Just requested my grandads war record from the mod. And he was reported missing on 15th February Malaya 1942. And all it says is that he made his way from Burma to India on 30/5/42. I have been doing a lot of research on the internet trying to piece together events. One thing tat struck me was that the japs took 80,000 POWs from the fall of Malaya. One of the reason why I think that he could of been a pow was that a few years after my grandad died one of his friends told him that my grandad was a pow during the war. If anyone could give me any info at all in regards to the allies in Malaya in 1942 I would much appreciate it.
That is certainly a big indication for it . Now, we didn't get the name ; Frank the Tank ? in 1942 serving in Malaya. hmmm. And did the friend tell it to the deceased grandad ? http://www.powtaiwan.org/archives_detail.php?THE-TRUTH-ABOUT-THE-NUMBERS-IN-SINGAPORE-3
His name was john Gormley The person who told my dad was apparently my grandads friend who assumed the family knew however my grandad never mentioned it to anyone in the family.(he never really spoke about the war)
Frank, Welcome to the forum Looking at the basic facts,your grandfather appears to have most likely based on the Malaya peninsula or on the island of Singapore when the Japanese invaded.British forces withdrew into the Singapore garrison as an anticipated last stand but were unable to hold out and capitulated to the Japanese in early February 1942. During the evacuation of Singapore, a chaotic period,military sea transports were the norm as the task of withdrawing forces was carried out.However Many of those who could not escape fell into the bag..some were lucky and were able to escape captivity and leave Singapore on any non military boat available.He may have made it, possibly, to one of the many islands to the west of the Malayan peninsula,the most prominent,being Sumatra,now part of Indonesia, or could have made it as far as the Burma coast.Since during this time,there was no official account of his being,this would be the reason why he was reported missing on 15 February 1942.This is about the time that Singapore fell to the Japanese. After what would have been quite an ordeal,he finally made it to India,could have been by sea or overland from Burma but he is recorded as officially reporting on 30 May 1942 ..for some it could have been later. If you could post what you have officially,it might be able to build up a better understanding of your grandfather's journey from Malaya to India.
Hi Frank, Harry is right, it would help a lot if we could see the documents you have from the MOD. Steve
