3858347 Private Kenneth GELDARD: FEPOW, Changi Jail, 'F Force', Burma Railway

Discussion in 'British Army Units - Others' started by Harry Fisher, Mar 12, 2022.

  1. Harry Fisher

    Harry Fisher New Member

    DOES ANYONE HAVE ANYMORE INFROMATION REGARDING MY GRANDAD- KENNETH GELDARD?


    KENNETH GELDARD (Grandads) WW2 JOURNEY 30/Oct/1941- 23/Oct/1945

    Private: 3858347

    18th Reg’t Reconnaissance Corps (5th Battalion, The Loyal North Lancashire).

    [The 5th Battalion was converted in 1941 into a Reconnaissance Corps unit for the 18th (East Anglian) Infantry Division and re-designated as the 18th Battalion Reconnaissance Corps. The 18th Recce (5th Loyals) was transferred with the rest of the 18th (East Anglian) Division as reinforcements for Singapore]


    Timeline made from Bill Slinger’s diary, FEPOW Clitheroe, POW records from Thailand - Burma Railway Centre, Kanchanaburi holiday 2018 and Grandads News Paper interview by the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, Thursday, August, 10, 1996 ‘HE LUCKY ONE; Four Years of Hell- but Ken survived Japanese cruelty ’VJ Day 50 years’.



    SS Oronsay


    • Convoy CT.5 From Liverpool, England 30/Oct/1941 to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada 08/Nov/1941

    USS Leonard Wood


    • Convoy WS.12X from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada 10/Nov/1941 to Cape Town, South Africa 09/Dec/1941

    • Stopping at Port of Spain, Trinidad 16/Nov/1941

    • ‘Shellbacks’ 24/Nov/1941, Lat. 0, Long.40 28’W. Serving on USS Leonard Wood, Initiated into the Solemn Mysteries of the Ancient Order of the Deep.

    • Departed Cape Town, South Africa 15/Dec/1941 to Bombay, India 28/Dec/1942 for climatise

    Bombay, India climatise


    • Left Bombay for Ahmednagar 01/Jan/1942, arrived 02/Jan/1942

    • Onwards to Arangaon, India. Left Arangaon to Bombay 22/Jan/1942
    Empress of India


    • Departed Bombay, India 23/Jan/1942. Convey BM12

    • 05/Feb/1942 bombed by Japanese off Sultan Shoal (10 miles from Singapore)

    HMAS Yarra


    • 05/Feb/1942 rescued from the Empress of India by HMAS Yarra. Arrived in Singapore 05/Feb/1942


    Captured by Japanese


    • Ken’s vehicle damage/ blown-up presumed dead, Mrs Geldard (mother) received a casualty letter from The War Office on 19/Jan/1943 reporting Kenneth died on 11/Feb/1942.

    • Taken first to TanTock Seng Hospital, Singapore. However, the hospital was shelled by the Japanese, and he was moved to Singapore General Hospital.

    • Kenneth Captured in Singapore General Hospital on the 15/Feb/1942, not dead.

    Changi Jail


    • Arrived at Changi Jail 17/Feb/1942



    Singapore to Songkura POW camp


    • Left Singapore with ‘F Force’ on train no8 on the 25/Apr/1943

    • Arrived at Ban Pong 29/Apr/1943, disembarked train, 300km walk ahead to Songkurai

    • Arrived at Kanchanaburi 02/May/1943

    • Arrived at Tarkanoon 15/May/1943

    • Arrived at Songkurai 02/Jun/1943, men fit for work 175 out of 1600

    • Returned to Changi Jail 29/Apr/1944

    • New Zealand Radio Pick up message from Ken from Arthur T. Cushen from New Zealand DX club 09/Sept/1944 @09.14 GMT, reported all is well.


    Changi Jail Liberated 05/Sept/1945


    • Left Singapore 26/Sept/1945 (700-odd men 18th Division, last PoWs to sail from Singapore)

    • Arrived at Liverpool 23/Oct/1945


    Picture of Kenneth with tank in UK
    Kenneth sat on rail, second on right, Changi Jail
     

    Attached Files:

  2. timuk

    timuk Well-Known Member

    One small correction to the timeline. Ship from Bombay to Singapore was the 'Empress of Asia' not the 'Empress of India'.
    SS Empress Of Asia | COFEPOW
    I'll have a look through the rest later.

    Tim
     
    papiermache likes this.
  3. papiermache

    papiermache Well-Known Member

    Several tapes at IWM refer to "F" Force, although I've not heard them, there are extensive notes on the tapes. You can usually listen online. Sound quality can vary. Search IWM using the item number. For example:

    Denny, Leslie Henry (interviewee/speaker)
    Production date
    1981-08-03
    Dimensions
    whole: Duration 140, Number Of Items 5
    Catalogue number
    5133

    Greenberg, Jack Joseph (interviewee/speaker)
    Production date
    1981-11-25
    Dimensions
    whole: Duration 171, Number Of Items 6
    Catalogue number
    5385

    Smith, Lawrence (interviewee/speaker)
    Production date
    1986-11-24
    Dimensions
    whole: Duration 150, Number Of Items 5
    Catalogue number
    9497

    Mendelsohn, Arthur (interviewee/speaker)
    Production date
    1983-05-05
    Dimensions
    whole: Duration 93, Number Of Items 4
    Catalogue number
    6801

    Wood-Higgs, Stanley Ernest (interviewee/speaker)
    Production date
    1981-11-05
    Dimensions
    whole: Duration 103, Number Of Items 4
    Catalogue number
    5267


    Dix, Richard Humphry (interviewee/speaker)
    Production date
    1981-06-16
    Dimensions
    whole: Duration 90, Number Of Items 3
    Catalogue number
    4991

    Neild, Peter (Oral history)
    00:00
    29:51
    © IWM 12757


    Australian archives have files about F Force, downloadable free.

    NAA_ItemNumber3073884.pdf ( 36 MB )

    NAA_ItemNumber3175356.pdf (21 MB)
     
    timuk likes this.
  4. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

    Looks like you have a lot of info already
     
  5. timuk

    timuk Well-Known Member

    Papiermache has given you some good steers on F Force. The Australian Archives are very good on this due to the large number of Australians in this Force. I would add:
    Prisoners of War of the Japanese 1942-1945
    For accuracy I would be careful how you use the term 'Changi jail'. There was Changi Prison and Changi POW Camp (at Selerang Barracks) together with several other smaller camps on Singapore Island. Changi Prison was initially used for civilian internees and was not used for POWs until later. Your grandfather obviously ended up there as your picture shows but I think he would have started out at the main Changi POW Camp.
    One additional piece of info. This is your grandfather's extract from the 18 Div Pilot Roll maintained at Changi. You will see it has the notation X10. This means that on return to Changi he was put on Party X10 building fortifications for the Japanese defence of Singapore.
    upload_2022-3-12_17-26-24.png
    Funk Holes of Singapore

    Tim
     
  6. Harry Fisher

    Harry Fisher New Member


    Wow ! Thanks, ill look more into this. In his diary he says River Valley Camp? Was this a POW camp? Again your correct with the X10, his diary states around April 1945 he was working on "the drome", which seems to be the aerodrome? Also, "moved outside jail to camp no2, digging tunnels and weapon pits for Nips".
     
  7. Harry Fisher

    Harry Fisher New Member

    Never took notice, but in the diary there is defiantly a distinguish between Changi Jail and camps. River Valley & Tanjong Ruu camp are mentioned., again ..thank you!
     
  8. timuk

    timuk Well-Known Member

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