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All the Information in the ‘FEPOW Family’ belongs to the writer and are not ‘Public Domain’. Permission must be obtained before any part is copied or used.
Killed in Action
Royal Army Medical Corps
197 Field Ambulance
History
by Ray Watson
Excerpts from ‘Mr Sam’ Far Eastern Heroes
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
An infantry Field Ambulance at that time comprised of a Medical Officer, his batman, 13 officers and 225 other ranks (Sergeants, Corporals and Privates). The unit also had 42 vehicles including 8 six wheeled motor ambulances, which were driven and maintained by members of the Royal Army Service Corp, who were attached to the unit. There were three Field Ambulances per Division and 1 per Corps. The 197 Field Ambulance was destined to become part of the 18th Division, 55th Infantry Brigade along with the 1/5 Sherwood Foresters, 1st Cambridgeshires and 5th Beds and Herts Regiment.
This is based on Sam Purvis and his journey to the Far East but requires an explanation. The Field Ambulance personnel were used, in the ships from Britain to Singapore, as medics to the Regiments aboard each ship in the convoy they were in. They did not travel as one unit, this was called ‘Trooping’. Therefore it is impossible to identify every ship the Field Ambulance units sailed in as they were spread over the full CT.5 convoy from Britain to Halifax and then the Convoy William Sail 12X from Halifax to Singapore . When they arrived at Singapore the personnel were once again re-united into their Companies.
Excerpts from ‘Mr Sam’ by Ray Wilson, Far Eastern Heroes
This is Sam’s story:- In 1939 I decided to leave professional football as I was 22 years old. Not yet hitting the headlines, my thoughts turned to my long-term future. Essentially I wanted something that, in my retirement, would keep my family ( if I was to have one) in fairly good financial circumstances.
I travelled around Watford, with football as my sole credentials. Finally I decided to become a Nurse for a Mental Hospital. The greatest incentive, after all the interviews I had, was a pension. This was to be two-thirds of my wages on retirement at sixty-five.
Medically examined, and all my particulars clearly understood, I began my new career on the 1st of June 1939 at Leavesden Hospital. This, I had arranged months before my football contract had expired and before the retaining list was printed.
War broke out in September 1939. The Hospital had a good football team, and I was known as Nurse Sam Purvis.
My nursing profession was only six months old when I was called up to Military Service where I was to become Nurse Sam.
I was called-up in January 1940 for Army Service. At that time a new Army Medical Unit was being established as the 197 Field Ambulance in Norfolk.
Having left home for five years, joining the army was no hardship to me. Being one of the first to be called-up at the age of twenty-two years of age, I was able to stand back and pick out all of those colleagues of mine who had left home for the first time. Army life was quite traumatic for those who were away from home for the first time. Very soon though, they were able to stand up for themselves and give as much as they got. And so, our little unit progressed very quickly.
I requested a transfer request to the Field Ambulance but they were at full strength and were due to go abroad, so my request was delayed till they travelled.
I had played two seasons at football and one at cricket with the Field Ambulance. We had a great football team and I was the only professional in it.
In one particular game, I was Skipper of the 197 and I went to toss a coin to start the match, and my opponent said to me; “Hey! You played for Middlesbrough didn’t you? Well, I played for Sunderland.” And then the penny dropped, he was my boyhood hero – an inside forward – whose name I have never forgotten. Strange things happen in army life.
Every side we played seemed to have a number of professionals and it was those times when I still wished that I were still playing football for a living. I really felt that I would have succeeded in making the grade – but it was not to be. Fighting and caring for the sick and dying were to be my main commitments.
With all my happy thoughts of playing football with my fellow professionals, I stepped aboard the troop-ship in Liverpool Docks, ready for anything the Germans could mount against us.
I was a member of the 18th Division and before leaving our last billet we had met the King and Queen. They wished us ‘God speed and a safe and happy return home’. That was my first and only introduction to Royalty, but I thought the gesture was very good and meaningful.
The 196, 197 and 198 Field Ambulance embarked on three ships, the SS Andes, SS Oronsay and Duchess of Athol, leaving Britain on the 30th October 1941.
Leaving Liverpool Docks, we headed for the Atlantic, halfway across the Atlantic, our English Patrol Vessels were exchanged with USA equivalent vessels and our English ships returned home, leaving us with American escort vessels.
Not many hours later, we heard the alarm – ‘Enemy in Sight!’. Submarines were firing torpedoes, never a dull moment. The Germans gave us a right pasting. We lost a few ships, but none that were carrying any of our units but we had many frightening moments.
Finally, we docked in Nova Scotia, Canada where we boarded American Liners three of them were huge, the USS West Point, USS Mount Vernon and USS Wakefield. Again we set sail for a destination unknown to us.
The voyage with six American troopships, two cruisers, eight destroyers and the aircraft carrier Ranger, the Convoy William Sail 12X was under way.
Above Photo supplied by the late Maurice Rooney
Vought SB 2U Vindicator Scout Bomber - USS Ranger which was flying an Anti Submarine patrol over the convoy.
Front Line Top to Bottom
USS West Point - USS Mount Vernon - USS Wakefield - USS Quincy (Heavy Cruiser)
Back Row Top To Bottom
USS Leonard Wood - USS Vincennes (Heavy Cruiser) - USS Joseph T Dickman
(USS Orizaba Ap-24 also sailed with Convoy though not pictured in photo)
We went down the coast of America until we finally dropped anchor off the coast of the West Indies. Arrangements had been made for two soldiers from the 197 Field Ambulance to go ashore. Mine was the first name to be drawn from the hat. My colleague and I set off with the rest of the party. The ship was anchored on the horizon and the place we were to visit was Trinidad. It was quite a momentous occasion for me because it was the first time that I had ever set foot outside of Britain in my life. I found it all very exciting, then off to sea again, and we all wondered where we were heading and what was to become of us.
One morning, we saw Table Mountain, so it was Capetown, South Africa. It was there that we had some of the most enjoyable time in our army life. We were taken from the ship, by car, to the homes of the White South Africans and given literally, the freedom of the City. They even took us to Simonstown, which I believe was one of the war bases for ships.
During our stay in Cape Town, we heard that Pearl Harbour had been attacked by the Japanese. The devastation was said to have been horrific.
From then on we seemed to be in for a hard slog. I had never seen a German yet and now we were moving towards Japanese country. We had orders to set sail and our next port of call was to be Bombay, India.
Acknowledgements
Proofread by Tim Lloyds
This information was collated using
‘Mr Sam’ Far Eastern Heroes - Written by Ray Watson
‘Private 5776807’ by Frederick Noel Taylor
Commonwealth War Grave Commission
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