Private Papers of J Cuthbertson

Illustrated ts memoir (73pp) written circa 2000, covering his employment at Burtonwood Airfield (November 1939) prior to conscription into the Royal Navy and service as an Engine Room Artificer in the battle cruiser HMS REPULSE (October 1940); the escort of a convoy of troopships to Singapore via Ceylon (October - December 1941) and his survival of the sinking of HMS REPULSE and HMS PRINCE OF WALES (December 1941); his service in the gunboat HMS GRASSHOPPER patrolling off the west coast of Malaya (January – February 1942) and her subsequent sinking by a Japanese warship (February 1942); his capture on Bangka Island (March 1942), and further experiences as a prisoner of war (POW) in various camps in Palembang, Sumatra (March 1942 – August 1945). Of particular note are details of the labour he undertook on a runway extension at Palembang airfield (May 1942 – May 1943); the refusal of British POWs to sign non-escape forms (circa June 1943); the camp burial ritual for deceased POWs; an incident of Japanese guards setting fire to hospital huts (circa June 1945); news of the Japanese surrender and the fatal crash of an RAF Liberator as it made food and supply drops to POW camps (August 1945); the visit of Lady Louis Mountbatten to his camp (September 1945); his voyage from Singapore to Liverpool on the troopship ANTENOR (October 1945), and his initial impressions on repatriation.

Illustrated ts memoir (73pp) written circa 2000, covering his employment at Burtonwood Airfield (November 1939) prior to conscription into the Royal Navy and service as an Engine Room Artificer in the battle cruiser HMS REPULSE (October 1940); the escort of a convoy of troopships to Singapore via Ceylon (October - December 1941) and his survival of the sinking of HMS REPULSE and HMS PRINCE OF WALES (December 1941); his service in the gunboat HMS GRASSHOPPER patrolling off the west coast of Malaya (January – February 1942) and her subsequent sinking by a Japanese warship (February 1942); his capture on Bangka Island (March 1942), and further experiences as a prisoner of war (POW) in various camps in Palembang, Sumatra (March 1942 – August 1945). Of particular note are details of the labour he undertook on a runway extension at Palembang airfield (May 1942 – May 1943); the refusal of British POWs to sign non-escape forms (circa June 1943); the camp burial ritual for deceased POWs; an incident of Japanese guards setting fire to hospital huts (circa June 1945); news of the Japanese surrender and the fatal crash of an RAF Liberator as it made food and supply drops to POW camps (August 1945); the visit of Lady Louis Mountbatten to his camp (September 1945); his voyage from Singapore to Liverpool on the troopship ANTENOR (October 1945), and his initial impressions on repatriation.

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