847572 Harold WILLS, 9 Coast Regiment, Royal Artillery

Evening all

I’m trying to find some information about a friend’s great uncle. Harold James Wills served with the Royal Artillery 9th Coastal Regiment and was killed on 5 March 1943. He is on the Singapore memorial. His service number is 847572. He was from Barnstaple, Devon.
Gunner Harold James Wills | War Casualty Details | CWGC
Any service information, photos would be greatly appreciated. Does anyone have a photo of the grave or his name on the memorial?

Thanks for your help.

James

 

James as you know the service records are the only way to go Get a copy of military service records

Forum member will be able to supply photo of panel CWGC Kranji - Singapore Memorial: pics of c25,000 names now available.

 

James, the Regiment's page on my site will tell you which gun positions the Regiment was manning and which battery was where.
9 Coast Regiment

 

Gunner H W Wills is listed on the RA Roll at Changi as OVS (Overseas) 18/10/42. This puts him in the 'Gunners 600' Party.

There is a lot of information on the 'Gunners 600' with details of the attrocity in this link and you will see Harold listed in the Roll.
600 Gunners Party

Tim

 

Here is his Japanese Index Card - Captured at the Fall of Singapore 15/2/42.


Tim

 

Hi - thank you for this. So much information. It sounds horrific what they endured

 

UK, Army Roll of Honour, 1939-1945
Name: Harold Wills
Given Initials: H J
Rank: Gunner
Death Date: 5 Mar 1943
Number: 847572
Birth Place: Devonshire
Residence: Devonshire
Regiment at Enlistment: Royal Artillery
Branch at Enlistment: Royal Artillery
Theatre of War: Malaya
Regiment at Death: Royal Artillery
Branch at Death: Royal Artillery

 

The Ballale Is. case was still being investigated in January 1950 by Australian war crimes investigators. See Australian Archives Item No. 10526043.

This should be the link to a 5 MB file:

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/NAAMedia/ShowImage.aspx?B=10526043&T=PDF

I note that the IJA card has no red diagonal line through it ( indicating the individual has died ). Such a marking was the practice of the Japanese Prisoner of War Information Bureau. Presumably they were not informed of the death, but the Japanese PWIB was notoriously bad and the US occupation forces spent many years post war trying to trace Allied POWs by working with the Japanese PWIB, whose offices were in Tokyo, although they moved premises during the war to try and avoid destruction of the records by US bombing.

By January 1950 British war crimes investigators had ceased investigating.

The International Military Tribunal For The Far East ( IMTFE ) received evidence on the case in January 1947, where the island is referred to as "Ballah Island."