Woodhead-George-Winston

To honour those who served their country

“In this their finest hour”

4979647

Private

George Winston Woodhead

1917/09/07 - Born Nottingham

Son of George and Sarah Lueritia (nee Geldard) Winston

Brother to Daisy Lueritia (born 1914)

(Father George was a butcher by trade, born 1890. Mother Sarah was born 1893)

George Winston’s Occupation was Motor Trade

1940/02/15 - Enlisted

Next of kin - Father, G Woodhead, 86 Ilkeston Road, Nottingham

Sherwood Foresters

1/5 Battalion

Service

The 1/5th (Derbyshire) Battalion was a Territorial Army formation originally serving with the 148th Infantry Brigade, part of the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division. In December 1939, the battalion was reassigned to the 25th Infantry Brigade and saw service with the BEF in France and Belgium in 1940 and being evacuated at Dunkirk. In late 1940, it was again reassigned to the 55th Infantry Brigade, 18th Infantry Division.

1941/10/30 - The 1/5 Sherwood Foresters left Britain in ‘Orcades’ with Convoy CT.5 from Liverpool to Halifax

Final Destination Unknown

1941/11/08 - Arrived Halifax

1941/11/10 - Transferred to USS West Point and departed Halifax in Convoy William Sail 12X

Convoy William Sail 12X continued with six American troopships, two cruisers, eight destroyers and the aircraft carrier Ranger, the Convoy William Sail 12X was under way, destination still unknown.

(Above Photo supplied by the late Maurice Rooney)

Vought SB 2U Vindicator Scout Bomber - USS Ranger which was flying an Anti Submarine patrol over the convoy.

Ships Front Line Top to Bottom

USS West Point - USS Mount Vernon - USS Wakefield - USS Quincy (Heavy Cruiser)

The convoy passed through the Mona Passage between Puerto Rico and St Domingo.

1941/11/17 - Arrived at Trinidad in glorious sunshine so troops changed to tropical kit, but no shore-leave, left Trinidad after two days of taking on supplies.

1941/11/24 - The equator was crossed, there was a crossing the line ceremony.

After a month the convoy arrived at Cape Town, South Africa. By this time the 1941/12/08 - Americans were in the war as the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbour and attacked Malaya and the rumours were that they were heading for the Far East and not the Middle East as first thought.

1941/12/13 - The convoy left Cape Town and sailed along the coast of East Africa past Madagascar and into the Indian Ocean heading for Bombay.

1941/12/27 - After 17,011 miles at sea Bombay was reached.

1942/01/18 - The convoy sailed with a British escort, the H.M.S. Exeter and H.M.S. Glasgow with British and Australian destroyers. Destination was the far East. Passing Colombo, (Ceylon), crossing the equator for the third time, the convoy passed through the Sundra Straits between Java and Samatra and then the Banka Straits. The convoy was then bombed by Japanese Planes, there was no damage.

1942/01/29 - The convoy reached the safety of Keppel Harbour, Singapore. Ships were ablaze in the harbour, clouds of smoke drifted across the sky and the smell of fumes was overpowering, this was not the best of greetings. The Japanese had taken most of Malaya in the last three weeks and were only thirty miles away from Singapore.

1942/02/15 - Singapore Surrendered

1942/04/09 - WO 417/41, Casualty List No. 793. Reported ‘Missing’.

1943/06/22 - WO 417/62, Casualty List No 1167. Previously reported on Casualty List No 793 as Missing now reported ‘Prisoner of War’.

Japanese PoW

1942/02/15 - Captured Singapore

PoW No. 2868

Japanese Index Card - Side One

Japanese Index Card - Side Two

1942/10/14 - Transported overland to Thailand with River Valley Party, train 11

New PoW No. IV 2046

Work Party 4 08 (B)

Work Battalion under Lt-Col. H.H. Lilly, 1/5 Sherwood Foresters

Thailand Camps:-

Tha Sao then boat to Wang Pho

1943/02/15 - Wang Pho (Wampo), 111km from Nong Pladuk

1943/05 - Tonchan Spring, 140km from Nong Pladuk

1943/08/10 - Kinsiayok, 161km from Nong Pladuk

1944/06 - Tha Muang (Tamuan) via Tha Soa, 39km from Nong Pladuk

1945/05 - Nakhon Nayok

New PoW No. IV 17407

1945/08/30 - Liberated Nakhon Nayok, Thailand

Transcript from Burma as a Prisoner of War 1943

In George’s own words:-

‘After three years of the Japs I was just about finished. An attack of jaundice and an outbreak of boils all over the body.

Monsoon period: our so called tent, a rotting sheet of canvas between two bamboo trees. And then cholera struck and each day the bodies had to be carried off to the pyre for burning.

I went off my rice - our daily dollop of rice which was our life saver. I could not keep it down and was growing weaker every day. Suddenly the ragged flap of the tent was opened and an unknown Japanese voice stated “Each man to get a small tin of sardines, courtesy of the Emperor (this was to build us up for railway work - not a charitable offering) and sure enough a small tin of sardines was thrown onto my lap.

My enfeeble fingers failed to insert the key correctly and after a few turns, it snapped off. However, from the quarter inch gap came the heavenly scent of sardines. By poking a small piece of bamboo I was able to scrap out a few flacks of the fish at a time and sprinkle this into my tin of rice. This enabled me to get down sufficient cold rice and coax me back to living.

To this day I can never see the traditional small tin on supermarket shelves without saying a silent prayer.

Cholera, boils, jaundice et al, et al, defeated by a small tin of fish.’

Liberation Questionnaire

1945/10/06 - WO417/97-2, Casualty List No. 1877. Previously reported on Casualty List No. 1167 as Prisoner of War now Not Prisoner of War. Previous Theatre of War, Malaya.