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Manchester Regiment
1st Battalion
History
From The Manchester Regiment Gazette
Liberation
15th August 1945 - 1st January 1947
After the Japan parties left Thailand, we were to experience our first Allied air raids. About June 1944, during an air raid on Non Pladok railway sidings, hundreds of PoWs were killed and injured in the camp adjacent to the sidings. Air reconnaissance was active thereafter. In September 1944 leaflets prepared by S.E.A.C. were dropped. Apart from giving us a very good idea of the world war situation, these leaflets carried the "V" sign and also the very cheering message "Hang on boys, we're coming". This was indeed good news. About this time, working parties were being sent back up the railway on maintenance work, the line being in a very bad state of repair owing to the heavy rains. Work consisted mainly of ballasting and relaying the track. On 8th December 1944 Allied planes attacked the railway throughout its entire length, causing much damage to rolling stock, bridges, etc. Thereafter raids by Fortresses and Liberators became almost a daily occurrence, and though we suffered quite a number of P0W casualties in these raids, they were regarded by us all as a necessary forerunner to our deliverance.
Our officers had been with us throughout our captivity, but in February 1945 they were withdrawn from all camps in Thailand, and concentrated in a large new camp at Kanburi. There was a general attitude of shakiness among the Japs at this stage, searches of our belongings being frequent and sudden. All pencils, pens and writing materials were confiscated, as were also open razors, knives, screwdrivers, watches, bits of wire, nails, diaries, etc. With the departure of the officers we were deprived of our weekly radio news bulletin. The officers had operated a carefully hidden set all the time we had been in Thailand, and we have to thank them for keeping us in touch with developments in the outside world at great risk to their own personal safety. Had the operators been caught, there is little doubt they would have been executed. Nearly all base camps in Thailand were in possession of these radio receivers, ingeniously constructed inside, water bottles. Through the medium of these receivers, we knew about the great victory in North Africa and Italy, "D" Day in Europe and the collapse of Germany, and the slow but certain strangling of the Japanese in the Far East. When the officers left us, we did occasionally receive news flashes passed on verbally from work party to work party, but in the main we became entirely dependent upon leaflets dropped by Allied planes. Leaflets were frequently dropped over Thai towns and villages, and more often than not copies of these leaflets were passed by the Thais to our outside working parties, who smuggled them back into the camps. They were printed in Japanese, Chinese, Thai and English, and provided us with up-to-date news of the progress of the war, which needless to say, as the days passed, gave us more and more hope of an early release.
In June 1945 it was very apparent to us that the Japs could see the writing on the wall. All base camps were improved and generally smartened up. Working conditions were much easier and food moderately good, but our captors were jittery and irritable, and began a strafe on our social life. Concerts were severely censored, no talking other than announcing the entertainers being permitted. Gatherings of five or over were forbidden other than at concerts and religious services. We could not play sport, as the sports ground was now outside the camp perimeter. It is interesting to note that during December 1944 and January 1945 all camps were surrounded by deep moats (without water) with sentry boxes at strategic points. These ditches, constructed by PoW labour, were about 12 feet deep, and 10 feet wide, with strong bamboo fences running along both sides. The whiskey and tobacco smugglers and black market men ultimately proved, however, that these obstacles could be surmounted, regardless of the vigilance of the Jap sentries.
As the end of July approached, our feelings were tense and expectant, there were rumours of impending truces, capitulations, and ultimatums. Within a few days we heard of the Russian entry into the Japanese war, and then, rather quicker than we anticipated, came the news we had so long waited for. We were free, exactly three and a half years since we were captured. One can imagine our reactions on hearing this good news. Our long pent up feelings broke out without restraint. British, American, Australian and Dutch flags were hoisted in the Camp, and the different National Anthems sung. On the evening when the news was received, the whole camp was present at our usual Jap censored weekly concert. The script was immediately dumped, and out came our long hidden "victory" programme which had been specially prepared for this event. We cheered ourselves hoarse and made a grand night of it. The whiskey men did a roaring business, the demand by far exceeding the supply. Next day we carried on as usual with our normal camp duties, while we eagerly awaited further news and developments. The Japs handed over to us all rations, clothing stores, etc., and we more or less assumed control of the camp pending the arrival of advance troops to take us over. It speaks well for the discipline and restraint of all prisoners that, after receiving news of our freedom, there were no incidents or reprisals against the Japanese. They were severely left alone to be dealt with in due course by Allied military tribunals. Within a few days we received stocks of food and clothing from the rolling air, one package killing a cow! Administrative officers and other ranks, equipped with radio receivers and transmitters were sent into all camps, and preparations for the evacuation of PoWs from Thailand were immediately put in hand. We were soon moved to Bangkok, where the Thai population gave us a wild reception, and in early September Bomber Transport Command started ferrying us over to Rangoon. On 12th September, 21 officers and 120 other ranks of the 1st Battalion were concentrated in Rangoon awaiting embarkation to the U.K. At the same time, stationed some 15 miles or so outside Rangoon, was " C " Company of the 2nd Battalion. Colonel Orgill, who was then Commander of No.I Area, Rangoon, organised a reunion, which took place at his H,Q., and as can be imagined, a good time was had by all.
A few days later, having been partly fitted and equipped, the first parties left on their sea trip home. Excellent arrangements were made for our reception at Colombo, Suez, and at the ports in England. Presents of food and clothing, and many other gifts and kindnesses were showered upon us by the various Red Cross organisations, and their efforts to make us happy and welcome are deserving of the highest praise. Similar arrangements were made for parties proceeding home from Singapore and Japan. Parties from Japan travelled home via Manila to Vancouver, thence overland across Canada, where they received a most magnificent welcome, to the boats waiting to bring them home.
Within 24 hours of landing in England, everyone had proceeded on leave to then homes, a credit indeed to the organisation set up to receive us and look after our welfare.
We were lucky to have survived, but of the 43 officers and 906 other ranks who were in Singapore on 8th December 1941, 6 officers and 432 other ranks failed to return. They had made the supreme sacrifice either in battle on land or sea, or in prison camps throughout the Far East. The brave, stoical and uncomplaining manner in which they met their fate will live forever in the memory of those who were their comrades. We who are fortunate to have survived the terrible ordeals of those years can only thank God for our deliverance and hope that the deaths of so many friends will ultimately prove not to have been in vain. They proved to the world that British courage and cheerfulness in the face of great adversity remains supreme and indomitable, and their sad but glorious fate will forever remain an epic in the annals of the Regiment. Let us not forget them! To the relatives of these brave men we can only tender our most heartfelt sympathy, and assure them that wherever possible they were laid to rest with military honours in the presence of their own comrades, and in accordance with their religious beliefs. Their graves were well tended and cared for, and accurate records of all burials were preserved, which have since been handed over to the Graves Registration Dept.
And so ends the story of the 63rd, now almost completely disintegrated by casualties and releases from the service. The few remaining survivors will no doubt become associated with the new 1st Battalion and join with them in adding to the already many noble and historic traditions of The Manchester Regiment.
Death Roll
After Liberation and Repatriation
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Died
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Name
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Service/No
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1945/08/16
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Lucock, Kenneth Claude
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832826
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1945/08/22
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Woodhouse, William Henry
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3535975
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1945/08/25
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Davies, Joseph Edgar
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3530313
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1945/08/31
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Trueman, Norman John
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3527492
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1945/09/02
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Onley, Thomas
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3532450
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1945/09/02
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Griffiths, Thomas
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3535929
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1945/10/02
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Thomas, Frederick John Herbert
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186250
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1946/04/08
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Shaw, Frederick
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3528819
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1946/05/08
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Blease, Charles George
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3528232
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1946/07/26
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Oddie, Edward
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3526444
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