The Commonwealth garrison of Singapore 1942

Commonwealth Warriors: The Battle of Singapore 1942

 

Singapore was the major British base in South East Asia. The garrison was made up of British, British Indian Army, Australian and colonial troops.

After the Japanese cut off the water supply, the garrison was forced to surrender. It was the worst defeat the British ever suffered.

 (plasticsoldierreview)

British Army:

18^th Division

118^th Field Regt. RA

135^th (Hertfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regt. RA

148^th (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regt. RA

125^th Anti-Tank RA

18^th Battn, The Recce Regt. 5^th Battn, The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)

9^th Battn, The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (MG)

53^rd Inf Bde.

2^nd Battn The Cambridgeshire Regt.

5^th Battn, The Royal Norfolk Regt.

6^th Battn, The Royal Norfolk Regt.

54^th Inf Bde.

4^th Battn, The Royal Norfolk Regt.

4^th Battn, The Suffolk Regt.

5^th Battn, The Suffolk Regt.

55^th Inf Bde.

1^st Battn, The Cambridgeshire Regt.

5^th Battn, The Befordshire and Hertfordshire Regt.

1^st/5^th Battn, The Sherwood Foresters

Fortress Singapore

1^st Malaya Bde.

2^nd Battn, Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire)

1^st Battn Malay Regt.

2^nd Battn, Malay Regt.

 

2^nd Malaya Bde.

 

1^st Battn Manchester Regt.

2^nd Battn, Gordon Highlanders

2^nd Battn, 17^th Dogra Regt.

In reserve 2^nd Battn Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (plasticsoldierreview.com)

 

Australian Army (plasiticsoldierreview.com)

8^th Division

22^nd Bde, New South Wales

2/18^th Battn

2/19^th Battn

2/20^th Battn

23^rd Bde,

2/21^st Battn, Victoria

2/22^nd Battn, Victoria

2/40^th Battn Tasmania

27^th Bde.

2/26^th Battn Queensland

2/29^th Battn Victoria

2/30^th Battn, New South Wales

2/10^th Field Regt. RAA

2/14^th Field Regt. RAA

2/15^th Field Regt. RAA

2/3^rd Anti-Tank Regt. RAA

2/4^th Anti-Tank Regt. RAA

2/4^th Machine-Gun Regt, Western Australia

2/3^rd Pioneer Battn

 

British Indian Army

III Corps (plasticsoldierreview.com)

9^th Indian Infantry Division

3/17^th Dogra Regt

2/10^th Baluch Regt

2/12^th Frontier Force Regt (Sikhs)

1^st Mysore Infantry

1^st Hyderabad

22^nd Indian Inf Bde.

2/18^th Royal Garhwal Rifles

5/11^th Sikh Regt.

1/13^th Frontier Force Rifles

5^th Field Regt. RA 4.5inch Howitzers (model with WWI guns)

88^th Field Regt. RA 25pdrs

80^th Anti-Tank Regt. RA 2pdr/47mm guns

21^st Mountain Battery Indian Artillery 3.7 inch Mountain Howitzers

 

11^th Indian Infantry Division

6^th Indian Inf Bde

1/8^th Punjab Regt.

2^nd East Surrey Regt.

2/16^th Punjab Reft.

15^th Indian Inf Bde.

1^st Leicestershire Regt.

1/14^th Punjab Regt.

2/9^th Jat Regt.

28^th Indian Inf Bde.

2/1^st Gurkha Rifles

2/2^nd Gurkha Rifles. (plasticsoldierreview.com)

2/9^th Gurkha Rifles

 

3^rd Cavalry

1^st Bn Bahawalpur Infantry

137^th Field Regt. RA 25pdrs

155^th Field Regt. RA 4.5inch howitzers

22^nd Mountain Regt. IA 3.7inch howitzers

80^th Anti-tank Regt. RA 2pdr/47mm

100^th Light Tank Sqd

 

 

Malayian units

1^st Battn, Federated Malay States Volunteer Forces

2^nd Battn Federated Malay States Volunteer Forces

3^rd Battn Federated Malay States Volunteer Forces

4^th Battn Federated Malay States Volunteer Forces

1^st Light Field Regt, Federated Malay States Volunteer Forces

Armoured Car Squadron Federated Malay States Volunteer Forces

Sarawak Rangers

11^th Coastal Regt. Hong Kong and Singapore RA

3^rd Battn, Straits Settlements Volunteer Force

When I returned to Canada, my father had acquired an Imperial Japanese Army helmet. Someone thought it had been a Soviet Union helmet and had painted a peace symbol on it.
When I looked at it, all I could think of is some poor, scared, angry young boy who was told to die for his emperor fighting against the largest allied force ever assembled. And the face I saw was the face of my two older Japanese sons.