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Killed in Action
Royal Norfolk Regiment
5th Battalion
History
Compiled by Ron Taylor
The 18th Division
by Mary Michael
"For their country they did serve and recognition do so deserve"
On the William Sail they came
Proud and longing to fight with hearts aflame
To the Far Eastern Shores of Singapore
Where many a man would be the same no more
Oh how hard they fought
But victory was not to be bought
The Battle of Bukit Road raged
Til it was realized it just couldn't be saved
Young and brave the fear crept in
Why were we sent too late to win
For the men of the 18th this was their fame
Did they deserve to take history's blame
For they were trained for the desert not over here
Why they were there they sure weren't clear
The men of the 18th try as they might
There was no way they could win this fight
The fight over there sure wasn't fair
What's a Jap, what does he wear
How could they know about jungle warfare
This was their first battle but who did care
Alas no victory for the 18th would there be
Instead part of the Singapore surrender history
With all of the rest of the brave heroes over there
With no chance or hope to escape the Jap's brutal care
Why were our men left over there
With not a thought or a care
Where were the planes and rest of the supplies
Nothing appeared from out of the skies
In these words the truth can be seen
How unfair and unjust it all has been
Time now to honour and acclaim
And give these brave men finally their fame
August 1939 - 8th December 1941
The orders to double the 5th battalion in 1938 was seen to be a good move as the battalion was up to strength when war was declared in 1939. The object was then to split the battalion into two, making the 5th and 7th battalions. On the 1st October 1939 this became a reality and two battalions were formed and trained separately.
The Battalion HQ was at Dereham with Lt.-Col. G.N.Scot-Chad in command with other units at Aylsham, North Walsham and Holt. For the first few months individual training was at Holt and Weyborne and the men were given the task of building and manning the North Norfolk Coastal Defences. The battalion colours were in Sheringham Church, as Lt.-Col. Scot-Chad carried the Kings Colours and Maj.B.Savory the Regiment Colours.
In March 1940 section training begun and Lt-Col. E.C.Prattley, who had served with the 2nd Battalion in France, took over command of the battalion and Maj. H.T.Crane took over as second in command. In May company training begun only to be interrupted during the early summer months, after Dunkirk and with the threat of invasion, the battalion was given the job of manning the Coastal Defences at Weyborne. Whilst building the defences they carried on with their training and were achieving a high degree of skill as a unit.
With the threat of an invasion past the battalion was issued with transport vehicles and advanced training was then carried out. The battalion was moved to Gresham School at Holt in September and they now had an assault course in the woods. Being now brigaded with the 6th Royal Norfolks and the 2nd Cambridgeshires to be part of the 53 Brigade of the 18 Division, brigade training was applied.
A move to Kings Lynn in October had the battalion billeted in the uncomfortable warehouses in the dock area. They stayed here until January 7th 1941, having seen a few air raids on the town, they then moved by train to Scotland for advanced training. The troops were developing into a fighting unit under the Scottish route marches, and apart from helping in Glasgow after a heavy air raid it was all training.
On April 7th the brigade was moved to Northwich, near Liverpool, this move had two reasons. The city had very heavy bombing raids and needed the troops for fire watching duties plus full scale brigade attacks were to be carried out in the Birmingham and Carlisle districts. The battalion took alternate roles in attack and defence in these exercises. They were now a fighting team ready for action. One final move on October 5th was back to Glasgow where on the 22nd a detachment of one officer and 55 other ranks were inspected by the King before going overseas.
The battalion embarked on the Duchess of Atholl (21,000 tons) on the 30th October and sailed for Halifax with the 18th Infantry Division convoy.
In Canada they were transhipped to the U.S.S. Mount Vernon (26,000, formally the Washington) along with the rest of the 53 Brigade. Leaving Halifax on the 10th November for Trinidad and then reached Cape Town on December 9th, where four days were spent sleeping on board. The convoy carrying the 18th Division sailed for Bombay on December 13th but the Mount Vernon was then ordered to turn back as her destination would be Mombassa, arriving there on Christmas Day, where shore leave was granted.
On 28th December she sailed again and it was then announced her destination was Singapore. The troops knew of the Japanese invasion of Malaya, and were given lectures on jungle warfare whilst sailing across the Indian Ocean before reaching her destination on January 13th 1942.
The troops disembarked in pouring rain and settled in at Woodlands Camp which was near the navel base, Singapore.
Acknowledgements
This information was collated using
The Royal Norfolk Regiment by P.K.Kemps - 1919 to 1951 - Voume 3
The Royal Norfolk Regiment by Tom Care
To Singapore and Beyond by Neil Storey
Private 5776807 by Frederick Noel Taylor
Hell in Five by Jack Symon
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