shouldn’t take too long
• Next we’ll go through Pickard’s story from the arrival of the Japanese in
Singapore until capitulation and slightly beyond
• And finally my father’s story of their escape
Geography • Singapore, front and centre
• Rengat, Sumatra, the destination of people escaping from
Singapore
• French Indochina, much closer to Singapore than Japan is
• Hong Kong and Manila
• and, of course, Japan, some 3300 miles from Singapore
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This slide was omitted from the talk but is added in the web version for the
convenience of any who might be interested in getting more detailed information
Resources
•. THE HISTORY OF COAST ARTILLERY IN THE BRITISH ARMY – COL. K. W. MAURICE-JONES, D.S.O., late R.A. - (War Museum Library through Ottawa Public Library)
• History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery The Far East Theatre 1941-46 - General Sir Martin Farndale, KCB - (Extracts from Derek Barton - see below)
• SINGAPORE 1942. BRITAIN’S GREATEST DEFEAT - Alan Warren - (Ottawa Public Library)
• THE DEFENCE and FALL of SINGAPORE 1940-1942 – Brian P. Farrell - (Toronto Public Library through Ottawa Public Library)
• http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-
theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/ - contributor Derek Barton
• http://www.ra39-45.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/page2.html - webmaster Derek Barton
• http://www.fortsiloso.com/ - webmaster Peter Stubbs
• http://www.sgpyke.co.uk/dad/pompong%20trip.htm - webmaster Stan Pyke
• Wikipedia, Google Maps, Bing Maps etc
http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/20507-history-of-the-royal-artillery-regt-far-east-theatre-1941-46-by-farndale/http://www.ra39-45.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/page2.htmlhttp://www.ra39-45.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/page2.htmlhttp://www.ra39-45.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/page2.htmlhttp:///http://www.fortsiloso.com/http://www.sgpyke.co.uk/dad/pompong trip.htm
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Credits • Derek Barton
• Peter Stubbs
• Stan Pyke
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Credits
• Derek Barton - provided tremendously useful information on
the locations of the big gun forts in Singapore
• Peter Stubbs - provided valuable information on the AMTB
forts, particularly in the Keppel Harbour area and also provided
Joe Cusselle’s story
• Stan Pyke – provided his own interesting story as well as
details of two small islands that didn’t appear on GoogleMaps,
Bing Maps, Mapquest etc
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Why Was Singapore so Important for
Britain?
• British East India Company
• Population grew
• Japanese rise as industrial power
• Major British Naval Base for Far East
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Why Was Singapore so Important for
Britain?
• British East India Company – 1819. Raffles gained
control of Singapore for the British East India Company
• They did a lot of trading in the Far East
Population grew from negligible in 1819 to about
700,000 in 1938
Japanese rise as industrial power led to Imperial
aspirations, need for resources controlled by West,
specifically tin, oil, rubber
Major British Naval Base for Far East
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Key Factors in First Half of 20th Century (1)
• 1911 Anglo-Japanese Alliance Treaty
• Treaty terminated 1923
• Economies dominant after heavy costs of WW1
• 1921/2 Washington agreement
• 1919 “10 year rule”
• Britain selected Singapore as their main naval base in
Far East
• Built slowly in 20s and 30s
• Japan renounced Washington agreement in 1936
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Key Factors in First Half of 20th Century (1)
• 1911 Anglo-Japanese Alliance Treaty so Japanese imperial
aspirations posed no risk during WW1
• Treaty terminated 1923, Canadian pressure
• Canadians concerned that, if Japan attacked the US,
Canada would be drawn in and would be on the
opposite side to Britain
Need for economies dominant after heavy costs of WW1
1921/2 Washington agreement to limit size of navies
1919 “10 year rule” – notion that no major war for 10 years
Japanese aspirations growing, Britain selected Singapore
as main naval base in Far East
• Built slowly in 20s and 30s, economies forced
reductions and delays, finally opened 1938
Japan renounced Washington agreement in 1936, clear
indication of their intentions
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Key Factors in First Half of 20th Century (2)
• By June 1940 Britain was at war with Germany and Italy
• Needed all available resources for these two fronts
• In September 1940, Japan invaded French Indochina
(Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam)
• Recognized that Japan would probably attack
Singapore through southern Siam and northern Malaya
• London did not want to be the first to invade Siam
• Churchill’s Far East priorities
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Key Factors in First Half of 20th Century (2)
• By June 1940 Britain was at war with Germany and Italy
• Needed all available resources for these two fronts
In September 1940, Japan invaded French Indochina
(Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam) – shown in map earlier
Because of this, Britain now recognized that Japan
probably would attack Singapore through southern
Siam and northern Malaya, instead of, or as well as, by
sea from the south
For political reasons, London did not want to be the
first to invade Siam, which, among other decisions,
killed their chances of successfully defending Malaya
Churchill was between a rock and a hard place in the
Far East so his strategy was to encourage the US to
join the war, thereby discouraging Japan from doing so
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Japan Strikes
• On December 8th 1941, Japan launched simultaneous
strikes against
• Pearl Harbour
• Hong Kong
• Manila
• Southern Siam and northern Malaya
• And bombed Singapore
• Complete surprise, not even an air raid warning
• Japanese reached Singapore on February 8, 1942
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Japan Strikes
• On December 8th 1941, Japan launched simultaneous
strikes against
• Pearl Harbour
and Hong Kong
• and Manila
• and Southern Siam
• and northern Malaya
And bombed Singapore
• Singapore was caught completely by surprise by
this, and the air raid warning system wasn’t even
manned at the time
Japanese reached Singapore on February 8, 1942
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Malaya
Singapore
Source:
Farndale
Next slide
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Singapore Defences
• Southern tip of Malaya in red and Singapore yellow
• Fixed defences are shaded in blue (big guns, 6”, 9.2”, 15”) –
picture from Derek Barton
Naval base, at top, in green
And Keppel Harbour, at bottom, also in green
Next slide shows red area enlarged
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Gun Sites (1)
Triangular island is Pulau Blakang Mati – about a third of our story
takes place there
• Pulau means Island so often I’ll leave it out
Small island between Blakang Mati and main island of Singapore
is Pulau Brani
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Berlayer Pier
Siloso Point Berhala Reping
Pulau Hantu
Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat (AMTB) Batteries
Faber Fire Command
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Gun Sites (2)
• Fixed defences augmented by AMTB (Anti Motor Torpedo Boat) batteries
Much smaller guns, 6 and 12 pounders in our story
Three Western Forts in red (Berlayer, Hantu, Siloso Point),
under command of Tom Pickard
Berhala Reping in green, under command of Capt Bill Richey
• My father was 2nd in command
This next slide shows that Reping is now the 6th hole of the
Sentosa Golf Club’s Serapong course – father would have approved
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Berhala Reping is now the 6th hole of the Sentosa Golf Club’s
Serapong Course!
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The Capitulation Source – Capt Tom Pickard’s Report
Written - much later, in Ceylon
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Sunday, 8 Feb • Invasion of Singapore started
Wednesday, 11 Feb • Pickard’s report starts in detail
• Berlayer area heavy shelling - no material damage
Thursday, 12 Feb • Numerous high-level bombing raids
• All Secret and Confidential papers burnt
Night Thursday/Friday, 12/13 Feb • Very heavy artillery bombardment taking place to the
north and northwest on Singapore island
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Now we pick up Tom Pickard’s story, which he
actually wrote in Ceylon, after it was all over
Sunday 8th Feb - Japanese start to invade Singapore
Wednesday, the 11th - Pickard’s report starts in detail
• Berlayer area heavy shelling - no material damage
Thursday, 12 Feb
• Numerous high-level bombing raids both in the
morning and later in the day
Early in the morning, Pickard was ordered to burn all
Secret and Confidential papers
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Night Thursday/Friday, 12/13 Feb
• Very heavy artillery bombardment taking place
to the north and northwest on Singapore island
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Friday, 13 Feb (1)
• Situation obviously desperate
• Very heavy air attacks and shelling from the
ground
• About 2 pm the Japanese hit Labrador 6” Battery
• One gun destroyed and 25 casualties
• About 2 pm Pickard destroyed all remaining
papers, security books etc except nominal and
next-of-kin rolls
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Friday, 13 Feb (1)
• Situation obviously desperate
• Very heavy air attacks and shelling from the ground
About 2 pm the Japanese hit Labrador 6” Battery
• Right next door to Berlayer
• One gun destroyed and 25 casualties
About the same time, Pickard received orders to
destroy all the rest of his papers, security books etc
except nominal and next-of-kin rolls
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Friday, 13 Feb (Evening)
Evacuation Preparations
• Pickard would get 30 minutes notice to demolish
Berlayer and Hantu
• He would arrange for evacuation of Berlayer and Hantu
crews to Blakang Mati (after demolitions) then join forces
with Capt Bill Richey at Berhala Reping
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Tonkang
Merriam-Webster: a large native boat or junk used in the
East Indies in fishing and in local trading
Tonkangs feature significantly in our story
A tonkang was normally moored at Hantu
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Friday, 13 Feb (Evening)
Evacuation Preparations
Pickard would get 30 minutes notice from HQ to demolish Berlayer and Hantu
He would arrange for evacuation of Berlayer and Hantu
crews to Blakang Mati (after demolitions were complete) then
join forces with Capt Bill Richey at Berhala Reping
Tonkang • Merriam-Webster: a large native boat or junk used in the East Indies in fishing and in local trading
Tonkangs feature significantly in our story, usually open
and big enough for about 20 men, equipment and supplies
A tonkang was normally moored at Hantu for transportation
between the 3 Western Forts
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Berlayer Pier
Siloso Point Berhala Reping
Pulau Hantu
Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat (AMTB) Batteries
Faber Fire Command
Friday, 13 Feb (Evening/Night)
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Friday, 13 Feb (Evening/Night)
• First job was to move the tonkang from Hantu to
Berlayer (curly arrow on slide)
• Pickard had asked HQ to warn beach defences not to
fire on tonkang coming from Hantu . . .
• . . . but it was fired on anyway; no injury but
bottom hinge shot away from rudder
• Next Pickard assigned people to demolish the guns,
magazines, engine rooms, searchlights, phones etc
• About 11:50 pm he got the order to demolish everything
and fall back on Berhala Reping
• All the plans went into action
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Berlayer Pier
Siloso Point Berhala Reping
Pulau Hantu
Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat (AMTB) Batteries
Faber Fire Command
Saturday, 14th Feb (Very Wee Small Hours)
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Saturday, 14th Feb (Very Wee Small Hours)
• At Berlayer, those not assigned to demolitions marched down
to pier with all small arms, machine guns, hand grenades, rations
etc
• Once the fort was clear, those assigned to demolitions carried
out their assignments, then got down to pier within 15 minutes
All got on tonkang and left for Siloso Point
• Too many men at Berlayer to fit in tonkang so needed to tow
extra boat for the rest
• Hantu “blew everything” when they saw Pickard’s boat leave
Berlayer, as pre-arranged
• Due to the broken rudder hinge, the boat and tow were
extremely difficult to manage in fast current, due hinge damaged
• Pickard sat with legs over the stern to keep rudder central
with his left foot
• Awkward arrival at Siloso pier, towed boat ran into tonkang
stern
• Crushed Pickard’s left thigh (flesh only) just above the knee
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Berlayer Pier
Siloso Point Berhala Reping
Pulau Hantu
Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat (AMTB) Batteries
Faber Fire Command
Saturday, 14th Feb (Very Wee Small Hours)
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Saturday, 14th Feb (Very Wee Small Hours)
At Siloso, Lt Prentis got everybody off with equipment
and supplies, and started towards Berhala Reping
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Berlayer Pier
Siloso Point Berhala Reping
Pulau Hantu
Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat (AMTB) Batteries
Faber Fire Command
Saturday, 14th Feb (Very Wee Small Hours)
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Saturday, 14th Feb (Very Wee Small Hours)
At Siloso, Lt Prentis got everybody off with equipment and
supplies, and started towards Berhala Reping
Tonkang went to pick up all from Hantu, returned to
Siloso by about 1:30 am
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Berlayer Pier
Siloso Point Berhala Reping
Pulau Hantu
Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat (AMTB) Batteries
Faber Fire Command
Siloso Point to Berhala Reping
approx 3½ km as the crow flies
Saturday, 14th Feb (Very Wee Small Hours)
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Saturday, 14th Feb (Very Wee Small Hours)
At Siloso, Lt Prentis got everybody off with equipment and
supplies, and started towards Berhala Reping
Tonkang went to pick up all from Hantu, returned to Siloso by
about 1:30 am
All at Siloso Point marched to Berhala Reping (I assume
the Siloso Battery had been demolished by then)
The straight line distance from Siloso to Reping was
about 3½ km but they had a great deal to carry and this
wasn’t a straight paved road
• Delayed en route to Berhala Reping by some sort of
(confused) exercise
• Had an hours sleep, could have had more but woken
because of (false) report of Japanese at Siloso
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Saturday, 13 Feb (Morning)
6:30 am, Saturday, 14 Feb, Arrival Berhala Reping
• Met by Lt A. C. Goodman
• Slept for a few hours, felt better but . . .
• . . . depressed at having had to demolish guns
without firing a single round at the enemy
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Saturday, 14 Feb (Small Hours)
• Goodman written comment:
“Captain Pickard was officially in charge of this party,
though I must say that when I saw him on his arrival he
was in a state of collapse and did not look capable of
taking charge of a sheet-changing party, let alone
bringing in a bunch of men from three forts, as he had
done.”
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Saturday, 14 Feb (Daylight Hours)
• Met Capt Bill Richey, OC Reping, and was given a
position on the perimeter to defend
• About 200 officers and men at Reping, joined by a Lt
Tranter (Aus) and 12 men, canoed from Singapore Island
• Serapong - Connaught - Reping area (Blakang Mati east
end) subject to several high-level bombing attacks in the
morning and Singapore all day
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Saturday, 14 Feb (Daylight Hours)
• Pickard met Capt Bill Richey, OC Reping, and was given
a position on the perimeter to defend
About 200 officers and men at Reping, joined by a Lt
Tranter (Aus) and 12 men, canoed from Singapore Island
In the morning, the area highlighted here in yellow,
(Serapong, Connaught and Reping) was subject to several
high-level bombing attacks in the morning
• and ditto for Singapore all day
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Saturday, 14 Feb (Late Afternoon)
• Richey was informed that Japanese were between
Serapong and Reping (later heard that there were no
Japanese at all on Blakang Mati, 2nd false report)
• Due this report, Richey decided to blow guns and
magazines – Pickard assisted
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Interlude - The Curlew
• Three men with sea-going qualifications
• Sunday morning, spotted the Curlew
• All perfect except gearbox damaged
• Lashed tonkang alongside, bow to stern, didn’t work
• Starting about 10:30 pm, started to load all men and
supplies
• Pickard not feeling too good
• Only about 5 or 6 hours sleep in the last week
• Leg so painful he could hardly stand on it
• Next morning (Monday), Curlew declared unrepairable
and unusable
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Interlude - The Curlew (1)
• They were lucky to have three men with maritime
qualifications:
• Lt Armstrong qualified sea-going engineer with 1st
class ticket; 2/Lt Crisp also Master Mariner; Sgt Jones
diesel engineer
Sunday morning, 15th February, thought they had found
the perfect escape transportation, a small diesel ship, the
Curlew, (70 – 80 t), lying between Blakang Mati and Brani
All perfect except gearbox damaged, stuck in reverse
• Couldn’t steer her at all
Tried lashing tonkang alongside, bow to stern, to
provide steering (so tonkang going forwards) but that
didn’t work either as the tonkang rudder didn’t have the
necessary authority to steer the much larger boat
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Interlude - The Curlew (2)
Starting about 10:30 pm that night, started to load all
men, equipment and supplies
Pickard “not feeling too good”
Only about 5 or 6 hours sleep in the last week
Leg so painful he could hardly stand on it
After a full day’s work, with the men and supplies still
on board, all the engineering men who had been involved
declared, during the morning of Monday the 16th, that it
was unrepairable without major machine shop work and
thus unusable
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Sunday, 15 Feb
• Morning bright and clear
• Terrific hammering of Singapore recommenced
• All efforts on Curlew
• Found a beat up tonkang to use as ferry to Curlew and
got men to patch it up while waiting
• About 6 pm, “ominously quiet” in Singapore
• A Sapper arrived, had just blown up Battle HQ and
informed that C in C had surrendered unconditionally
• Richey sent Goodman to Connaught to get escape
permission, came back 3 hours later with chit
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Sunday, 15 Feb
• The morning was bright and clear and the terrific
hammering of Singapore started all over again
I just told you about the efforts on the Curlew but I
didn’t mention that they had found a beat up tonkang to
use as ferry between the pier and the Curlew
• While they were waiting for the engineering types to
do their job on the Curlew all the men set to and
patched it up
About 6 pm, it all went “ominously quiet” in Singapore
• They were told by a Sapper who arrived, having just
blown up Battle HQ, that C in C had surrendered
unconditionally – it was all over
Richey sent Goodman to Connaught to get escape
permission, came back 3 hours later with chit
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Boom and Gate
Berhala Reping
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Boom and Gate
• Once they were ready to go, their first challenge would
be to get out through a gate in the boom . . .
. . . which, as far as I can tell, is here, shaded in yellow
Reping is pretty close to the boom
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Sunday, 15 Feb (Evening/Night)
• Gradually numbers of both officers and men opted for
the risks of surrender over those of attempting escape
• Summary in a moment
• Also other events which reduced the numbers, e.g.
• After tonkang failed to steer Curlew, Capt Richey
assigned to join those men already in it and try to
get away
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Sunday, 15 Feb (Evening/Night)
• Starting that evening, as news and events seemed at
times to get worse, gradually numbers of both officers
and men lost heart, opting for the risks of surrender over
those of attempting escape
I’ll summarise those in a moment, along with other
events which reduced the numbers of men remaining,
such as:
After tonkang failed to steer Curlew, they felt they
had no further use for it so Capt Richey was assigned
to join those men already in it and try to get away
-
Monday, 16 Feb (About 3 am)
On Board Curlew
• “Goodman (splendid chap) produced a small flask of
Johnnie Walker, we had a nip each”
-
Monday, 16 Feb (Morning)
• Pickard writes “After the terrific din of the previous few
days, the silence was almost uncanny. White flags were
flying all over Singapore and in the kampongs of the
neighbouring islands”
• Japanese aircraft flew low overhead, thought we had
been spotted
• More men lost heart, some went off to surrender
• Others “coming through the jungle wanted to join us”
• Pickard decision: anyone who left would not be allowed
back; due shortage of space no more would be allowed to
join
-
Monday, 16 Feb (Later Morning)
• Since Curlew unusable, Armstrong and Hall went to
Pulau Brani to see if they could find some small boats
• They found three tonkangs, shot up and leaking
badly, but serviceable
• Men worked hard to repair them
• Earlier had seen at least 27 Japanese boats, loaded with
troops, going out of the boom gate
• Several more men became discouraged about trying
to escape
-
Monday, 16 Feb (Later Morning)
• Since Curlew unusable, Armstrong and Hall went to
Pulau Brani to see if they could find some small boats
They found three tonkangs, shot up and leaking
badly, but serviceable
• Brought them back to Reping
• Men had new heart and worked hard to repair them
Earlier had seen at least 27 Japanese whalers, loaded
with troops, going out of the boom gate
• Several more men became discouraged about trying
to escape, Prentis and Crisp were wavering
-
Monday, 16 Feb (Afternoon/Evening)
• Pickard speech: every man had to decide within 10
minutes whether to go or not – wow!
• Risks
• might be shot at going through the boom gate
• long sea trip in open boat, without charts
• only sketchy knowledge of minefields
• Pickard couldn’t guarantee any man’s safety
• He was putting himself under orders of Armstrong who
was appointed skipper of the first boat
• Result:
• Most remaining decided to try to escape
• About 27 others decided to stay and surrender
-
How Many Wanted to Escape?
• By Sat 14th, well over 200 officers and men on Reping
• Sun 15th, Lt Carter, 50 BOR and all IOR went to
Connaught
• Wee small hours, Mon 16th, Capt Richey and about 15
others left Curlew in tonkang to try to escape
• Several more subsequently decided escape attempt was
riskier than surrendering:
• Sun 15th night, 2/Lt Walker and about 20 men and
NCOs
• Mon 16th morning, about 30 more
• Later that afternoon, Prentis, Crisp and about 25
others
• Down to 50 - 60 in total, re-arranged between 3 tonkangs
-
How Many Wanted to Escape?
• By Sat 14th, well over 200 officers and men were on Reping
Sun 15th, Lt Carter, 50 BOR and all IOR went to Connaught
to relieve the congestion at Reping
Wee small hours, Mon 16th, Capt Richey and about 15
others left Curlew in tonkang to try to escape
Several more subsequently decided the risks of trying to
escape were greater than those of surrendering:
• Sun 15th night, 2/Lt Walker and about 20 men and NCOs,
due to the Curlew difficulties
Mon 16th morning, about 30 more were put off by
Japanese aircraft flying low overhead
Later that afternoon, Prentis, Crisp and about 25 others
due number of Japanese troops through boom
Down to 50 - 60 in total, re-arranged between 3 tonkangs
-
Monday, 16 Feb (Evening)
• Armstrong to command #1 boat, Pickard under his
orders
• Goodman navigator
• Tranter to command #2 boat
• McCulloch to command #3 boat - still working on engine
• No arms, but white flag
• About 10 pm, McCulloch decided engine not sufficiently
serviceable
• #3 boat decided to stay
• About 11:30 pm, #1 and 2 boats pushed off
-
Monday, 16 Feb (Evening)
• Armstrong to command #1 boat, Pickard under his orders, manned mostly by Western Forts men, some from Reping and
others
• Goodman to accompany as navigator; he knew the way
out through the boom so was assigned to the lead boat
Tranter to command #2 boat, manned by his men and some
from Reping
McCulloch to command #3 boat, manned by rest of Reping
and various others – still working on engine
No arms to be carried but white flag in case surrender
required
About 10 pm, McCulloch decided engine not sufficiently
serviceable so complement of #3 boat decided to stay behind
About 11:30 pm, #1 and 2 boats said goodbye, good luck,
started engines, pushed off
-
Monday, 16 Feb (Evening)
#1 Boat: The Bedbug – decided after “adventure” over
One of Tom Pickard’s favourite poems
“The dragon-fly has wings of gold,
The fire-fly wings of flame;
The bedbug has no wings at all,
But it gets there just the same.”
And so it did
-
Bedbug Comlement Bedbug Complement
(Partial)
-
Tuesday, 17 Feb (Very Wee Small Hours)
• #2 boat seemed to have engine problems
• Heard it start, travelled slowly
• Never saw #2 boat again
• Joe Cusselle
-
Tuesday, 17 Feb (Very Wee Small Hours)
• #2 boat seemed to have engine problems
• Heard it start, travelled slowly
• Never saw #2 boat again
• Joe Cusselle
• Headed for boom gate
• Wrong turn at boom
• McMillan recognized problem and guided through
boom
• Passed within a few yards of Signal Tower
• nearly 30 hours after the fall of Singapore
• Once out, opened throttles, headed for open sea and
freedom
-
Tuesday, 17 Feb (Very Wee Small Hours)
• Circled around inside the boom for about ½ hour as #2 boat seemed to have engine problems
• Heard it start, travelled slowly in “pitch black”
• Never saw #2 boat again
We know now for certain that Joe Cusselle was in
#2 boat, which was stuck in the mud for several
days, and was then captured – but survived
Trusted to Goodman’s knowledge of the ‘marks’, headed
for boom gate
• Wrong turn at the boom
• McMillan recognized problem and guided through boom
Passed within a few yards of Signal Tower
• nearly 30 hours after the fall of Singapore
Once out, opened throttles, headed for open sea and
freedom
-
Singapore – Rengat by “Bedbug”
Tuesday, 17 - Tuesday 24 February, 1942
Tue 17th Wed 18th
Thu 19th
Fri 20th
Sat 21st
Sun 22nd
Mon 23rd
Tue 24th
-
Singapore – Rengat by “Bedbug”
Tuesday, 17 - Tuesday 24 February, 1942
• This picture shows their route from Singapore to Rengat in Sumatra,
day by day
• Blue dots show, more or less, where they overnighted and slept,
green dots show stops during the day
-
Tuesday, 17 Feb (Wee Small Hours)
Accident at
Peak Island
(now Kusu)
Landed just
after 2 am
Berhala Reping
-
Tuesday, 17 Feb (Wee Small Hours)
• So, back to Tuesday the 17th, they are out through the
boom gate and on their way to St John Island
• Accident when almost clear of Peak Island (now Kusu
Island)
• “hit something a fourpenny one”
• “engine gave a sort of death rattle and stopped”
• nothing exploded so assumed it was a rock
• rowed round Peak Island and St John East (now
Lazarus Island) and across the gap to St John West
pier . . .
• . . . which “was the mortuary pier for the leper and
mental colony on the island”
• Landed shortly after 2 am
Reping - St John W Same day
-
Tuesday, 17 Feb (Early Morning)
• Slept until dawn and then started work on the Bedbug
• Luckily only damage was bent propellor shaft, about 12º
• Also luckily had a piece of pipe about 9 ft long
• Straightened shaft by eye – very successful
• Pickard, Armstrong, Goodman found the European
Head Man, so-called “tuan besar”
• Most unhelpful being they met in entire journey
• Seemed terrified of Japanese repercussions
• Repeatedly suggested they return and surrender
• But - eventually, and grudgingly, he suggested a
suitable way out and I’m sure he was glad to see them go
-
Tuesday, 17 Feb (Mid Morning)
• Left St John West about 9:30 am for St John East,
maybe 600 yards!
-
Tuesday, 17 Feb (Mid Morning)
• Left St John West about 9:30 am for St John East,
maybe 600 yards!
• Planned to lie under cover until nightfall and then move
on
• Tonkang beached, tied up and camouflaged with
branches and foliage
• Breakfasted and bathed – ah, the joy of water!
• Most of these men hadn’t been in water, or even seen
water for washing, for about a week
• Thin scum of oil on all the sea water around Singapore
• Refilled all containers available with cool drinking water
St John W - St John E Same day
-
Tuesday, 17 Feb (Afternoon/ Evening)
• Dozed for most of afternoon
• About 10 pm, biscuits and water (no fire after dark)
• Checked all water containers full
• Headed out towards flaming oil at Pulau Sambo just
before midnight
St John E Same day
-
Wednesday, 18 Feb (Very Wee Small Hours)
Pulau Sambo,
site of wreck
-
Wednesday, 18 Feb (Very Wee Small Hours)
• Set course by Orion (unable read compass in dark) to
leave Sambo to starboard
• Arrived Pulau Batam just before 2 am
• Anchored close to shore and slept
• Knew Japanese patrols to the west, which was shortest
way to Sumatra
• Intended to get information on islands to the east, to
avoid these patrols
• At dawn, the tide was right out and they found they had
anchored in the middle of “large lumps of rock”
St John E – Batam 1
-
Wednesday, 18 Feb (Morning)
Pulau Sambo,
site of wreck
-
Wednesday, 18 Feb (Morning)
• Had to wait until 9 am to get off
• Cruised east, found small kampong about an hour later
• Younger villagers at Sambo scrounging from wreck
• Older villagers extremely helpful, provided fresh
coconuts, pineapples and large tin of biscuits
• Refused to take payment
• Jones, Hall and Armstrong all fairly fluent in Malay . . .
• . . . so able to get rough directions to Sumatra
• Fisherman told them Dutch were still at Tanjung Pinang
and gave instructions to get there (Tanjung = Cape, Point)
Sketched chart, compared with current map of the area
• Not bad at start but Pinang a bit off! If they had had to
get all the way to Pinang with sketch, they probably
wouldn’t have got there
Batam 1 – Batam 2 Same day
-
Nongsa
Kampong
Rhio
Strait
-
Wednesday, 18 Feb (Afternoon)
• Villagers estimated 6 - 8 hours to reach Tanjung Pinang
• After rounding Longsa Point, cleared rocks (very nasty)
then to Pulau Omar - warned journey would be rough (it
was)
• There was a burning oil installation on Omar
Tanjung Uban
-
Wednesday, 18 Feb (Afternoon)
• Villagers estimated 6 - 8 hours to reach Tanjung Pinang
• Left about 11:30 am
• Apparently OK by now to sail in daylight
• Probably didn’t want to try some of this stuff in the
dark
• After rounding Longsa Point, cleared rocks (very nasty)
then to Pulau Omar - warned journey would be rough (it
was)
• Could identify Omar by a burning oil installation there
Batam 2 - Uban Same day
-
Wednesday, 18 Feb (Afternoon/Evening)
• Found Uban about 3 pm, with pleasant beach nearby
• Estimated Pinang some 3 hours away so decided to
stay at Uban overnight
• Dutch had all left and thoroughly destroyed everything
• Found a concrete floor covered by an awning which
they could use as a sleeping shelter
• Found a pipe with clean drinking water – always useful
• By early evening, the tide was out – found approach had
been between 2 rock ridges, beam plus 4 ft apart
• Lucky they didn’t hit and sink
• One crew member had been lead swinger, got it right
• By 11 pm, tide in enough to refloat Bedbug
• Took her to pier
Tanjung Uban 1 Same day
-
Thursday, 19 Feb (Morning)
• Breakfast – tea, bacon, eggs – kudos to Hall
• Found some pipes with petrol
• Filled petrol drums and left 9:15 am
Tanjung Uban 2
-
Thursday, 19 Feb (Morning/Afternoon)
Tanjung Uban
Overtook
Sambo 3
-
Thursday, 19 Feb (Morning/Afternoon)
• About 11:15 overtook 20 men in a lifeboat (Sambo 3),
using a sail made of a tarpaulin
• They accepted offer of a tow and produced an Admiralty
chart of the waters right down the Rhio Straits – i.e., most
of the way to Sumatra (I actually, wrongly, said Singapore)
• Bedbug crew’s lucky day as unlikely to have found
Pinang without it (see earlier chart)
• Reached Pinang at 1:15 pm, found Dutch had in fact
evacuated previous day
• Only two Dutchmen remained, the Controller (Parleflijt)
and the RC padre (Meyer), who were tremendously helpful
• Provided clothing - and food - and shelter
Uban - Pinang Same day
-
Thursday, 19 Feb (Afternoon)
• Other boats in anchorage coming and going
• Two officers (from Changi), who had a large party, had
commandeered a local harbour boat
• Intended to return to Batam to collect some people
shipwrecked there, then back to Pinang, then go as a
convoy to Sumatra
• Bedbug crew declined invitation to join them as a convoy
of that many boats would have been rather conspicuous
• Later found out this was an inspired decision – Japanese
landed at Pinang about 4 hours after Bedbug left
Tanjung Pinang 1 Same day
-
Thursday, 19 Feb (Afternoon)
• Other boats in anchorage coming and going
• Two officers (from Changi), who had a large party, had
commandeered a local harbour boat
• Intended to return to Batam to collect some people
shipwrecked there, then back to Pinang, then go as a convoy
to Sumatra
• Bedbug crew declined invitation to join them as a convoy of
that many boats would have been rather conspicuous
• Later found out this was an inspired decision – Japanese
landed at Pinang about 4 hours after Bedbug left
• Had been able to study an Atlas and knew present location
and where Sumatra was
Pickard took trace off Atlas to supplement chart, which
went only about 40 miles from Pinang
• Trace on the left compares well with map on right
Tanjung Pinang 1 Same day
-
Thursday, 19 Feb (Afternoon/Evening)
• West (ship’s barber) produced razor, brush, bar of soap
• Shaved all Bedbug’s crew
• Controller asked Pickard, Armstrong, Goodman to visit
him, advised of local conditions
• 9:30 pm went to bed
• Armstrong, Goodman badly sunburnt and Pickard’s
leg “playing him up a lot”
Tanjung Pinang 2 Same day
-
Friday, 20 Feb (Morning)
• Rose about 6 am, “ready to sail
anywhere” – really grateful to the 2
Dutchmen for their help to all
visitors
• Controller gave them fresh bread
to take with them
• Left Pinang 9:15 am
• Arrived Alor Island about 4 hours
later
• Originally intended to land on
Pompong but terrain hostile
Pompong
Alor
-
Friday, 20 Feb (Morning)
• Rose about 6 am, “ready to sail anywhere” – really
grateful to the 2 Dutchmen for their help to all visitors
Controller gave them fresh bread to take with them
Left Pinang 9:15 am
• Arrived Alor Island about 4 hours later
• Beach only about 7 ft wide at high water
Originally intended to land on Pompong but terrain
hostile
Cliffs rising sheer out of the water Know now not quite true but that’s what it looked like
• Stan Pyke, HMS Kuala (500-600 civilians), SS Tien Kwang (250 radar), left Singapore 6:15 pm, Fri 13 Feb
• Anchored off Pompong 5:45 am
• Bombed shortly after 11 am, father died (believed drowned)
Pinang - Alor
This bit was deferred until answer to first question
-
Friday, 20 Feb (Rest of Day and Night)
• Stayed overnight as “no hurry”
• Night was quite uncomfortable due creepy-crawlies
• Lay on beach with feet just above high water mark but
that put heads in jungle
-
Friday, 20 Feb (Rest of Day and Night)
• Stayed overnight as “no hurry”
• Weren’t aware that Japanese were only about 30 miles
behind them
Night was quite uncomfortable due creepy-crawlies
• Lay on beach with feet just above high water mark but
that put heads in jungle
• All that crept and crawled did so , all over their faces,
all night long - next slide (next day) starts here -
Next morning, rigged up awning over Bedbug
• Sambo 3 crew built rudder to replace the steering
“sweep” they had been using
• Sweep is like a long oar, very hard work to use
Alor Same day
-
Saturday, 21 Feb
• Rigged up awning over Bedbug, Sambo 3 crew built
rudder to replace their steering “sweep”
• Hoped to hit Sumatra coast due west of Alor (about 2 am)
• Left Alor about 4:20 pm but heading WSW
• Sambo’s rudder
• “Hit” Sumatra coast very hard
Alor
X
-
Saturday, 21 Feb
Hoped to hit Sumatra coast due west of Alor (about 2
am) to take advantage of what they hoped would be
smooth waters at night
Left Alor about 4:20 pm, but headed WSW to shorten
journey by about 10 miles to save petrol (towing Sambo
increased fuel burn by about 50%)
Sambo’s “new” rudder didn’t work well, came adrift
about 11 pm and was replaced with “sweep”, successful
“Hit” Sumatra coast very hard, but no damage, cast
off Sambo, pushed off the bottom, backed clear,
anchored
Alor – Sumatra coast
-
Sunday, 22 Feb
(Morning and Afternoon)
• Very uncomfortable night for all
• Engine completely saturated with sea water
• 2 hours to dry engine but able to move on at 9 am
• Set course S by E, enquiring how to reach Indragiri River
• Answers were anywhere from 1 to 10 hours
• Early afternoon had to cast Sambo off as very short of
petrol and no sail (Sambo had tarp for sail)
Perigi Raja
Cast off
Sambo 3
-
Sunday, 22 Feb (Morning and Afternoon)
• Very uncomfortable night for all, waves slapping against
the stern
Engine completely saturated with sea water (came in
through exhaust)
• 2 hours to dry engine but able to move on at 9 am
Set course S by E, enquiring from everbody they came
across how to reach Indragiri River
• Answers in first half hour were anywhere from 1 to 10
hours
Early afternoon had to cast Sambo off as very short of
petrol and no sail (Sambo had tarp for sail)
Sumatra coast – Perigi Raja 1
-
Sunday, 22 Feb (Afternoon)
• Running out of water (first time since leaving St John)
• Also needed guide as river very wide at mouth
• Went off to look for both – and found them
• For $5, got water and a guide to Perigi Raja (first village
up river)
• Arrived there at 8:30 pm
Sumatra coast – Perigi Raja 2 Same day
-
Sunday, 22 Feb (Evening)
• Perigi Raja was a very large Kampong built entirely on poles to clear the mangrove swamp
• They were given written instructions for all members British
and Imperial Forces to proceed ASAP to Rengat
• Decided to stay overnight and go to Rengat on Monday
• Tied up alongside Sambo, who had arrived earlier
• Learned that Rengat about 105 miles up river, not 40 as
originally told
• Bad news was they had only some 5 gallons of petrol left
but were told available at Tembilahan, 30 miles away
• To be safe, got 1 extra gallon of petrol for 11 packets of
biscuits and 2 tins of jam
Perigi Raja 1
Same day
-
Monday, 23 Feb (Small Hours and Morning)
• Over night, Bedbug started to take in water at “an
alarming rate”
• Tide was falling and stem firmly settled on top of the
pole to which painter attached
• Hanging at rakish angle - all hands to the pump after
somehow untying or cutting painter
• Left Perigi Raja at 4:50 am, arrived Tembilahan just
before 9 am, following Sambo, which was being towed by
a small river steamer
Perigi Raja
-
Monday, 23 Feb (Small Hours and Morning)
• Over night, Bedbug started to take in water at “an alarming rate”
• Tide was falling and stem firmly settled on top of the
pole to which painter attached
• Hanging at a rakish angle - all hands to the pump after
somehow untying or cutting the painter
Left Perigi Raja at 4:50 am, arrived Tembilahan just before
9 am, following Sambo, which was being towed by a small
river steamer
Perigi Raja - Tembilahan
-
Monday, 23 Feb (Morning and Afternoon)
• No petrol available at Tembilahan
• Got a tow in the same group as Sambo
• About 1 pm, pulled into Sunggei Sala for supplies
• Left about 2:30 pm, still under tow
Perigi Raja
-
Monday, 23 Feb (Morning and Afternoon)
• Bad news – there was no petrol available at Tembilahan
• Got a tow in the same group as Sambo
• First time they were not under their own power
• About 1 pm, pulled into Sunggei Sala to get whatever
supplies they could
• Very successful – more kudos for Hall for his
bargaining skills
• Left about 2:30 pm, still under tow
Tembilahan – Rengat 1 Same day
-
Monday, 23 Feb (Afternoon)
• Cookson (Ship’s Doctor) sick
• Self diagnosed as malaria
• Tied up for the night en route to Rengat
Perigi Raja
-
Monday, 23 Feb (Afternoon)
• Cookson (Ship’s Doctor) became sick late in the
afternoon
• Self diagnosed as malaria (suffered before), dosed
with quinine tablets in supplies brought from Pulau
Brani
• They were aiming to arrive in Rengat at about 10 am
• Tied up en route for the night
Tembilahan – Rengat 2 Same day
-
Tuesday, 24 Feb (Morning)
• Cookson much better
• About 5 miles from Rengat, unhooked from junk and
completed journey under own power
• Arrived Rengat about noon
Perigi Raja
-
Tuesday, 24 Feb (Morning)
• Cookson much better the next morning
• About 5 miles from Rengat, they unhooked from junk
and completed journey under their own power
• Actually arrived Rengat about noon the next day
“And so, in a more or less dignified manner, we
completed about 300 miles in our little Bedbug. Not very
comfortable at any time, but never uncomfortable enough
to warrant that much abused word ‘hardship’. Never
short, in the real meaning of the word, of food or water.
And having a far greater share of good luck than we had
any right to expect.”
Rengat
-
Tuesday, 24 Feb (Midday)
“And so, in a more or less dignified manner, we
completed about 300 miles in our little Bedbug. Not very
comfortable at any time, but never uncomfortable enough
to warrant that much abused word ‘hardship’. Never
short, in the real meaning of the word, of food or water.
And having a far greater share of good luck than we had
any right to expect.”
-
Tuesday, 24 Feb – Tuesday 10 Mar
• From Rengat they were taken by truck, bus and train to
Padang and then by ship to Colombo, Ceylon and Bombay
• 2 days at Ayer Moelek, a rubber estate near Rengat
• 1 day at Sawa Loentho, head of railway to Padang,
coastal port
• 2 days in Padang
• 5 days at sea to
Ceylon
• Doctor checked
Pickard’s leg
• 1 day in Colombo
• Left Pickard in
Hospital – not
the end of his story
• 5 days at sea to Bombay
“Bedbug”
Unable find reference to Ayer
Moelek, Sawa Loentho or railway
on any map or search engine
-
• That’s almost, but not quite, the end of our story
By some time in 1943, now-Major Thomas Edward
Pickard was the Officer Commanding the 15th Coast
Battery in Trincomalee, in Ceylon
And now-Captain Albert Charles Goodman was his 2nd
in command
-
Albert Charles Goodman,
44458, Capt., RA
Thomas Edward Pickard,
164295, Major, RA
-
Questions ???
Questions and answers are on the
following slides
-
Q. Could I give the “human interest” bits about Joe Cusselle and
Stan Pyke that I had mentioned in passing?
A. Joe Cusselle: I showed the next slide (which repeated an
earlier one). I asked Peter Stubbs whether he knew if Joe was
still alive and, if so, how I could contact him. Peter told me that
the last time he was in contact, Joe was living at the Royal
Hospital in Chelsea, in other words, was a Chelsea Pensioner.
So I called the hospital and enquired whether Joe was still
there and, if so, whether it might be possible to talk to him.
The sad reply was that he had died just a few months earlier
(audible sigh of disappointment from the audience) – so that
was that.
Stan Pyke: Move on two slides.
-
Tuesday, 17 Feb (Very Wee Small Hours)
• #2 boat seemed to have engine problems
• Heard it start, travelled slowly
• Never saw #2 boat again
• Joe Cusselle
-
Q. Could I give the “human interest” bits about Joe Cusselle and Stan Pyke that I had mentioned in
passing?
A. Joe Cusselle: I showed the next slide (which repeated an earlier one). I asked Peter Stubbs whether
he knew if Joe was still alive and, if so, how I could contact him. Peter told me that the last time he
was in contact, Joe was living at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, in other words, was a Chelsea
Pensioner. So I called the hospital and enquired whether Joe was still there and, if so, whether it
might be possible to talk to him. The sad reply was that he had died just a few months earlier (audible
sigh of disappointment from the audience) – so that was that.
Stan Pyke: I showed the next slide (which also repeated an earlier
one) and told the story from Stan’s website
http://www.sgpyke.co.uk/dad/pompong%20trip.htm about how his
father had been evacuated from Singapore on Friday, 13 Feb
only to die when the ship he was on (the SS Tien Kwang) was
bombed by the Japanese while anchored the next morning off
Pompong Island
I then read out a footnote from my father’s report: “We later
discovered that Pompong had been inhabited at that time by a
crowd of refugees, including some women, who had been
bombed, wrecked and sunk on the way through. When we
passed there was no sign of them”. I found from a list of
people arriving at Ayer Moelek that at least come of those who
survived the shipwrecks had at least got there
http://www.sgpyke.co.uk/dad/pompong trip.htm
-
Friday, 20 Feb (Morning)
• Rose about 6 am, “ready to sail
anywhere” – really grateful to the 2
Dutchmen for their help to all
visitors
• Controller gave them fresh bread
to take with them
• Left Pinang 9:15 am
• Arrived Alor Island about 4 hours
later
• Originally intended to land on
Pompong but terrain hostile
Pompong
Alor
-
Q. Had I been back to Singapore and been to some of these places
first hand and, if not, would I like to?
A. Yes, I have been to Singapore but at the time knew nothing of
this. I spent 3 or 4 days with my wife and did some sightseeing
and spent a lot of time in jewellery shops looking for a digital
watch (laughter). Do I want to go back and visit these places?
I don’t have the same incentive as Stan Pyke. He wanted to be
on Pompong at the exact time his father died on the 67th
anniversary. My father escaped; I don’t need to do that and I
have other priorities in my life so, no, I probably won’t.
-
Q. What was the name of the island in the top right corner where
they stopped?
A. Lazarus Island? At the time the two islands were St. John East
and St. John West. East is now Lazarus and West is now
simply St. John
Q. I was thinking more of where they met the two Dutchmen.
A. Oh, that was Tanjung Uban but the name of the Island – now
you’re testing me (Ed note – it was actually Tanjung Pinang
and the island was Pulau Bintam)
Q. Had my father ever talked about this experience or was it
difficult?
A. No, it wasn’t difficult but he didn’t talk about the details. What
he did say was that he got out 30 minutes before the Japs
came in. Clearly he didn’t as they got away 30 hours after
capitulation. Perhaps what he meant was that they got away
half an hour before the Japs came into Blakang Mati. When I
was in my late teens, either Pickard or Richey came to visit. I
think it was Pickard and my father still had the greatest
admiration for this man.
-
Q. Did your father stay in the army after the war?
A. No. He was in the Territorial Army before the war, joined up
because of the war and resigned when it was all over. By then
he was a Major and he never ever wanted to be called Major
Goodman; he was Mr. Goodman
Q. What happened to the chap whose leg was injured by the
boat?
A. That was Pickard, the chap right at the end. (Showed the next
slide). It looks all right there.
Q. How many escaped out of the whole garrison?
A. I don’t know the answer. I’ve read that over 80,000 were
captured but how many got away or were killed, I don’t know
that number
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Albert Charles Goodman,
44458, Capt., RA
Thomas Edward Pickard,
164295, Major, RA
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Q. How many men started on that boat and how many finished
there? And how did they feed themselves (wildlife)?
A. No mention of wildlife. Lucky to get a lot of food at places they
visited en route, had huge supply of M&V (meat and veg),
drank enormous quantities of tea. The journey took 8 days
(left Tue, 17th and got to Rengat Tue, 24th). There were 17 men
in the boat and all 17 men made it. One proviso – Cookson, the
ship’s doctor, his wife was Australian and had got out earlier
so, when they got to Padang, the port, he joined up with a
bunch of Australians in the hopes that he would get back to
Australia and find his wife. No idea whether he did.
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Several slides from an earlier draft were cut out due
to time considerations. 20 of them are included here
in case they may be of interest to readers
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• Often described as the “Father of Singapore”
• Started at age of 14 working as a clerk in the British
East India Company
• In March of 1818, aged 37, appointed Governor
General of Bencoolen, Sumatra
• In January of 1819, established a post in Singapore,
where there was no Dutch presence
• In February, secured the transfer of control to the East
India Company
Bencoolen
Population
• negligible in 1819
• 53,000 in 1850
• 311,000 in 1911
• 700,000 in 1938
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Malaysian
Peninsula
-
Hong
Kong
Manila
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Colombo and
Trincomalee,
Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
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Sumatra
-
Bencoolen
(Bengkulu)
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Padang
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Bombay
(Mumbai)
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French
Indo-China
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Source: Farndale
Singora was also
called Songkhla
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Sunday, 15 Feb (Morning)
• Bright and clear
• Terrific hammering of Singapore recommenced
• L/Cpl Stanley, RE, sought permission to get his engine
room staff away to Sumatra – Richey OKd as they were
highly trained and valuable and their job was done
• Stanley and one of his men swam to a drifting canoe,
paddled to Pulau Brani and came back with an
undamaged tonkang
• Two Indian Army officers arrived from ??, said they had
been ordered to escape, were looking for water transport
for themselves and between 130 and 160 men, many
wounded, waiting at Jardine’s steps in Singapore
• Story seemed genuine so Stanley’s tonkang given to
them
• Last seen disappearing in distance, nowhere near
Singapore harbour – oops!
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Friday, 13 Feb (2)
The Demolitions - Preparation
• 30 minutes notice would be given
• To prepare, had 150 cartridges opened in #2 magazine
• Cordite packed around 10 lb gelignite with primer,
detonator and fuze (sic)
• Pickard detailed officers and men to:
• smash up all searchlights and equipment in control
towers
• destroy guns, magazine and engine room
• marshall men with all small arms, machine guns,
hand grenade, rations etc
• Pickard would arrange for evacuation of Berlayer and
Hantu crews to Blakang Mati (after demolitions) then join
forces with Capt. Bill Richey at Berhala Reping
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Saturday, 14 Feb (Wee Small Hours)
The Demolitions – Action (1)
• Men, with required stores, marched down to the pier
• Prentis and an NCO smashed everything in the control
towers and threw telephone sets into the sea
• All men were clear of the Fort area and Prentis was
ordered to:
• tell L/Cpl Stanley (RE) to smash up the engine room
• take charge of men on the pier
• shove off without Pickard and Melhuish if they
weren’t out in 15 minutes
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Saturday, 14 Feb (Wee Small Hours)
The Demolitions – Action (2)
• Pickard and Melhuish did the demolitions:
• drove a brass drill shell with a large driving band
down the muzzle of each gun with a 14 lb sledge and
burred the mouth of the rifling over it
• loaded a high explosive shell with delayed action fuze
with percussion cartridge-tube in each gun and
attached a long lanyard
• blew C2 gun first, taking cover in the RA store
• about 10” blown off muzzle and stump split back
about another 10”
• then blew C1; not quite such good results but gun
was rendered useless /continued
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Tuesday, 24 Feb (Afternoon)
and Wednesday, 25 Feb
• Transported to Ayer Moelek (rubber estate)
• Each party given a serial number on arrival
• Moved out when transport for that serial number was
available
• All food handed over to a common pool
• Well fed, bathed, laundered, slept
• Issue made of soap, cigarette papers, tobacco
• Duties were assigned to each party each day
• 237 men left camp on Tuesday, 233 Wednesday, only 212
left Wednesday night so hopeful would be out Thursday
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Thursday, 26 Feb
• Hopes fulfilled, left on a 14 seater bus about 10:30 am
• Steering was “exciting”
• Arrived Sawa Loentho about 10 pm, grateful still to be
sound of limb
• This was terminus of railway to Padang
• Caught up here with the Bill Richey group who left
Blakang Mati the night of the 15th
• Haversack returned by Richey, which included gold
cigarette case (passed on to Guy a few days before his
wedding and passed on to son Mark the day before his)
• Given a good meal of rice, stew, tea
• Informed that 250 due out at 4 am next day and the rest
probably early afternoon
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Friday, 27 Feb
• Arrived at station platform 12:30 pm
• Train left 12:55
• Lack of organization meant only 230 men on train that
could easily have taken 300 – very comfortable for those
230
• Arrived in Padang
at 6:45 pm
• About 150 troops
billeted at Chong
Hwa High School
• Beer available at
canteen, expensive
but OK if cold
• Rumours were evacuation to Java in next few days
“Bedbug”
Unable find reference to Ayer
Moelek, Sawa Loentho or railway
on any map or search engine
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Saturday, 28 Feb
• Mooched around Padang
Sunday, 1 March
• Up early to be ready packed at 8 am
• Cookson (Ship’s Doctor) had transferred to a party of
Australians; wife had already been evacuated to Australia
• About 3 pm advised leaving from station to docks 4 pm
• Secondary rumour that might be going to Ceylon/India
• Train to docks, embarked on 2 destroyers (Scout and
Tenedos) to be transferred to cruisers waiting out to sea
• Scout short of fuel, back to dock 8 pm to refuel, 4 hours
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Monday, 2 March
• Away (again) 1:45 am
• Tenedos had already transferred her refugees to Hobart
• Scout refugees split 50/50 between Danae and Dragon
• All “Bedbug” crowd (except Guest) transferred to Danae
• Confirmed Trincomalee, Ceylon was destination - yippee
Tuesday, 3 March
• Made contact with Hobart, now 3 cruisers, 2 destroyers
in convoy
Wednesday, 4 March
• At sea
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Thursday, 5 March
• Destination changed to Colombo
• Anchored there just after 5 pm
• Driven to St. Bridget’s Convent, collection centre
• Pickard went straight to hospital to have his leg fixed
• Armstrong, Jones and Hall were merged with the rest of
the Malaya Volunteers
Friday – Tuesday, 6 – 10 March
• Aboard Chitral to Bombay
• Armstrong, Jones and Hall back with “Bedbug” crowd