|
2364977
Signalman
Frederick Gordon Gray
1919/04/06 - Born Brighton
Son of Harry Alfred and Annie Elizabeth (nee Wilson) Gray
Brother to Harry and Frank
Occupation Electrician
1940 - Married Minnie Cowley in Brighton
Royal Corps of Signals
3rd Indian Corps Signals
Service
1941/12/08 - Frederick was 18 Technical Maintenance
Under Lieutenant J.A. McKea
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
Changi Camp
PoW No. I 3035
Japanese Index Card - Side One
Japanese Index Card - Side Two
1943 - Taken off roll for ‘F’ Force
1945/03/30 - Assigned to Funk Hole construction with X2
New PoW No. 4961
The POWs in Changi were assigned to work parties starting in the spring of 1945 and, in the coming months, groups designated as the ‘X Parties’ made their way to various camps around the island.
Their work included digging out Funk Holes for the Japanese defence of Singapore.
Charles Thrale charcoal image vividly portrays the cramped and humid conditions the men faced underground. Even the Japanese overseer in the image is stripped to the waist and the POWs labour in the half light of candles, intense heat and foul air.
Many men returned to Changi before the liberation and their time on the X parties remained unrecorded in the excitement of the last few days of the war.
1945/11/02 - Liberated Changi
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.
Repatriation
RMS Franconia
After a period of hospitalisation in India, Frederick was transported in the RMS Franconia back to the UK.
|
|
|
|
|
Pacific Star
|
War Medal
|
1939-1945 Star
|
|
|
|
Far East Medals
Post War
Frederick and Minnie were blessed with daughter Linda, and son John
Frederick passed away in 1967
Information
Kieth Cowley
Fall of Malaya and Singapore
Royal Corps of Signals
Funk Holes of Singapore
‘Tigers in the Park’ by Jon Cooper (Funk Holes)
KEW Files:- WO 361/2189, WO 361/2060. WO 361/2025. WO 361/1585. WO 367/2, WO 361/1947,
|
