To honour those who served their country

“In this their finest hour”

Northumberland Fusiliers-tn

4278460

Fusilier

Leslie Lynn

jcross

1913/06/01 - Born Seaton Sluice, Northumberland

Son of Elizabeth Ann Lynn

Occupation General Labourer

 

Next of Kin - Mother, E A Lynn, 23 Bywell Terrace, Seaton, Sluice, Northumberland

Northumberland Fusiliers

9th Battalion

 

Service

The 9th Battalion, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers were formed in 1939 as an offshoot of the 7th Battalion. In August of that year they were amalgamated into the 18th Division and transported to Norfolk, defending the coast between Wells-on-Sea and Great Yarmouth.

 In January 1941 they moved to the Scottish Boarders for training with their HQ at Bowhill House.

Warwick Castle-2

1941/10/30 - Equipped for Middle East the 9th Royal Northumberland Fusiliers left Liverpool in the Warwick Castle, Convoy CT.5.

Orizaba-1

1941/11/08 - Arrived Halifax and after much debate amongst the troop at Halifax the 9th Battalion eventually boarded the USS. Orizaba, which was not a luxurious ship.

 

1941/11/10 - The 18th Division left Halifax in Convoy William Sail 12X and was escorted by the US Navy.

Convoy William Sail 12x

Convoy William Sail 12X

(USS Ranger was flying on antisubmarine patrol for the convoy)

The convoy passed through the Mona Passage between Puerto Rico and St Domingo, arriving at Trinidad on 17th November in glorious sunshine so our tropical kit came out, but unfortunately no shore-leave, the convoy left after two days of taking on supplies. On 24th the equator was crossed and there was a crossing the line ceremony.

1941/12/02 - USS Orizaba was refuelled at sea

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.

Japan had entered the war by attacking Malaya on 8th December 1941, destination was now the Far East.

1941/12/13 - The convoy left Cape Town and sailed along the coast of East Africa past Madagascar and arrived Mombassa where the troops disembarked and trained with route marches.

USS West Point-1

From Mombassa they changed ships to the West Point across the Indian Ocean heading for Bombay.

1941/12/27 - After 17,011 miles at sea Bombay was reached and the troops disembarked for training.

Felix Rousell-tn

1942/01/22 - Embarked  Felix Rousell and the convoy sailed the next day with a British escort, the H.M.S. Exeter and H.M.S. Glasgow with British and Australian destroyers.

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 Jap Planes, there was no damage to the ship but Leslie was wounded and treated for a shrapnel wound to the right side of his head.

1942/02/05 - 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 City.

 

1942/02/15 - Singapore surrendered to the Japanese

 

1942/04/16 - WO 417/41, Casualty List No. 799. Reported ‘Missing’.

 

Japanese PoW

1942/02/15 - Captured Singapore

Changi Camp

PoW No. i 4206

Japanese Index Card - Side One

Lynn-Leslie-01

Japanese Index Card - Side Two

Lynn-Leslie-02

New PoW No. 7073

1945/09/05 - On roll at Changi (Numbers on roll below)

British Army

3067

Royal Army Medical and Dentest Corps

191

Indian Army (British)

Combined

225

Indian Army Medical Services Dept.

 

Royal Navy Marines and Volunteer Reserve

126

Royal Air Force

Combined

379

Royal Air Force Medical Service

 

Volunteer Forces

Combined

369

Volunteer Medical Services

 

British Mercantile Marines

45

Norwegian Mercantile Marines

4

British Civilians

8

New Zealand Forces

5

Royal Canadian Air Force

2

American Forces

69

Italian Forces

21

Australian Imperial Forces

4585

Royal Australian Air Force

14

Royal Australian Navy

8

 

 

 

Total

9148

1945/11/02 - Liberated

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.

 

1945/11/13 - WO417/99, Casualty List No. 1909. Previously shown on Casualty List No. 1147 as reported Prisoner of War now ‘Not Prisoner of War’. Previous Theatre of War, Malaya.

 

pacific-star-tn

war-medal-1939-1945-tn

1939-1945 Star-tn

Pacific Star

War Medal

1939-1945 Star

 

Died

1973

Northumberland

 

Information

Les Scott - Son

Mike Heather

Convoy William Sail 12X

KEW Files:- WO 367/3, WO 392/25, WO 345/32, WO 361/1947, WO 361/2061, WO 361/2177, WO 361/2229,

*

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