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191155
Lieutenant Colonel
Cyril Tom Hinde
Known as Tom
Military Cross (WW1)
Distinguished Service (WWII)
1897/01/12 - Born Hampshire, England
WW1 - Staffordshire Regiment (P191155)
Awarded the Military Cross
Occupation Planter
Next of Kin: 1 Hillborough Crescent, Southsea, Hampshire
WWII
Intelligence Corps
(Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps used whilst a PoW)
Service
by Patrick Thomas (Grandson)
Tom, as he was known, was a career soldier to some extent and joined the Staffordshire regiment in WW1 and won the MC when relatively young.
He then went to Malaya to become a rubber planter. As war loomed he was recruited firstly by Military intelligence and then SOE2 and became a Lt-Col. in military rank.
My mother who was born in Malaya remembers many visits from senior officers and other regiments that started to train the Malay “Army” to prepare for war. Tom was regularly sending agents onto Japanese ships to try and extract code books from the radio rooms etc. Much of this is documented in his personal letters that I have. He was credited with having predicted that the Japanese would invade through the jungle, as they did - however no-one believed him.
At the fall of Singapore Tom was immediately switched back to his WWI rank to ensure survival and there ensued an argument between the Army and SOE2 as to who would pay him and and how much he should be paid!
It is a complex mess as witnessed by his SOE2 personal file from Kew. He was captured and an outline of his years in Japanese captivity are summarised in the MI9 document attached.
After the release and some recovery time he was back in Malaya while the Japanese were leaving and wrote many letters, that I have, explaining the situation to his family back in England. He then acted as a MI advisor on how to fight the communists using economic warfare.
1942/04/13 - WO417/2, Casualty List No.796. Reported ‘Missing’.
1944/01/17 - WO417/005, Casualty List No. 1344. Previously shown on Casualty List No. 796 as posted Missing, 15/02/1942 with rank as Acting Lieutenant. Rank ‘Temporary Lieutenant Colonel’.
Japanese PoW
1942/02/15 - Captured Singapore
Changi Camp
PoW No. M-1575
Japanese Index Card - Side One
Japanese Index Card - Side Two
1942/10/27 - Transported overland to Thailand with Letter Party ‘V’
Work Party 2
New PoW No. II 3089
Thailand Camps:-
1942/10/ - Chungkai
1943/01/ - Ban Khao
1943/03/ - Pukai (Wang Pho North or Monkey Bend)
1943/04/ - Tha Khanun
1943/08/ - Kanchanaburi
1943/12/ - Chungkai
New PoW No. II 755
1945/02/ - Kanchanaburi Officers Camp
1945/08/ - Nakhon Nayok
1945/09/04 - Liberated
Liberation Questionnaire
1946/01/29 - WO417/010, Casualty List No. 1972. Previously shown on Casualty List No. 1344 as reported Prisoner of War now Not Prisoner of War. Previous Theatre of War, Malaya.
1947/01/21 - London Gazette
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/37861/pages/442
Information
Patrick Thomas - Grandson
Andrew Snow - Thailand Burma Railway Centre
Liberation Questionnaire - COFEPOW
KEW Files:- WO 392/24, WO 345/25, WO 361/1979, WO 361/1954, WO 361/2196, WO 361/2167, WO 361/2060, WO 361/2060,
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