Lennox-Edward

To honour those who served their country

“In this their finest hour”

1923249

Sapper

Edward Lennox

1919/05/25 - Thornley, Durham

Occupation Brick Layer

1940/02/15 - Enlisted

Royal Engineers

287 Field Company

18th Division

Service

The 287 Field Company were transported to Liverpool and sailed from Great Britain on the 30th October 1941 with Convoy CT.5.

1941/11/08 - At Halifax the 287 Field Company personnel were transferred USS Mount Vernon with the 53rd Infantry Brigade.

1941/11/10 - Left Halifax with Convoy William Sail 12X, destination unknown, believed to be Middle East.

Above Photo of Convoy William Sail 12X supplied by the late Maurice Rooney

Vought SB 2U Vindicator Scout Bomber - USS Ranger which was flying an Anti Submarine patrol over the convoy.

Front Line Top to Bottom:-

USS West Point - USS Mount Vernon - USS Wakefield - USS Quincy (Heavy Cruiser)

Back Row Top To Bottom:-

USAT Leonard Wood - USS Vincennes (Heavy Cruiser) - USS Joseph T Dickman

(USS Orizaba Ap-24 also sailed with Convoy though not pictured in photo)

1942/11/25 - Arrived Trinidad

1941/11/26 - Departed Trinidad

1941/12/08 - Japan entered war by bombing Pearl Harbour and invading Malaya

1941/12/09 - Arrived Cape Town, South Africa and shore leave granted.

1941/12/13 - Departed Cape Town

The 18th Division diverted from Middle East, their new destination was Singapore.

1941/12/25 - The Mount Vernon arrived Mombassa now in Convoy DM1 (Durban Malaya One

1941/12/29 - Departed Mombassa, escorted by the H.M.S. Emerald.

1942/01/13 - Arrived Singapore

1943/06/08 - WO 417/62, Casualty List No.1155. Previously shown on Casualty List No.761 as Missing, 26/01/1942.

Japanese PoW

1942/02/15 - Captured Singapore

Changi

PoW No. I 4089

Japanese Index Card - Side One

Japanese Index Card - Side Two

1943/04/25 - Transported to Thailand with ‘F’ Force - Train 8

70th Train from Singapore to Thailand

*PoWs Transported*
*Head Quarters*	69
*18th Division*	*479*
*Heavy Artillery*	55
*Total*	*600*

Commander Lt-Col. S.W. Harris, 148 Field Regiment, Royal Artillery

The route in cattle trucks to Thailand:-

1943/04/26 - Kuala Lumpur (0300 hrs), had rice and dried fish at Ipoh (1600 hrs)

1943/04/27 - Reached Pai (0200 hrs), arrived Haadyi (1700 hrs)

1943/04/28 - Water in cattle trucks very short, heat stifling in trucks all day..

1943/04/29 - reached Ban Pong

The PoWs were ordered off the Cattle trucks on arrival and after a walk of nearly a mile to a transit camp where they were then informed they would be marching North West along the railway route in 14 mile stages. Many of the PoWs tried to sell their possessions to the Thais but not at a good price as the Thais knew the the PoWs from ‘F’ Force were already in bad shape and could not carry their baggage for long.

1943/05/02 - After two days of walking through the night, as it was too hot in the daylight sun, they reached the small town of Kanchanaburi. Many who tried to carry their possessions left them at this staging camp.

Walking at night caused many problems as the track was uneven with bamboo shots cutting into their feet, in time tropical ulcers would form.

1943/05/13 - PoWs from train 9 caught up with train 8 party and they moved out together at 1930 hrs.

1943/06/02 - Reached Songkurai, many of the PoWs had dropped out along the route.

New PoW No. 6821

Camps included:-

Chaunggahla-ya - 300.90km from Nong Pladuk

Kami Songkurai - 299.20km from Nong Pladuk

1943/12/12 - Transported back to Changi - ‘P’ Party’

1945/11/02 - Liberated Changi, Singapore

General Seishiro Itagaki, Japanese Commander of Singapore, would not accept the surrender. Plus it gave him time to cover up all Japanese Atrocities in Singapore. The allied naval landing force 'Operation Tiderace' were delayed as it was still understood the Japanese would dispose of all the PoWs in Singapore if they landed. Mountbatten ordered British paratroopers into Singapore to protect the camps. To many of the PoWs in Singapore, those red berets of the paratroopers were the first signs that the war had ended. All this delayed organising the PoWs. It wasn't till the 12th September that Lord Mountbatten accepted the Japanese surrender at the Municipal Building. Hospital cases were the first to leave Singapore 1945/09/10 on the HMHS Koroa. They were soon followed by Repatriation ships which started reaching the UK about the 15th of October 1945. Why many of the liberated PoWs on these ships had November on their Japanese Index cards, I don't know as in other areas of the Far East, PoWs were marked as Liberated at their PoW camps with the correct date. Unless General Seishiro Itagaki did not make the cards available when the camps were liberated.

Liberation Questionnaire

1945/11/15 - WO417/99, Casualty List No. 1911. Previously shown on Casualty List No. 1155 as reported Prisoner of War now Not Prisoner of War. Previous Theatre of War, Malaya.