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Killed in Action
118 Field Regiment
Royal Artillery
History
Compiled by Ron Taylor
Japanese Attack
8th December 1941 - 15th February 1942
On the 13th December the convoy left Cape Town and sailed along the coast of East Africa past Madagascar and into the Indian Ocean heading for Bombay.
After 17,011 miles at sea Bombay was reached on 27th December and were transported by train to Ahmednagar for further training. After a few weeks of training they were transported back to Bombay and again boarded the USS West Point on the 17th January.
The USS West Point formed part of Convoy BM 11 which left Bombay on 18th January, sailing with a British escort. The escort included HMS Exeter and HMS Glasgow with British and Australian destroyers, destination was now the Far East.
Passing Colombo, (Ceylon), crossing the equator for the third time, the convoy passed through the Sundra Straits between Java and Sumatra and then the Banka Straits. The convoy was then bombed by Japanese Planes, there was no damage.
The convoy reached the safety of Keppel Harbour, Singapore on 29th January. Ships were ablaze in the harbour, clouds of smoke drifted across the sky and the smell of fumes was overpowering, this was not the best of greetings. The Japanese had taken most of Malaya in the last three weeks and were only thirty miles away from Singapore.
The day after the 118 Field Regiment arrived the causeway over the Strait of Jahore which linked Singapore to Malaya was destroyed. This did not delay the Japanese who landed at the North West of Singapore Island on the 8th February.
The 118 Field Regiment were transported about two mile to be housed at the Tanglin Barracks. The next morning some gunners were sent back to the docks to collect the gunners personal possessions which had been loaded into the Empress of Asia. Women and children were seen boarding the USS West Point. The sky filled with Japanese bombers heading out to sea, On the way back above Keppel Harbour, the Japanese released more bombs and a bomb shelter was hit which caused the death of those 118 Field Regiment inside. The next day the remaining gunners were told the Empress of Asia had been sunk and all their personal gear was lost.
On the 6th February the 118 Field guns and ammunition were collected from the Polo ground outside Singapore.
On the 9th February the 118 Field Regiment were ordered to the Seletar Airfield to join the 55 Brigade. The Japanese shelled their gun transports on the way to Seletar. On arriving the guns were set up on the markers positions. The site they were now defending overlooked the Straits to the mouth of the Seletar River and beyond to the mouth of the Punggol River. Warning of Japanese infiltrators had the batteries on high alert with the transports well hidden, as to lose the transports lost the ability to move the guns.
The guns were trained on the Japanese across the Strait, with the gunners using 25 pounders.
On the 10th February the 118 Field Regiment were ordered to move to cover the 55 Infantry Brigade troops near the Peirce Reservoir. The journey was under Japanese air attacks and in heavy traffic, no casualties occurred the journey.
Arriving mid afternoon positions were set up on the north bank. The Japanese guns opened up and the 118 Field had their first fatalities. Japanese observation balloons had compromised their positions and with no allied planes to take them down, they felt like sitting ducks. Later in the day orders were given to move further south and the transports were heavily camouflaged before moving them into positions to move the guns.
Bukit Timah Map
The next move on the 12th February was round the MacRitchie Reservoir to positions near the golf course and the race track. On the 13th and 14th February Japanese bombers hit the 118 Field causing many deaths.
Late on the 15th February the gunners were told to put their guns out of action as Singapore had surrendered.
Surrender of Singapore
by Leo Rawlings
During the Battle for Singapore the 118 Field Regiment lost 22 men.
Death Roll
Defence of Singapore
8th December 1941 - 15th February 1942
Please click on the  next to each date below to extend information
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Died
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Name
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Service/No
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1942/02/03
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Ayres, George Edward
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1089342
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1942/02/03
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Evans, Arthur John
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969166
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1942/02/03-1942/02/07
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Mann, William Charles
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1084839
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1942/02/04
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Ereira, George Walter
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1101512
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1942/02/04
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Radford, Edward Leslie Horace
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902281
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1942/02/10
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Pilbeam, Douglas Harry
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941890
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1942/02/10
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Midwinter, Harold Arthur
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915393
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1942/02/10
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Pethybridge, Alan Bradshaw
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909539
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1942/02/13
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Brooks, Henry John
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1106180
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1942/02/13
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Bendon, Elias
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1101504
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1942/02/13
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Eaton, Eric Lawrence
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964168
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1942/02/13
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Purdom, Richard
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1108347
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1942/02/13
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Jones, Douglas Cartwright
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901345
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1942/02/13
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Allsopp, William Henry
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1108691
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1942/02/14
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Larbey, Ernest Alfred
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1112181
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1942/02/14
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Dobie, Ernest
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901321
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1942/02/14
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Martin, Arthur Denis
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50007
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1942/02/14
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Dudley, George Thomas Harry
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904518
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1942/02/14
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Louch, Ernest William
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1089452
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1942/02/14
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Terry, Albert William
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910640
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1942/02/14
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Dru, Graham Ernest
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905171
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1942/02/15
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Wright, Douglas Allen
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964196
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Acknowledgements
Proofread by Tim Lloyds
This information was collated using:-
The ‘Roll of Honour’ FEPOW Family
The Royal Artillery 1939-1945
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
‘Tigers in the Park’ by Jon Cooper
‘Conjuror on the Kwai’ by Fergus Anckorn (118 Field Regiment, RA)
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