The Background to the Far East Campaign What is VJ Day? A commemoration of 15 th August 1945 when Japan surrendered to the Allies. Although hostilities in Europe had ceased in May, fighting continued in the Far East. VJ Day brought World War II to an end. Why did Japan enter the war? The opening up to trading Europe of both Japan and China in the mid to late 19th century pushed both, but particularly the more forward-looking Japan, towards modernisation. China had a huge resource of raw materials whereas Japan had vey few. It lacked oil and rubber, for example. From then until the 1930s there were incursions and clashes between Japan and China ending in the Sino-Japanese war 1937-1945. At the same time relations between Japan and the US became fraught over Japanese immigration to the country and their rights in it. And Britain, who held India, Burma and Malaya, also held the largest garrison in the Far East—Singapore. Japan felt encircled by industrial nations such as America, Britain, The Dutch East Indies and China.
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The Background to the Far East Campaign
What is VJ Day?
A commemoration of 15th August 1945 when Japan surrendered to the Allies.
Although hostilities in Europe had ceased in May, fighting continued in the Far East.
VJ Day brought World War II to an end.
Why did Japan enter the war?
The opening up to trading Europe of both Japan and China in the mid to late 19th century pushed both, but particularly the more forward-looking Japan, towards modernisation.
China had a huge resource of raw materials whereas Japan had vey few. It lacked oil and rubber, for example.
From then until the 1930s there were incursions and clashes between Japan and China ending in the Sino-Japanese war 1937-1945.
At the same time relations between Japan and the US became fraught over Japanese immigration to the country and their rights in it.
And Britain, who held India, Burma and Malaya, also held the largest garrison in the Far East—Singapore.
Japan felt encircled by industrial nations such as America, Britain, The Dutch East Indies and China.
What happened?
By 1940 Japan had annexed Manchuria and occupied Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos (French
Indo-China) and had been at war with China since 1937.
In 1940 the country entered a pact with Germany and Italy.
After Paris fell it occupied French Indochina as a springboard to the south.
All of this led to economic sanctions from the Allies which cut off Japan's access to oil.
On 7/8 December 1941 Japan launched a long-expected attack on Malaya, breaking through
British and Indian defences and driving down to the one military base that stood in its way - the
British fortress of Singapore. What the Allies had not anticipated was a simultaneous attack on
Pearl Harbour.
Singapore
Malaya
Thailand
Indonesia
Japanese Forces
95 minutes before Pearl Harbour on 7
December 1941 Japan bombed RAF
bases to the north of Singapore on the
Malay coast.
The naval response was to send the
battleship Prince of Wales and the bat-
tle cruiser Repulse at the head of a
fleet of ships. Both were torpedoed
and sunk.
Singapore was left unguarded by both
air and sea. The only hope was the ar-
my of 90,000 Australian, British, Cana-
dian and Indian soldiers.
Fighting began on 11 December in the
north of Malaya. The British were
forced to retreat down the country
throughout January 1942. They
reached Singapore on 8 February
1942.
Singapore is a tiny sovereign island nation sandwiched between Malaysia and
Indonesia. Before 1942 it was seen by the British as a South-East Asian Gibraltar,
a formidable fortress, impregnable and vital to the control of the Far East.
The Fall of Singapore 15 February 1942
The vast majority of the FEPOWS were taken prisoner on 15 February 1942
Not only Singapore but also the surrounding Malay countries were forced to surrender.
Winston Churchill described it as "the worst disaster and the largest capitulation in British
history".
The surrender saw the beginning of the end of Britain's global empire both strategically
and militarily. Within a decade of the end of the war new independencies were created
and geo-political aspirations between Asia, including Australia and New Zealand, and
Britain shifted for ever.
There were several reasons. The British tanks were cumbersome and old fashioned; High
Command had focused on the war in Europe; uniforms and materials were not suited to jungle
warfare; troops were unprepared and many had never seen combat on this measure before;
The British relied too much on the belief that Singapore was impregnable; until the last the
men were ordered not to surrender, which caused unnecessary loss of life; arrogance on the
part of the British High Command.
Taken from the Whalebelly scrapbooks.
The white flag of surrender carried alongside the Union Jack
The soldiers—and it was the 4th, 5th and 6th Regiments of the Royal Norfolks who bore the brunt
of it—felt betrayed by a Government who had placed them in this position.
The Norfolk Regiments in the Far East Campaign
The 4th battalion: Headquarters—Chapelfield Drill Hall, Norwich.
The battalion left England on 29 October and after sailing to Halifax, Nova Scotia, travelled to Cape
Town where news of Peal Harbour reached them. They left Cape Town on 13 December 1941 and
from there sailed to Bombay. They arrived in Singapore at Keppel Harbour on 29 January 1942.
Shelling continued from 13th to 14th February. A major Japanese attack developed around 8pm.
Japanese tanks and infantry broke through the line. The following morning a counterattack to regain
the high ground was launched and the objective taken at 11am. The next day hostilities ceased.
75 officers and men and a further 7 died of wounds received, 65 were missing and 124 wounded.
The battalion became prisoners of war.
Race Course
Part of their responsibility was
the island of Pulau Ubin which
they found to be abandoned by
the Japanese. On learning that
the Japanese had invaded the
western side of Singapore the
battalion marched towards
Bukit Pajang village. Which had
been taken by the Japanese.
The battalion was ordered
to withdraw to the race
course, and then again to
the new defence line
north of Adam Road.
This would be their last
stand before Singapore
itself.
Pulau Ubin
Keppel Harbour
Bukit Pajang
Adam Road
Singapore city
Singapore city
In the Swaffham, Watton & District FEPOW Association 63% of the members belonged to the
4th, 5th or 6th Royal Norfolk Regiment Territorial Battalions of the 18th Infantry Division,
altogether around 2000 men.
Around 600 members of these battalions died at the hands of the Japanese, with many more
suffering lasting physical and mental scars from their experiences in the PoW camps.
The following text about the regiments in that campaign is taken from The Holy Boys, Sutherland and Canwell Barnsley, 2010
The Norfolk Regiments in the Far East Campaign
The 5th battalion: Headquarters—King’s Lynn but by 1939 concentrated on Holt.
The battalion left England on 28 October and followed a similar route to that of the 4th battalion
and arriving in Singapore on 13 January 1942 1942.
They began their defence in Malaya
at Jong Peng on 16 January ready to
go to Jemaluang the next day. They
were then sent to Batu Pahat to keep
the road, blocked by the Japanese,
open. They moved down to Skudai,
only to be told on 24 January to go
back to Batu Pahat. They held their
position there but the Japanese
advanced. By 28 January the bulk of
the 5th battalion were in Singapore at
the Serangoon Camp. From here
they helped defend the naval base.
At this stage the battalion had 30 officers and 660 other ranks although more would turn up later
in captivity.
Yong Peng
Keppel Harbour
Jemaluang
Serangoon Camp
Skudai
Singapore city
Batu Pahat
Braddell Road
On 12 February the battalion was ordered
to withdraw and take up position in the
defensive perimeter around Singapore
City. The Japanese had landed on the
west coast of the island and had complete
air superiority.
On 13 February the battalion had taken up
its position in the Braddell Road area. The
Japanese attacked that night and again
during the next 2 days. Shortly afterwards
the order to cease fire was received.
In the Swaffham, Watton & District FEPOW Association 63% of the members belonged to the
4th, 5th or 6th Royal Norfolk Regiment Territorial Battalions of the 18th Infantry Division
The following text about the regiments in that campaign is taken from The Holy Boys, Sutherland and Canwell Barnsley, 2010
Malaya (See below—6th Battalion)
Singapore
The Norfolk Regiments in the Far East Campaign
In the Swaffham, Watton & District FEPOW Association 63% of the members belonged to the
4th, 5th or 6th Royal Norfolk Regiment Territorial Battalions of the 18th Infantry Division
The following text about the regiments in that campaign is taken from The Holy Boys, Sutherland and Canwell Barnsley, 2010
The 6th battalion: The City of Norwich Battalion, mobilised at the Aylsham Road Drill Hall.
It was the weakest of the three battalions with only three companies at the beginning.
It was quartered in various places in Norfolk during 1940, including spending Christmas at
Swaffham. In January 1941 it moved to Scotland and from there travelled to Singapore on
27 October 1941 via Canada, Trinidad, Cape Town, India and the Maldives. They arrived in
Singapore on 13 January 1942.
Their first position was astride the
Muar to Yong Peng road in Malaya,
ten miles south of Muar.
The Japanese were moving in from
the west and the battalion was also
bombed by aircraft. They withdrew to
Yong Peng. On 24 January they
moved to Sanggarang, leaving A
company at Rengit. They were to
hold the river crossings in support of
the 15th Infantry brigade, which
included the 5th Royal Norfolks, at
Batu Pahat. They were ordered to
withdraw to Benut. This was already
in Japanese hands and so they were
evacuated by gunboat to Singapore.
Singapore
Malaya
River Seletar
Braddell Road
They were encamped on the north
coast of Singapore close to the Seletar
river but the Japanese attacked from
the west of the causeway which meant
that they had to withdraw as soon as
possible to prevent being cut of. They
oversaw the withdrawal and then took
up position at the 7th milestone on the
road from the naval base to Singapore
city. On 13 February they were forced
to withdraw to the Braddell road. (See
previous page)
It was here that they learned that hostilities would cease. At 1600 on 15 February.
Two days later they were marched to Changi Barracks as prisoners of war.
Causeway
Skudai
Changi Prison
Changi gaol was constructed by the British in 1936 as a civilian prison.
Following the Fall of Singapore over 3,000 civilians, (many British) were incarcerated in the
gaol itself and 40,00 men were marched to the north east tip of the island where they were
imprisoned in a military base called Selarang near the village of Changi.
This section is taken from online resources. Family stories may be different. We would
welcome any detail from family members.
To the Japanese to be captured was dishonourable. Neither had Japan signed the Geneva
Convention. The men were forced to work, usually heavy manual labour on the docks or
building sites – no work, no food – but the food was sparse and poor. The basic menu was a
bowl of rice, a cup of miso soup and some pickles. Old cow meat or fish guts were occasionally
provided. Often one pint of water a day was shared sip for sip amongst the men.
Lack of clothing was also acute. Disease was rife.
Punishments were severe. Men might be punched, slapped, prodded with a sword, scabbard
or butt of a rifle, kept running, stood at attention for hours or with a bucket of water on their
head. They might be left in small cells without food. Almost all who tried to escape and were
recaptured were executed in front of their fellow PoWs.
The 5th were recruited at the start of the war and were at first responsible for the security and de-
fence of the coast from Lowestoft, Suffolk to Mundesley in Norfolk.
This battalion, like the 4th Suffolks, was essentially made up of Territorials, recruited locally, and
new recruits with no battle experience.
In 1941 they began training in Scotland and then Lancashire. They embarked in October of that
year from Liverpool to travel to Nova Scotia and from there to Cape Town and on to Bombay.
Their destination was to be Egypt.
On 19 January 1942 the men were ordered to re-embark to travel to Singapore.
On arriving in Singapore at the end of January troops were order to defend the beaches at all
costs. After severe fighting they were forced to withdraw and on 15 February surrendered to the
Japanese with the rest of the British and Commonwealth troops.
After 2½ years of training and 3½ months in transit from Britain to Singapore, the Suffolks had
had 17 days of active service, albeit in a chaotic and confused manner, before being ordered to
lay down arms and become prisoners of the Japanese Imperial Army.
(Information from: http://ww2.brandonatwar.co.uk)
“When Dad left England, the ship was originally bound for the Middle East, I think it was Egypt, to
join in the desert campaign. However, after realising that Singapore and Malaya were under
threat from the Japanese, the ship was rerouted. Dad always blamed Churchill for sending troops
into a situation where they were bound to lose.”
(family member by email.)
“When he was first captured, he spent some time in two other camps before being sent up the
jungle. These were Changi and Serangi. Later he met one of his cousins up the jungle where he
learned that they were both in Changi at the same time in huts about one hundred yards
apart. The cousin was with his own brother together in the same hut but unfortunately the other
brother died in the camp.”
(family member by email.)
“He told me a story that once a big python decided to sleep it off in the roof of their hut. They
killed it and ate it. He also nearly died from a scorpion sting and carried the scar near his right
knee for life. “
(family member by email.)
The Burma-Thai railway
The railway was built to create a short cut for
supplies to India and China.
It was 415 kilometres long – 263 in Thailand
(then Siam) and 152 in Burma and built from
both ends simultaneously to meet in the mid-
dle at Three Pagodas Pass.
Once deemed impossible to build because of
the jungle and mountainous difficulty of the
terrain and the cost, Japan now had a work-
force of cheap labourers who only needed a
bit of food and disciplining.
The build, which engineers said would take 5
years was completed in 16 months.
Who worked on the railway?
Civilian workers from all over the Far East
who had been forcibly drafted in after their
countries had been seized, numbered
between 180,000 and 250.
There were about 61,000 allied PoWs from
Britain, Holland, Australia and the US.
About 90,000 civilians and 12,800 PoWs
died from the combined effects of malaria,
dysentery, cholera and malnutrition.
On average four workers died for every
100 metres of track laid.
The construction of the Burma
was counted as a war crime after
the war. 111 Japanese military
officials were tried and of these
32 were sentenced to death.
After its completion, the railway was soon put out of
commission by allied bombing, but when sections
were bombed the prisoners were sent out again to
mend them.
After the end of the war the bridges were destroyed
and the jungle soon took over the tracks.
Part of the railway is now open and serves as a
memorial to the men who built it.
A new bridge was built over the river Kwai and the
old one closed as a mark of respect in 2014.
A preserved section of line has been rebuilt at the
National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
One of the notable bridges built by the prison-
ers was Bridge 277 out of 688 – over the River
Kwai and deep in the jungle of Thailand. It was
one of eight steel bridges they built on 18 hour
shifts, carrying supplies up and down cliff rocks
and over water. Elephants walked alongside,
helping to move equipment and using their
trunks to carry out felled trees. Some stems of
bamboo took five or six men to extract from the
earth. All under a relentless sun —
until the monsoons came.
Hellfire Pass was the largest rock cutting on the
railway. 69 men were beaten to death by guards
in the 12 weeks it took to build the cutting.
Many more died from disease, starvation and
The men were forced to build the railway
using only what they could carry in their
hands or on their backs from the camps
nearby. The tools they used were primitive. The Railroad of Death
You are asking me of railroads
And what they cost to build.
I know of one, ‘neath a blazing sun
Where the youth of an Empire were killed.
A long slim line of railroad,
A glittering metal thread.
Built by the blood of my comrades
Twenty thousand of them dead.
You think of gold and silver
And things that money can buy.
They were no avail on that bloody trail
Where men were left to die.
They toiled till their backs were broken.
Till their breath weas well nigh spent.
Then staggered back to an attap shack
Or a battered rag of a tent.
They knew the pang of hunger,
Of pain and sickness too well,
Malaria, ulcers, cholera
In that stinking part of Hell
Think of the shrunken bodies,
Think of the fevered moans,
Think of that thread of railroad
Bordered by their bones.
You were asking me of railroads,
Wondering what they cost.
Remember the one in Thailand,
Remember the lads we lost.
GFVW
An attap hut is traditional housing found in Malaysia and Singapore. It is named after the attap palm, which provides the wattle for the walls, and the leaves to thatch the roofs.