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18731
Sergeant
Egbert Ronald Fitzpatrick
1915/08/13 - Born Taiping, Perak
Son of Frederick and Louise Fitzpatrick
Brother to Ernest Edward Fitzpatrick
Occupation Surveyor
Next of Kin Parents, Frederick and Louise Fitzpatrick
Federated Malay States Volunteer Force
Field Survey Company
Service
1941/12/08 - Japan entered the war by attacking Pearl Harbour, Hong Kong and Malaya.
Japanese troops landed at Singora and Patani, Thailand plus Kota Bharu, Malaya.
The Japanese troops landing at Kota Bharu, soon took control of the airfield and the defending troops then had very little air cover.
The battle hardened Japanese quickly gained a foothold and pushed the defending troops back to Singapore Island.
On the 31st of January 1942, the Causeway joining Malaya to Singapore was blown in an attempt to halt the Japanese troops.
On the night of the 8th of February 1942, the Japanese landed on the North West side of Singapore Island. General Percival had made strong the North East coastline thinking that is where the Japanese would attack, but the Japanese bluff worked, as by the 15th February 1942, Singapore was forced into surrendering.
‘Singapore Surrender’ by Leo Rawlings
Japanese PoW
1942/02/15 - Captured Singapore
PoW No. i-12586
PoW at Blakang Mati and Changi
Japanese Index Card - Side One
Japanese Index Card - Side Two
1944/11/01 - Egbert was on the Malaya PoW Camp List
New PoW No. 4353
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.
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Pacific Star
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War Medal
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1939-1945 Star
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Far East Medals
Post War
Worked for Surveys Department Kuala Lumpur, from 1946.
Married Albertine Bethge February 1947, at Penang.
Egbert died 5th July 1986, Manning Western Australia.
Information
Jonathan Moffatt
Fall of Malaya and Singapore
KEW Files:- WO 392/24, WO 361/1947, WO 345/18,
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