HMS Sultan Singapore 1941 and 1942

Discussion in 'War Against Japan' started by Gilbert John Bowman, Sep 27, 2012.

  1. Hugh MacLean

    Hugh MacLean Senior Member

    Hello and welcome Lucy,
    I am away today so don't have much time but others will help you I am sure.

    HMS Grasshopper, British River Gunboat, WW2

    You will note the name GRASSHOPPER is bracketed after SULTAN II so he was serving afloat on HMS GRASSHOPPER which was sunk during the evacuation of Singapore. SULTAN II was an accounting base where the ship was administrated from. There is quite a lot on the Internet about the ship so start there. I am sure timuk will be along to add some more in due course.

    Regards
    Hugh
     
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  2. LucyRowe

    LucyRowe Member

    Thank you Hugh! I’ve started reading up on what happened to Grasshopper and it sounds like he was lucky to even make it ashore (especially as he couldn’t swim from what my Dad told me!) I found a reference to him being taken to Medan and then a POW camp to work on the Sumatra Railway, which from what I can see must have been hell.

    I’m now trying to figure out if he was part of The British Sumatra Batallion - but have had no luck so far. Hopefully others may know where to look but it’s all very interesting.
     

    Attached Files:

  3. timuk

    timuk Well-Known Member

    Hello Lucy and welcome.
    Your grandfather is not on the Roll for the British Sumatra Battalion. I'll have a better look later today. In the meantime here is his Liberation Questionnaire which he completed.
    ROUE, James Nicholas
    and his Japanese Index Card unfortunately has no info on it to indicate his camps.

    Tim
     
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  4. timuk

    timuk Well-Known Member

    Sorted it. From his Liberation Questionnaire he was held (unfortunately he has not put in the dates):
    Padang
    Medan
    Aceh - various spellings including Atjeh but it is pronounced Achay. A POW Camp near Medan, Sumatra
    Pekan Baroe (various spellings), Sumatra. He was involved in the construction of another railway, often referred to as a Death Railway but not to be confused with the Thai-Burma Railway.
    Your grandfather would seem to have spent all his time in captivity in Sumatra.
    See Sumatra Railway Your grandfather is on the list of survivors.
    https://www.pekanbarudeathrailway.com/
    Re: HMS Grasshopper there are a couple of books which include details of her flight from Singapore:
    Singapore's Dunkirk by Geoffrey Brooke
    Judy A dog in a million by Damien Lewis. Judy was HMS Grasshopper's mascot and survived through the POW Camps to Pekan Baroe.

    Tim
     
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  5. timuk

    timuk Well-Known Member

    Using the LQ for the Camp Leader, Lt ORT Henman MRNVR, shown on your Grandfather's LQ it shows:
    Medan to Mar 44
    Aceh Mar - Oct 44
    Pekan Baroe Oct 44 - Aug 45
    I think these dates will apply to your Grandfather.
    How he got to Pekan Baroe from Aceh/Medan I don't know but he will not have been with the Party that left on the SS Van Waerwijck (Harugiku Maru) as that was sunk on 26 Jun 44 and the survivors went via Singapore to Pekan Baroe.
     
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  6. LucyRowe

    LucyRowe Member

    Thank you so much, both of you! Those resources are very helpful to piecing his time there together. Do you know anything of who they were liberated by at that camp and where they were taken to? Are there any oral history archives of POW who also survived on the railway? Did Judy make it back to England?! (sorry, I have so many questions)

    I’ve found two books written by survivors which I’ve ordered - I’m also speaking to my uncle this week who can hopefully give me some more insight into what happened to Grandad Jim and how he survived.

    I’ve been told anecdotally that he was taken to Ceylon or it could have been Kuala Lumpa to recover (I have one of his medals I will post a picture of) - at this point he was under 6st and very ill. My grandmother was a Wren and nursed him back to health. She said he was known as the ‘one with piercing blue eyes.’ It looks like he arrived back in England in 1946 and was honourably discharged - I have his paperwork. They got married soon after and went on to have four children (the eldest was my father Nicholas).
     

    Attached Files:

  7. LucyRowe

    LucyRowe Member

    Sorry ignore the medal I think it is actually a commemorative coin made in the 70s - he must have travelled there or perhaps it was sent to him. Will ask my uncle
     
  8. timuk

    timuk Well-Known Member

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  9. LucyRowe

    LucyRowe Member

    Yes that sounds familiar! I’ve actually been to Columbo - I wish I had known at the time that’s where they had met.

    I think I’ve found out how he got from north of the island to being put to work on the railway in this YouTube video which traces all the camps.



    At around 20 mins in it mentions Camp 14 and that POWs from Ache were taken there in 1944 by land. Could this fit into his timeline do you think? I
     
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  10. timuk

    timuk Well-Known Member

    Well done. That's it. Building a road in Ache until Oct 44 then overland to the Pekan Baroe railway Oct/Nov 44. Fits perfectly and you now even know the Camp he was in. Amazing how pieces of a jigsaw fall into place.

    Tim
     
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  11. Andy Trewern

    Andy Trewern New Member

    I know it's long time since you asked, but my Great Uncle is on the above list as MPK, but was later updated to KIA but not until 1949/50. You can request a copy of your relatives service record from the navy at Get a copy of military service records
     
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  12. Andy Trewern

    Andy Trewern New Member

    I think you'll find the D represents Devonport
     
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  13. daisy1942

    daisy1942 Junior Member

    Hi Andy,

    Yes it has been a while! I have now discovered the name in question is Burt not Burke. Also, after a long and sometimes frustrating search, my father in law was born Dominic Cunningham Casey not Dominic Michael Stringer. Further it would appear that he was Royal Artillery. This is all the more confusing because he was identified as a naval rating during his escape!
     

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