Garizio-Alfonso-Antonio

To honour those who served their country

“In this their finest hour”

6020171

Private

Alfonso Antonio Garizio

Known as ‘Tone’

1919/10/28 - Born London

Son of Joseph and Margaret Garizio

Occupation Cook

1940/02/15 - Enlisted

Cambridgeshire Regiment

1st Battalion

Service

Tone and his mate "dodger" Hampton.

The Cambridgeshire Regiments had a fighting reputation and were nicknamed ‘The Fen Tigers’.

1941/10/30 - Left Britain in ‘Orcades’ with Convoy CT.5 from Liverpool to Halifax

Final Destination Unknown

1941/11/08 - Arrived Halifax

1941/11/10 - Transferred to USS West Point 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.

The convoy passed through the Mona Passage between Puerto Rico and St Domingo.

1941/11/17 - Arrived at Trinidad in glorious sunshine so troops changed to tropical kit, but no shore-leave, left Trinidad after two days of taking on supplies.

1941/11/24 - The equator was crossed, there was a crossing the line ceremony.

After a month the convoy arrived at Cape Town, South Africa. By this time the Americans were in the war as the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbour and attacked Malaya and the rumours were that they were heading for the Far East and not the Middle East as first thought.

1941/12/08 - Japan attacked Pearl Harbour and Malaya

1941/12/13 - The convoy left Cape Town and sailed along the coast of East Africa past Madagascar and into the Indian Ocean heading for Bombay.

1941/12/27 - After 17,011 miles at sea Bombay was reached.

1942/01/18 - The convoy sailed with a British escort, the H.M.S. Exeter and H.M.S. Glasgow with British and Australian destroyers. Destination was the far East. Passing Colombo, (Ceylon), crossing the equator for the third time, the convoy passed through the Sundra Straits between Java and Samatra and then the Banka Straits. The convoy was then bombed by Japanese Planes, there was no damage.

1942/01/19 - The convoy reached the safety of Keppel Harbour, Singapore. Ships were ablaze in the harbour, clouds of smoke drifted across the sky and the smell of fumes was overpowering, this was not the best of greetings. The Japanese had taken most of Malaya in the last three weeks and were only thirty miles away from Singapore.

The day after the 1st Battalion arrived the causeway over the Strait of Jahore which linked Singapore to Malaya was destroyed. This did not delay the Japanese who landed at the North West of Singapore Island on the 8th February.

The Battalion fought at the Sime Road Camp in Singapore defending Adam Park . For three days ‘The Fen Tigers’ held up the Japanese 41st Fukuyama, Regiment, which was part of the Japanese 5th Division. The fighting was intense but on the 15th February the 1st Battalion CO, Lt-Col. Carpenter, finding the Japanese bypassing his position, requested permission to withdraw from Brigade HQ. he was told to hold the position and lay down their arms as Singapore had surrendered.

1942/02/15 - Singapore Surrendered

Japanese PoW

Japanese Index card - Side One

Japanese Index card - Side Two

1942/11/06 - Overland to Thailand in Letter Party ‘L’

PoW No. 1424

Transported to Japan

1944/06/27 - Arrived at Osaka 16B - Iruka

New PoW No. 4947

The PoWs were all British arriving from the Thailand-Burma Railway.

The PoWs worked in chemical manufacturing (Ishihara Industries).

1945/04/16 - Jurisdictional control transferred to Nagoya 4B - Iruka PoW Camp, Japan

New PoW No. 8911

*Date*	*Camp*	*Camp Leader*
*1942/03/15*	*Changi Hospital*	*Col. Craven*
*1942/11/06*	*Overland to Thailand*	*Lt. Col. Flowers*
*1944/02/14*	*Changi*
*1944/06/29*	*Oversea to Japan*	*Capt. Thornhill*
*1944/06/27*	*Osaka 16B - Iruka*	*Capt. Thornhill*
*1945/04/16*	*Nagoya 4B - Iruka*	*Capt. Thornhill*