Descent into Hell: The fall of Singapore - Pudu and Changi - the Thai Burma railway
Page 80
13 Christopher Shores and Brian Cull, Bloody Shambles, p. 68.
14 ibid. p. 69.
15 Kirby, p. 162.
16 Douglas Gillison, Australia in the War of 1939–1945, Royal Australian Air Force, p. 152 (footnote).
17 ibid. p. 168.
18 Christopher Shores and Brian Cull, Bloody Shambles, p. 42.
19 ibid. p. 40.
20 Quoted in Gillison, Australia in the War of 1939–1945: Royal Australian Air Force, p. 151.
21 ibid. p. 170.
22 Quoted in David Day, The Great Betrayal, p. 190.
23 Douglas Gillison, Australia in the War of 1939–1945, Royal Australian Air Force, p. 170 (footnote).
24 Quoted in David Day, The Great Betrayal, p. 191.
25 Christopher Shores and Brian Cull, Bloody Shambles, p. 32.
26 Douglas Gillison, Australia in the War of 1939–1945, Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 163–4.
27 ibid. p. 164.
28 ibid.
29 Douglas Gillison, Australia in the War of 1939–1945, Royal Australian Air Force, p. 164.
30 ibid. pp. 164–5.
31 ibid. p. 165.
32 Douglas Gillison, Australia in the War of 1939–1945, Royal Australian Air Force, p. 165.
33 Kirby, p. 163.
34 Clifford Kinvig, Scapegoat, General Percival of Singapore, p. 126.
35 Kirby, p. 513.
36 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 104.
37 Alan Warren, in Singapore 1942, Britain’s Greatest Defeat, provides an excellent account of the Indian Army during this period (pp. 31–4).
38 Warren, Singapore 1942, Britain’s Greatest Defeat, pp. 32–3.
39 Kirby, p. 514.
40 Warren, Singapore 1942, Britain’s Greatest Defeat, p. 30.
41 Kirby, p. 165.
42 Kirby, The Chain of Disaster, p. 91.
43 ibid. pp. 91–2.
44 Kirby, The Chain of Disaster, p. 92.
45 Ivan Simson, Singapore Too Little, Too Late p. 23.
46 ibid.
47 ibid.
48 ibid.
49 ibid. p. 24.
50 ibid.
51 Ivan Simson, Singapore Too Little, Too Late, p. 27.
52 ibid.
53 ibid. p. 33.
54 Ivan Simson, Singapore Too Little, Too Late, pp. 33–4.
55 ibid. p. 34.
56 ibid. pp. 35–6.
57 Clifford Kinvig, Scapegoat, General Percival of Singapore, p. 131.
58 Kirby, The Chain of Disaster p. 117.
59 The Australian Army, The Fundamentals of Land Warfare, p. 105.
60 The Argylls’ Captain David Wilson quoted in Thompson, The Battle for Singapore, p. 33.
61 Thompson, The Battle for Singapore, p. 33.
62 Simson, Singapore Too Little, Too Late, p. 42.
63 I. M. Stewart, History of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders 2nd Battalion, p. 2.
64 ibid.
65 ibid. p. 4.
66 I. M. Stewart, History of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders 2nd Battalion, p. 4.
67 Simson, Singapore Too Little, Too Late, p. 36. (footnote)
68 I. M. Stewart, History of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders 2nd Battalion, p. 4.
69 ibid. p. 5.
70 Simson, Singapore Too Little, Too Late, p. 43.
71 Galleghan, interview with the Official Historian, Canberra 1 February 1950. AWM 73/51.
6 INTERNAL DISSENSION
1 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 69.
2 Gordon Bennett Papers: Mitchell Library, ML MSS 773 CY783, (hereafter referred to as ‘Bennett Diary’ or, where applicable, the ‘Bennett Papers’.
3 Bennett Diary.
4 Lieutenant Jim Howard, 2/19th Battalion, interview with the author, Port Macquarie, New South Wales, 28, 29 September 2004.
5 AWM 52 8/3/19 The 2/19th Unit Diary, April–June 1941.
6 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 67 (footnote).
7 ibid. p. 68 (footnote).
8 ibid. p. 70.
9 Frank Legg, The Gordon Bennett Story, p. 170.
10 Bennett Diary.
11 ibid.
12 ibid.
13 Taylor, quoted in Lodge, The Fall of General Gordon Bennett, p. 52.
14 Lodge, The Fall of General Gordon Bennett, p. 53.
15 ibid.
16 Bennett Diary.
17 Kent Hughes Papers, The National Library of Australia: MS 4856 Letter Kent Hughes to Gavin Long, 18 June 1953. The box at the National Library is listed as ‘correspondence with the Official Historian 1953’. It would therefore appear in the AWM collection. Kent Hughes’s correspondence from his papers will henceforth be titled ‘Kent Hughes Papers’.
18 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 70.
19 Bennett Diary.
20 ibid.
21 ibid.
22 Bennett Diary.
23 ibid.
24 Taylor, quoted in Lodge, The Fall of General Gordon Bennett, p. 55.
25 Bennett Diary.
26 ibid.
27 ibid.
28 Bennett Diary.
29 ibid.
30 ibid.
31 Bennett Diary.
32 ibid.
33 Walker, Clinical Problems of War, p. 72.
34 AWM 52, 1/5/17, 8 Australian Division General Staff Branch, August–October 1941.
35 Bennett Diary.
36 Lodge, The Fall of General Gordon Bennett, pp. 42–3.
37 Lodge, The Fall of General Gordon Bennett, p. 58.
38 ibid. pp. 58–9.
39 ibid. p. 60.
40 Lodge, The Fall of General Gordon Bennett, p. 30.
41 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, pp. 28–9.
42 Horner, Blamey, The Commander-in-Chief, p. 135.
43 ibid.
44 ibid. pp. 135–6.
45 Horner, Blamey, The Commander-in-Chief, p. 137.
46 Rowell, Full Circle, pp. 48–9.
47 Bennett’s charter as quoted by Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 65.
48 Bennett Diary.
49 ibid.
50 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 73.
51 Bennett Diary.
52 Wahlert, The Other Enemy? P. 146.
53 ibid. p. 144.
54 ibid. p. 146.
55 Bennett Diary.
56 AWM 52, 1/5/17, 8th Australian Division Administrative HQ, August–October 1941.
57 ibid.
58 Bennett Diary.
59 AWM 52, 1/5/17, 8th Australian Division Administrative HQ, August–October 1941.
60 ibid.
61 Bennett Diary.
62 ibid.
63 Wahlert, The Other Enemy? p. 145.
64 Kinvig, Scapegoat, General Percival of Singapore, p. 127.
65 Bennett Diary.
66 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 73.
67 ibid.
68 Lodge, The Fall of General Gordon Bennett p. 49.
69 Bennett Diary.
70 Kent Hughes Papers, The National Library of Australia: MS 4856, MS 4856/2/10 Correspondence with Gordon Bennett: 1942–68.
71 Sir Charles Moses, interview with Neil McDonald, Sydney 6 February 1985. Copy most kindly given to the author by McDonald, January 2010.
7 THE ENEMY
1 Quoted in James Clark, Understanding the Japanese Mind, p. 104.
2 Janet E. Hunter, The Emergence of Modern Japan, pp. 170–1.
3 ibid. pp. 111–12.
4 Quoted in James Clark, Understanding the Japanese Mind, p. 67.
5 Kirby, p. 10.
6 ibid.
7 Meirion & Susie Harries, Soldiers of the Sun, p. 161.
8 James Clark, Understanding the Japanese Mind, p. 19.
9 Ei Yamaguchi in Hell in the Pacific, Programme 1: Inferno, written, produced and directed by Jonathon Lewis, for Carlton UK Productions Ltd, 2001.
10 Private A. J. (Gus) Halloran, 2/19th Battalion, interview with the author, Port Macquarie, New South Wales, 19 April 2005.
11 Masao Maeda in Hell in the Pacific, Programme 1: Inferno, written, produced and directed by Jonathon Lewis, for Carlton UK Productions Ltd, 2001.
12 Tominaga Shozo in Haruko Taya Cook & Theodore F. Cook, Japan at War, An Oral History, p. 40.
13 ibid. p. 41.
14 ibid.
15 ibid.
16 Tominaga Shozo in Haruko Taya Cook & Theodore F. Cook, Japan at War, An Oral History, p. 42.
17 ibid.
18 Shiro Azuma in Hell in the Pacific, Programme 1: Inferno, written, produced and directed by Jonathon Lewis, for Carlton UK Productions Ltd, 2001.
19 ibid.
20 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 113.
21 Meirion & Susie Harries, Soldiers of the Sun, p. 146.
22 Quoted in, G. Hermon Gill, Royal Australian Navy 1939–1942, p. 465.
23 Masanobu Tsuji, Singapore, The Japanese Version, pp. 35, 191.
24 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 91.
25 Three British examples were: Lieutenant-Colonel Repington, a noted British military theorist (July 1923); Admiral Sir Percy Scott; and Lieutenant-Commander J.M. Kenworthy. Also, Kirby has recorded that even staff and students at the Imperial Defence College had repeatedly predicted that the Japanese would attack during the north-east monsoon and without a formal declaration of war. Kirby, The Chain of Disaster, p. 33.
PART II THE CAMPAIGN
8 AN UNPLEASANT SURPRISE
1 Douglas Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942, p. 195.
2 ibid. p. 196.
3 Winston Churchill, The Second World War, Vol III, p. 390.
4 ibid. p. 768.
5 ibid.
6 G. Hermon Gill, Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942, pp. 442–3.
7 ibid. p. 445.
8 Douglas Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942, p. 198.
9 ibid. p. 199.
10 Masanobu Tsuji, Singapore, The Japanese Version, p. 74.
11 Douglas Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942, p. 200 (and footnote).
12 ibid. p. 201.
13 Masanobu Tsuji, Singapore, The Japanese Version, p. 76.
14 Douglas Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942, p. 202.
15 The figures for the British aircraft strength are from Gillison, p. 205, and the Japanese from Kirby, p. 524.
16 Kirby, p. 173.
17 ibid. p. 175.
18 Peter Thompson, The Battle for Singapore, p. 115.
19 Brooke-Popham’s Despatch, the London Gazette, 26 February 1948.
20 Kirby, The Chain of Disaster, p. 124.
21 A. E. Percival, The War in Malaya, p. 106.
22 ibid. p. 108.
23 ibid.
24 Masanobu Tsuji, Singapore, The Japanese Version, p. 80.
25 ibid. p. 92.
26 Douglas Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942, p. 219.
27 ibid.
28 Alan Warren, Singapore 1942, Britain’s Greatest Defeat, p. 59.
29 Thompson, The Battle for Singapore, pp. 123–5, and p. 434 note 19.
30 Masanobu Tsuji, Singapore, The Japanese Version, p. 95.
31 Douglas Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942, p. 208.
32 ibid.
33 Christopher Shores and Brian Cull, Bloody Shambles, p. 80.
34 Douglas Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942, p. 211.
35 Alan Warren, Singapore 1942, Britain’s Greatest Defeat, p. 62.
36 ibid.
37 Christopher Shores and Brian Cull, Bloody Shambles, p. 81.
38 Douglas Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942, p. 215.
39 A. E. Percival, The War in Malaya, p. 113.
40 Douglas Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942, p. 220.
9 BAD NEWS FOR THE HOUSE
1 Kirby, p. 193.
2 Brian Montgomery, Shenton of Singapore, p. 5.
3 The description of the meeting given is based completely on Montgomery’s account. Brian Montgomery, Shenton of Singapore, pp. 5–7.
4 Brian Montgomery, Shenton of Singapore, p. 7.
5 ibid. p. 8.
6 ibid. p. 9.
7 G. Hermon Gill, Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942, p. 477.
8 ibid. p. 477.
9 ibid. pp. 477–8.
10 ibid. p. 478.
11 G. Hermon Gill, Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942, p. 479.
12 Warren, Singapore 1942, Britain’s Greatest Defeat, p. 72.
13 Christopher Shores and Brian Cull, Bloody Shambles, p. 111.
14 ibid. pp. 113–14.
15 ibid. p. 116.
16 G. Hermon Gill, Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942, p. 480.
17 ibid.
18 Christopher Shores and Brian Cull, Bloody Shambles, p. 120.
19 G. Hermon Gill, Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942, p. 481.
20 ibid. p. 482.
21 Quoted in Warren, Singapore 1942, Britain’s Greatest Defeat, p. 77.
22 ibid. p. 552.
23 Marder, Old Friends, New Enemies, p. 497.
24 Quoted in Douglas Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942, p. 254.
25 Warren, Singapore 1942, Britain’s Greatest Defeat, p. 74.
26 Winston Churchill, The Second World War, Vol III, p. 551.
27 ibid.
10 THE JITRA LINE
1 From notes taken by the Official Historians and quoted in Elphick, Singapore: The Pregnable Fortress, p. 220.
2 Kinvig, Scapegoat, General Percival of Singapore, p. 143.
3 ibid.
4 ibid.
5 ibid.
6 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 140.
7 Masanobu Tsuji, Singapore, The Japanese Version, pp. 90–1.
8 Quoted in Thompson, The Battle for Singapore, p.157.
9 Kinvig, Scapegoat, General Percival of Singapore, p. 144
10 Underhill, The Royal Leicestershire Regiment, p. 91.
11 ibid. p. 90.
12 ibid.
13 Simson, Singapore Too Little, Too Late, p. 48.
14 Kirby, p. 204.
15 Warren, Singapore 1942, Britain’s Greatest Defeat, p. 83.
16 ibid.
17 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 147.
18 Warren, Singapore 1942, Britain’s Greatest Defeat, p. 85.
19 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, pp. 148–9.
20 Kirby, The Chain of Disaster, p. 143.
21 Lieutenant-General A. E. Percival, ‘Operations of Malaya Command from 08.12.1941 to 15.02.1942’, London Gazette.
22 Kirby, p. 208.
23 Warren, Singapore 1942, Britain’s Greatest Defeat, p. 93.
24 Kirby, p. 209.
25 Kinvig, Scapegoat, General Percival of Singapore, p. 156.
26 Kirby, p. 210.
27 Underhill, The Royal Leicestershire Regiment, p. 94.
28 ibid.
29 Masanobu Tsuji, Singapore, The Japanese Version, p. 126.
30 ibid.
31 Murray-Lyon to Kirby, quoted in Warren, Singapore 1942, Britain’s Greatest Defeat, p. 95.
32 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 151.
11 THE DEFENCE OF GURUN
1 Kirby, p. 213.
2 Murray-Lyon, quoted in Warren, Singapore 1942, Britain’s Greatest Defeat, p. 100.
3 A. E. Percival, The War in Malaya, p. 141.
4 Lieutenant-General A. E. Percival, ‘Operations of Malaya Command from 08.12.1941 to 15.02.1942’, London Gazette.
5 Kinvig, Scapegoat, General Percival of Singapore, p. 164.
6 Kirby, p. 215.
7 Quoted in Warren, Singapore 1942, Britain’s Greatest Defeat, pp. 104–5.
8 ibid. p. 105.
9 Kirby, pp. 215–16.
10 ibid. p. 216.
11 Quoted in Warren, Singapore 1942, Britain’s Greatest Defeat, p. 108.
12 Lieutenant-General A. E. Percival, ‘Operations of Malaya Command from 08.12.1941 to 15.02.1942’, London Gazette.
; 13 Peter Thompson, The Battle for Singapore, p.169.
14 ibid.
15 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 160.
16 ibid.
17 Kirby, p. 230.
18 I. M. Stewart, History of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders 2nd Battalion, p. 19.
19 ibid. p. 22.
20 ibid.
21 ibid. p. 23.
22 I. M. Stewart, History of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders 2nd Battalion, p. 23.
23 ibid.
24 ibid. p. 24.
25 ibid. p. 25.
26 Lieutenant-General A. E. Percival, ‘Operations of Malaya Command from 08.12.1941 to 15.02.1942’, London Gazette.
27 ibid.
28 ibid.
29 ibid.
30 Lieutenant-General A. E. Percival, ‘Operations of Malaya Command from 08.12.1941 to 15.02.1942’, London Gazette.
31 ibid.
32 Bennett Diary.
33 Douglas Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942, p. 281.
34 ibid.
35 ibid. (footnote).
36 Winston Churchill, The Second World War, Vol III, p. 565.
37 ibid.
38 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 164.
39 Winston Churchill, The Second World War, Vol III, p. 566.
40 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 163.
41 General H. Gordon Bennett, Why Singapore Fell, p. 69.
42 ibid.
43 ibid. p. 74.
44 Australian Archives: A981.
45 Australian Archives: A3830, 1941, 3539.
46 Australian Archives: A3196, 1941, 0.22268.
47 Australian Archives: A891.
48 Winston Churchill, The Second World War, Vol III, pp. 568–71.
49 Quoted in Warren, Singapore 1942, Britain’s Greatest Defeat, pp. 117–18.
50 Winston Churchill, The Second World War, Vol III, p. 597.
51 ibid.
52 Kirby, p. 528
53 ibid.
54 ibid. p. 261.
55 National Library of Australia, Kent Hughes Papers, MS 4856: Box 35: series 7: folder 19: ‘Administrative HQ AIF Malaya’.
56 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 258.
57 ibid. p. 96.
58 ibid. p. 258 (footnote).
12 THE WITHDRAWAL FROM KAMPAR
1 I. M. Stewart, History of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders 2nd Battalion, p. 29.
2 ibid. p. 32.
3 ibid. p. 35.
4 ibid. p. 38.
5 Wigmore, The Japanese Thrust, p. 166.
6 A. E. Percival, The War in Malaya, p. 156.
7 I. M. Stewart, History of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders 2nd Battalion, p. 14.
8 Masanobu Tsuji, Singapore, The Japanese Version, p. 142.