White-Frederick-Ernest

To honour those who served their country

“In this their finest hour”

5948791

Lance Corporal

Frederick Ernest White

1916/12/09 - Born Luton, Bedfordshire

Occupation Butcher

Next of Kin: Aunt, Mrs Dawkes, 46 Cobham Street, Luton, Beds.

Suffolk Regiment

4th Battalion

Service

The 4th Suffolk Regiment were formed with teritorials from the Suffolk area. After some basic training they were put on guard duty in Lowestoft, patrolling the dry docks where Allied submarines were serviced. A few days were then spent at Loddon before returning to the Waverly hotel, in St Olaves, returning to guard duty at Haddiscoe railway station. Further training took place at Langley Park, Loddon, where marching, and camp life were the order of the day. A farm at Cawston in Norfolk was the next venue, with the luxury of sleeping in a farmers barn but the training was increased. The next stage was from late July to the end of September doing guard duty near the harbour mouth at Great Yarmouth. The guard duty consisted of 24 hour stints, two hours on, four hours off, one day a week was a rest day.

A move to Hatley St George, Bedfordshire occurred in September 1940 living in disused cottages on the Hatley Hall Estate. Training was increased with long route marches. Just before the new year the battalion was moved to Stobbs Camp, Harwick in Scotland, and housed in Nissan huts, the weather was bitter. The training lasted till April.

The battalion was then bussed to Pilsmouth Bleach Mills, Bury in Lancashire where training continued. In August the battalion was moved again to wooden huts near Hereford , where training and farm work was carried out.

King George VI inspected the battalion in Hereford at the cathedral whilst the Suffolk Regimental band from Bury St Edmunds played.

Once more we were on the move - it was dark when we left Hereford. We knew we were going abroad, but not where. The battalion was then entrained to Liverpool, where the boarded the S.S. Andes, it was believed their destination was the Middle East.

The S.S. Andes passage was to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, across a very rough sea.

The battalion then changed ship to the American liner ‘Wakefield’ and became part of the Convoy William Sail 12X. The convoy sailed to Trinidad and then on to Cape Town in South Africa, berthing on the 9th December for a three stay, shore leave was granted. The Japanese had invaded Malaya the day before the convoy reached Cape Town.

Up till now the destination of the convoy was the Middle East but with Japan entering the war, it became obvious that the 18th division would be sent to the Far East. At this point the convoy was split with one part going to Mombassa and then on to Malaya and the Wakefield going to India, arriving at Bombay on the 5th January 1942, then on by train to Ahmenager, which was inland from Bombay where more training took place for the Far eastern climate. The 54th Infantry, which included the 4th Suffolks stayed at Ahmenager for three weeks, then back to Bombay where the Wakefield had waited, sailing once again this time to Singapore arriving just as the causeway was blown between Malaya and Singapore.

Singapore by this time was under siege and the battalion found themselves in old tents in a rubber plantation. Orders to defend the Golf Course which was bombed directly it went dark.

Orders to retreat to the outskirts of Singapore were given just as they arrived at their destination on the 15th February 1942, Percival surrendered, just 18 days after the Wakefield had docked at Singapore.

The day after orders were given to march to Changi which was about 15 miles on the South West side of the island. The battalion was at first in Roberts barracks, but this was then used as a hospital so the battalion had to find what shelter they could.

1942/02/15 - Singapore surrendered

1942/05/07 - WO 417/43, Casualty List No. 817. Reported Missing.

1943/06/25 - WO 417/62, Casualty List No 1170. Previously posted on Casualty List No 817 as Missing. Now reported Prisoner of War.

Japanese PoW

1942/02/15 - Captured Singapore

PoW No. M-6514

Japanese Index Card - Side One

Japanese Index Card - Side Two

1943/05/09 - Transported overland with ‘H’ Force, train 4 to Thailand

80th Train to Thailand

Commander Lt-Col. H.R. Humphries, 77 H.A.A. Regiment, Royal Artillery

New PoW No. 11242

Camps in Thailand:-

(Camps supplied by Andrew Snow - Thailand Burma Railway Centre)

Tampii South Area (also called Kannyu South) - 149.50km from Nong Pladuk

1943/06/21 - On Kannyu Roll Compiled by Lt-Col. Henry Robert Humphries

Malay Hamlet - 153km from Nong Pladuk

1943/10 - Thailand-Burma rail lines joined near Koncoita

Kanchanaburi ‘F’ and ‘H’ Force Hospital camp - 52km from Nong Pladuk

Transported back December 1943 or early 1944 to Changi, Singapore

1945/09/05 - On Nominal Roll at Changi

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.

1945/12/21 - WO417/100, Casualty List No. 1941. Previously reported on Casualty List No. 1170 as Prisoner of War now Not Prisoner of War. Previous Theatre of War, Malaya.