49 Battery 48th LAA Royal Artillery. 53 died 21/02/42.

This is all very confusing.
I've checked the Rolls again and still cannot find your grandfather.
WO 361 2195 - British Army in Java Roll A-J
WO 361 2184 - Royal Artillery Roll A-C
He is listed in WO 361/2009 - POWs transported from Dutch East Indies to Japan with a date of 29/10/42 which is the date of leaving Singapore rather than Java. Whether this was in the Dainichi Maru or the Singapore Maru I do not know as there are no complete lists for these ships. I would suspect the Singapore Maru as this is where Mansell says those in Hiroshima 6B came from and the fact that another prisoner in this Camp was Flt Lt Liddell (RAF Medical Officer) who was definitely from the Singapore Maru.
WO 361 2215 notes that Party (called the 'Mystery Party) left Java 22/10/42 arrived Singapore night 26/10/42, included in the list of those on board are 48 LAA (not complete).
You could try searching the National Archives site to see if there is a Roll for 48 Regt LAA. I managed to find one for my father's (35 Regt LAA) which contained useful info.
He is listed on the excellent Mansell site (mansell.com) under Hiroshima 6B.
Also if you haven't already seen it you may find the article 'Java Gunners' on the COFEPOW website interesting.
Date of 20/03/42 for 95/48 being over-run is definitely wrong as capitulation was 8/03/42.
Hopefully other members can throw some light on this.
My father luckily survived. Camps were Tandjong Priok (Java), Fukuoka 7 (Ube), Zentsuji and Fukuoka 9 (Miyata).
Tim

 

Very confusing what I wonder is the mystery party
what site due you go to too check the rolls
I have attached another couple of documents pleased your father came through it
I appreciate your help with this

Jeff

 

I have always taken the Mystery Party to be so called because Changi did not know the exact composition. Most parties leaving Java went through Changi and so the names could be recorded. Not so the Mystery Party. It disembarked at Singapore and almost immediately re-embarked on the other ships. There must have been quite some amazing organisation in Changi to make these records and even more amazing that they have survived. Changi would have interviewed those passing through to try and establish where others were. My father's entry on the 35 Regt Roll is annotated "attachd 6 HAA. Now at Tandjong Priok POW Camp Nr Batavia". Others have 'attchd 6 HAA. Whereabouts not known', 'last known to be in Batavia hospital' etc. If they passed through Changi the notes are OVS (overseas) or OVL (overland) with a date. From this it is usually possible to establish where they were sent, at least initially.
I have a personal copy of the 35 Regt Roll which I obtained from the National Archives. Others are held by the National Archives or try Find My Past. You may find www.fepow-community.org.uk of interest. Also if you go to www.roll-of-honour.org.uk/Java_Index/ you can find a page dedicated to your grandfather - no additional info but at least he is remembered.
Tim

 

Jeff,
Have you seen this. It's rather brief and I'm not sure entirely accurate.
www.cofepow.org.uk/armed-forces-stories-list/the-48th-laa-regiment
Tim

 

Thank you for this information
do you feel it would be worthwhile me making an appointment to visit the national archives and the RA library in London
Jeff

 

If by RA library in London you mean the one at Woolwich it's not there any more. It's moved to the Salisbury Plain Heritage Centre at Larkhill, Wiltshire. Salisbury Plain Heritage Centre.
As to the National Archives I'm no expert. I would think best bet would be to trawl through the files listed on their website to see what files they have on 48 Regt. FindMyPast also has some records for your grandfather but they may be ones you already have as I can't see them as I'm not a subscriber. Use the military records filter or you'll be swamped with Bardens! They have free trials now and then.
Tim

 

Another thought. Try on line search of the Imperial War Museum's collections. Amazing amount of stuff has been deposited here and often personal papers cover areas for which there are no official records. You might just strike lucky, though you'll have to go to IWM to view.

 

Australian National Archives have digitised the Australian investigation file dealing with some of the events in 1942 and some later events. This is available to download as a pdf ( about 84 Mb ). The original brief is one of the last documents on the file ( about page number 280 or so ). Use the Advanced Search facility and enter the barcode for the item, which is 431903.

I do not know whether this is the file at the Dutch National Archief which was referred to above as being "closed."

Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Dan Plesch of SOAS ( London University) and others the UNWCC archives were finally released in recent years and some are available at the International Criminal Court website. One document appears to relate which was probably put in evidence at the Major War Crimes Trial at Tokyo, the IMTFE as exhibit ( hash ) 1706. Search for "Legal Tools" with your usual internet search engine and at the home page at "Source" in the left-hand sidebar limit the search to the "UNWCC" documents ( about 11,500 )
Search for Kalidjati. This is a transcript. I do not know why names are put in inverted commas.



Ex. 1706

Doc. No. 5777 Page 1

CERTIFICATE

The undersigned CHARLES JONGENEEL, First Lieutenant R.N.I.A., head of the War Crimes Section of NETHERLANDS FORCES INTELLIGENCE SERVICE (NEFIS) being first duly sworn on oath deposes and states that the annexed report is a full, true, complete and accurate copy of the original document entitled:

“Report, drawn up by Capt. LEYDER R.N.I.A. d.d. Changi, 11th September, 1945, No. OM/190/R. concerning the KALIDJATI-MASS-MURDER”,

which document is a part of the official records of the NEFIS.

SIGNATURE: /s/ Ch. Jongeneel

SEAL

BATAVIA 10 June 1946.

Subscribed and sworn to before me K.A. de WEERD, first Lieutenant R.N.I.A., Higher Official attached to the Office of the Attorney General N.E.I.

SIGNATURE: /s/ K.A. de WEERD


Doc. No. 5777 Page 2

A —5 OM/190/R

REPORT


On 6th April 1942 interned as a P.O.W. in the former H.K.V. Was transported to KALIDJATI as commandant of a detachment of 25 men.

From the then Col. of Mil. Air Force “KENGEN”, I received the following order: Report to the Japanese Commandant of the airbase KALIDJATI, trace, identify and bury Netherlands and Allied soldiers killed at KALIDJATI.

To my detachment belonged the two medical surgeons of the Mil. Air Force “LAY MOEK FO” and “SYBESMA”. After reporting to the Japanese Commandant at KALIDJATI and handing over my “safe conduct” written in Japanese, a Japanese N.C.O. was appointed to control our actions. I was allowed to divide the detachment in three, each part under the command of an officer ( the two Medical Surgeons and myself). Later on we had to form one group again.

Respectively we searched the main road with adjacent banks along the north and east side of the airfield ( the last as far as the entrance gate near the W.O.’s quarters ) and the Blast pens for our planes, north of the main road opposite hangar D. We were not allowed to search other terrains. Several corpses were found, where possible identified and buried on the spot.

On none of the bodies were any identity discs found, on a few a pass-port or some other papers.

Bodies of Dutch soldiers identified by us were:

a. Soldier ( militiaj “SMEETS”, identified by a ring with subscription.

b. Lt. (pilot) “BECKMAN”, identified by Dutch pass-port, officer’s distinctives and special distinction marks on his upper front teeth.

c. Sub-Lt. “CAVIE” - - - - - - ?- - - - - -

In the dispersal area we found in a garbage pit 3 corpses ( not indentified ) tied together, viz. the bones of their forarms were tied together with one rope.

PARTICULARS: All the corpses found near the main road, lay in the drains covered by a layer of about 4” earth.

Doc. No. 5777 Page 3

They had not been properly buried, only more or less cleared away.

As this had happened about 5 weeks before, corpses were in a bad state of decomposition, so that transport to an improvised burial ground would be impossible under the circumstances. The corpses in the dispersal area were not buried at all and showed traces of damaging by pigs. As a result the clothing was torn and parts of the bodies spread in such a way that it was impossible to confirm our impression that they had been shot.

Reasons for that impression:

1st. The rope.

2nd. Attitude and mimics of the Japanese W.O. who could only speak Japanese, but very decidedly pointed out to us that we had to find 6 corpses.

After returning to BANDOENG a report was written by me ( I think in triplicate ) and handed over to Col. “KENGEN”. One of the copies was intended for the Red Cross representative at BANDOENG.

My detachment was the third that searched the battle fields with such an order. By personal ( oral ) communication I was informed that the Medical Surgeons, 1st. Cl. “MOOY” and “SIMONS” belonged to the detachments who found about 80 corpses at TJIATER-PASS. At the place where they found them a captured infantry section is said to have been machine gunned to death by the Japanese. I was shown a list of names, as presented to the Red Cross Representation at BANDOENG.

CHANGI, 11th September 1945

( w.s. Capt. “LEYDER”. )

 

Thanks Tim
Will let you know how I get on
Jeff

 

Hi Enigma 1003. Just found the files of missing from incident at Kalidjati. Grateful for your interest, just so difficult not knowing what happened to them. David Homer.

 

Pat Walker, fellow member and author of 6th HAA Regiment has just put me onto a book published last year which may interest readers of this thread. 'The Storm at Kalidjati' by Francis Hansen. I've only just got my copy and haven't had a chance to read it. It covers 48th LAA Regiment from the UK to Java with especial regard to 49th Battery. Other units involved in Sumatra and Java are also mentioned.

Tim

 

Hi Tim,
I have just picked up this message ref book published last year. My uncle Arthur Homer 49 Bty 48 Lt AA Regt. died 21/2/42. I have been very grateful for your input on this site. I will if possible order a copy of this book. Do you know if its widely available or specialist shops?
Thanks.
David Homer.

 

Hi David,
It's a very good read and will tell you a lot about 49/48 Regt LAA. Available on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Storm-Kalidjati-Gateway-disaster-Singapore/dp/1548178993
Tim

 

Thanks very much Tim. I will get the book.
Regards
David.

 

Hi David Homer

My grandfather was also a POW in Kuching from the 49 Battery, 48th LAA Regiment. He survived but sadly passed away 10 years ago but before he died I did send an email to someone who was researching this regiment who lived in Holland and have information that he had sent me along with a list of all the 284 members of the 49 battery and what happened to them. I have looked at the list and Arthur Homer with the rank as a gunner is on the list along with my grandfather Leonard Morris who was also a gunner. I do know my grandad was on the Duchess of Atholl. I have all his research here but unfortunately my grandad died 2 weeks before it arrived so he never read any of it. I have no idea where he had all the information from as there is little around. If I can help in any way please let me know.

 

Just joined forum and see number of members asking questions about 48th LAA. Not sure if most members are aware of the book titled "The years the Locusts have eaten" which is based on the writings of Rupert Godfrey, chaplain of the regiment. My father was in 242 battery and died shortly after arriving in Moji on Daiinichi Maru. Rupert Godfrey was on the ship and also previously on Yoshida Maru - I think the book is still available on Amazon

 

Many thanks for the information. Will have a look now. Cheers.☺

 

if you need further information on the book please let me know. It lists everyone in the regiment with a note of what happened to them and that section relates to Rupert Godrey's records held in the IWM

 

My father Gunner James Robert Hellingsworth was also attached to 48 Light A A Regiment and he too was executed. I understand he was killed in Subang, West Java. Listed as ‘Soebang’ – that’s the Dutch spelling.
My family and I visited the cemetery in June which is so well cared for.