Hudson-Thomas-Henry

To honour those who served their country

“In this their finest hour”

1809178

Gunner

Thomas Henry Hudson

1906/11/13 - Born Witherslack, Westmorland

Son of Christopher and Margaret Agnes (nee Stalker) Hudson

Brother to Hannah and Elliner

Occupation Fitters Labourer

1933 - Married Grace Barnes in Ulverston, Lancashire

Next of Kin Wife, Grace Hudson, Kikby, Inferness

Royal Artillery

79/21 Light Anti Aircraft Regiment

Service

Timor Gunners from the 79th Battery, 21 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment

Professor G T Reader and Research Assistant C A Reader-

University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

The 79th Anti-Aircraft (Ack-Ack) battery was established as an independent unit of the British Territorial Army (TA), In the winter of 1939 and they were based initially at Walton-onThames a small town on the south-west outskirts of the capital, London. The battery became a full-time unit at the start of September 1939 when war with Germany became inescapable, and, as with all Territorial Army units, was absorbed into the regular army by the end of that month. Together with three other similar batteries they became part of the 36th Light Ack-Ack regiment. During the first two years of the war the unit was employed on anti-aircraft protection duties in the Luftwaffe Blitzes of London and then Bristol. Later they were used in the protection of airfields and key installations in Cornwall and the Sicily Isles.

Although notionally a home defence forces unit, the 79th like many other former TA units was ordered to mobilize for overseas deployment in October 1941. They had received some cursory training in mobile warfare during ‘Exercise Bumper’ and were now issued with desert kit and their equipment was painted in desert camouflage ready for overseas deployment in mid-November. At this stage of the war the European theatre had expanded to the Middle East and North Africa and large convoys of reinforcements were being sent to Egypt via the long route around the South African cape and the south-north Suez Canal route. Other reinforcements were also being dispatched to India and Singapore. The scuttlebutt amongst the 79th gunners was that they were being sent to Iraq to protect the Basra railhead. In preparation for mobilization they were re-regimented to the 21st Light Ack-Ack regiment along with the 48th Light Ack-Ack battery. The 79th and the 48th joined the 69th battery who had long been members of the 21st. A new commanding officer, Lt-Col Martin Saunders, was also appointed and he was called to the War Office in the third week of November to be given instructions on the regiment’s destination and operational tasks. It was to be a most secret operation known only to a few. He, alone, amongst the regiment knew they were to be a part of a small advanced force for a landing in French Algeria and then a subsequent 500 mile dash to capture the airfields at Tunis and Bizerta.

The regiment embarked on the troopships Warwick Castle and Empress of Australia in early December 1941 along with the 77th (Welsh) Heavy Ack-Ack regiment and over 1,100 Royal Air Force personnel. The RAF contingent, almost all ground crew, would provide support to three double-squadrons of fighter aircraft to be flown in from Gibraltar and Malta, once the airfields had been secured. Two small teams from the 79th were detached to the SS Malancha and SS Troilus two of the three support ships, the other being the SS City of Pretoria, who were to accompany the main troopships and their naval escorts. In the event the Malancha sailed independently. It took several days to load the ships and they eventually sailed from the Clyde and Liverpool on the same day as the Japanese launched their attacks on Malaya and Pearl Harbour. Whilst at sea, the planners at the War Office decided to reschedule the operation which had been one of Winston Churchill’s pet projects, but without letting him know. The Operation would eventually take place a year later as ‘Operation Torch’. The small convoy which had been embedded in a much larger troop convoy WS(14) for their voyage to Gibraltar, which was to be the staging post for the invasion of Algiers did not detach on December 11th as planned but stayed with main convoy enroute to South Africa. The ‘Force’ received no instructions about what would be their new destination and mission. Indeed it was 2 months and over 9,000 miles later that the force discovered their final destination was Java, only learning this when the ships pulled into the harbour at Tanjong Priok on February 3rd, 1942 and were boarded by two British Officers who informed Col Saunders that his regiment was to disembark. Well almost. The 21st were instructed to send one of their Batteries (less one of their 3 gun troops) to Dutch East Timor to protect the vital airfield being operated by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) at Penfui. The Timor group were to be ready to re-embark within 24 hours after the regiment completed their unloading in Java. Col Saunders selected the 79th battery for the task with A troop, C troop and the battery headquarters to go to Timor and B troop remaining in Java.

The gunners arrived in Koepang Bay at the tip of the Dutch East Indies on February 16th where they were met by their Battery Commander, Major Dempsey, who had flown ahead. They discovered there were no docks or unloading facilities and had to move up the coast to Tenau. A day after landing, by which time they managed by any and all means possible to unload their equipment, they were informed that the RAAF were pulling out and returning to the Australian mainland. A Timor reinforcement convoy from Darwin, which lay some 500 miles from Koepang, escorted by the USS Houston, USS Peary, HMAS Warrego, and HMAS Swan had sailed on the 15th February 1942, carrying Australian Infantry and US Artillery units but after beating off a Japanese air attack were recalled just as the 79th was arriving. The convoy was informed that Timor had already fallen. On arrival in Timor the 79th became part of the Australian ‘Sparrow’ force and now with no airfields to protect would serve in an artillery support role. Apart from the thousand or so Australians there was also a Dutch Colonial Force contingent on the island but they would take no part in the coming defence of their island, going â€˜bushâ€™ when the Japanese invasion force arrived. During 5 days of intense fighting the ‘Sparrows’ inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese invaders especially their seasoned and crack paratroop regiments and beat the Japanese in the Battle of Usua Ridge. However, the Japanese invasion force was growing in size and the operational commander of the ‘Sparrows’, Lt Col Leggett, faced with an opposing force some 10-20 times greater than his own, total Japanese air superiority, increasing casualties, and low supplies decided to surrender. He had been unable to communicate with the HQ of Force’s overall commander Brigadier Veale or the Army Headquarters in Darwin. In the latter case it appears his signals were received but no reply was forthcoming or at least none was received. The decision to surrender remained a contentious issue among Sparrow Force veterans long after the war.

Thus, on the 23 February 1942, 183 of the 184 Timor gunners (one was killed in action) along with the bulk of their Australian comrades went into captivity. Some of the Australian units refused to accept the surrender and made their way into the Timor hills where they linked up with Sparrow Force’s independent commando group who had been fighting in Portuguese East Timor. Together, with the help of friendly locals, they carried on a guerilla war until 1943 when they were evacuated to the mainland. News of the fall of Dutch West Timor did not appear in Australian newspapers until over a week later. Indeed two years after their capture the British War Office were still denying to relatives that any British soldiers had served in Timor and even after the war some War Office Departments were evasive about the fate of the members of the 79th. The Royal Artillery memorial in London, England does not list Timor, which is perhaps not too surprizing as only two-thirds of a single battery was involved. However, the 79th became known as the 79th (Timor) Anti-Aircraft Battery to recognize their involvement, although ironically ‘B’ troop had fought in Java.

1942/03/27 - WO 417/58, Casualty List No. 1094. Reported ‘Missing’.

1943/04/24 - WO 417/59, Casualty List No.1118. Previously shown on Casualty List No.1094 as Missing, 01/02/1943. Now reported a ‘Prisoner of War’.

Japanese PoW

1942/02/23 - Captured Timor

Japanese Index Card - Side One

Japanese Index Card - Siode Two

1942/09/23 - Transported oversea from Koepang, Timor in Dainichi Maru to Surabaya, Java.

1942/10/01 - Arrived Surabaya and onto Batavia.

1942/10/06 - Arrived Batavia.

1942/10/12 - Transported oversea with Java Party 5 to Changi, Singapore.

1942/10/29 - Transported oversea from Singapore in the Singapore Maru, Dainichi Maru or Tofuku Maru to Moji, Japan.

1942/11/27 - Arrived Moji, Japan.

Taken to 1B - Kumamoto, Japan with 23 other officers and 242 other ranks.

On the day they arrived at Kumanoto they were in tropical clothing and it snowed. They were not supplied with warmer clothing until March 1943. By that time 31 men had died due to lack of warm clothing, poor food and almost no medical supplies.

The huts, made of thin wood, had leaky roofs and walls patched with newspaper. The damp mud floors were subject to flooding, and fires, for drying purposes were only permitted on very rare occasions. The windows consisted of wooden shutters which were opened in all weathers at 05.00 hrs daily.

The PoWs worked digging trenches round Kengun Airfield and making a road.

1943/01/01 - Renamed Fukuoka PoW Camp Ube Branch Camp Sanyo Detached Camp

Fukuoka 1B - Kumamoto, Japan

Died

Age 36

17th January 1943 at 5.30 am (Saturday)

Cause of death Acute Colitis

Ashes buried Komine Army Cemetery, Kumamoto City, Japan

After the war Thomas ashes were moved to Yokohama War Cemetery

1943/09/03 - WO 417/65, Casualty List No. 1229. Previously reported Prisoner of War on Casualty List No. 1118 now reported Died. (Date of Death not reported)

1944/02/17 - WO417/71, Casualty List No. 1371. Previously reported Prisoner of War now reported Died; previous Theatre of War: Netherlands East Indies. (Date of Death not reported).

Loved Ones

Parents Christopher and Margaret Agnes Hudson

Husband of Mrs Grace Hudson

Memorial