24 December 1941. Singapore.
allanpcameron
Donor
24 December 1941. Singapore.
The first DM (Durban-Malaya) convoy had arrived with a heavy escort. The RAF Buffaloes and Fleet Air Arm Sea Hurricanes provided an umbrella over the troopships and Motor Transport freighters. The activity in the harbour was best described as frenetic. The first priority was to get the men of 18th Infantry Divisional Troops off the ships and into their holding areas. The Divisional HQ; Intelligence Corps; three field regiments, anti-tank regiment and light AA regiment of the Royal Artillery; three Royal Engineers Field Companies and Field Park Company; the Royal Signals; RASC; RAOC; RAMC; MPs; a machine gun battalion; The RAC’s 18th Reconnaissance Battalion. As well as the divisional troops, 53rd Infantry Brigade was on board: it was a lot of men to be sorted and moved.
The other two Infantry Brigades (54th and 55th) with their own support units were on the next part of the convoy. A full Infantry Division contained over 17000 men, but the convoy had also carried 7th Bn RTR (58 Matilda II) and an extra Royal Artillery Medium Regiment and Heavy AA Regiment, along with various RN, Army and RAF replacements, almost 20000 men altogether. All these men carried off the ships just their own duffel bag and personal weapons. All the weapons and equipment that made the men into the fighting force, including over 4000 vehicles, needed to be unloaded and that would take time.
The crated Tomahawks for the RAF were being prioritised. The RAF had learned from the arrival of the Buffaloes earlier in the year that it would take time to uncrate the aircraft, put them together, test fly them and train the pilots on them. All this would come to naught if they were destroyed on the ground by Japanese air raids. The crates would be taken to a number of different locations where the work could be carried out in some semblance of safety.
HMS Ark Royal was currently on a run between Ceylon and Port Sudan to pick up RAF Hurricanes to be flown off directly to Singapore. HMS Formidable sailing from the Mediterranean would join her, they expected to arrive with almost 100 Hurricanes between them at by the middle of January. HMS Formidable would return to the Mediterranean fleet after ferrying the Hurricanes. HMS Illustrious had started her journey from North America but was in a collision with HMS Indomitable while sailing together. They would both sail for the UK for repairs, with both carriers eventually joining the Eastern Fleet. HMS Indomitable was supposed to replace HMS Ark Royal in Gibraltar, but HMS Furious would do so after her refit in America.
Ships carrying crated Martlet IIs (G-36Bs with folding wings) sailed in August 1941, with 36 shipped to the UK and 54 shipped to the Far East. At Ceylon these aircraft were being prepared and Fleet Air Arm pilots training on them, to become the fighter squadrons on HMS Ark Royal and to defend Ceylon. HMS Illustrious and Indomitable would also have those Martlets shipped to the UK as their fighter squadrons when they sailed for Ceylon after repairs.
Admiral Phillips was waiting for more reinforcements including HMS Warspite coming from Alexandria to replace HMS Barham. Four R Class battleships, Ramillies, Resolution, Revenge and Royal Sovereign along with HMS Hermes, which was at Durban being refitted, were all expected in Ceylon around March, for all the good Admiral Phillips thought they would do. HMS Repulse was in the dry dock in Singapore having emergency repairs, she was expected to sail with the empty merchant ships when they left Singapore. The battlecruiser was likely to need a longer time for repairs, which would probably mean sailing to the United States.
Major-General Merton Beckwith-Smith (GOC 18th Infantry Division) was glad to get off the ship and onto dry land. With his senior staff they went for an immediate meeting with Lieutenant-Generals Percival and Mackay, who were to be his Commanding Officer and Corps Commander respectively. Mackay had been responsible for the planning for the men of 18th Division coming off the ships, the Australians had learned a lot from the arrival of their own 9th Division.
Since he’d sailed from Durban two weeks earlier, Beckwith-Smith hadn’t had much in the way of news of how things were going with the Japanese. The situation in Hong Kong was terrible, Percival thought that the end would come in a day or two at most. Percival’s senior intelligence officer gave a briefing of the current situation in Malaya and Borneo. Mackay laid out his plan for 8th and 9th Australian and 18th Division. The two Australian Divisions had been working hard on training and preparing defences to protect Johore. He wanted Beckwith-Smith’s men to have time to regain their fitness, and then have some jungle training and exercises so that they’d be in the best possible shape for the fight to come. To enable this 18th Division would stay on Singapore island in the first instance. There were some defensive preparations they would have to make. Should there be a failure to hold Johore having 18th Division prepared to defend the island, it would give the Australians, and whatever was left of the Indian Corps, somewhere to fall back to.
Mackay believed that if the Indians could continue to bleed the Japanese as they had been doing, by the time the Australians were on the front line, the Japanese would have shot their bolt. Then 18th Division would be Mackay’s choice to begin the counter-attack, pushing the Japanese back up the Malaya peninsula. Beckwith-Smith had some questions, but was generally happy with the plan. He had been training his men since July 1940, training and hard work was something they were well used to. Having a clear role to prepare for, both defensively and offensively, gave the Major General a chance to show how far his Second Line Territorial Army Division had come and just exactly what they would be able to do.
The first DM (Durban-Malaya) convoy had arrived with a heavy escort. The RAF Buffaloes and Fleet Air Arm Sea Hurricanes provided an umbrella over the troopships and Motor Transport freighters. The activity in the harbour was best described as frenetic. The first priority was to get the men of 18th Infantry Divisional Troops off the ships and into their holding areas. The Divisional HQ; Intelligence Corps; three field regiments, anti-tank regiment and light AA regiment of the Royal Artillery; three Royal Engineers Field Companies and Field Park Company; the Royal Signals; RASC; RAOC; RAMC; MPs; a machine gun battalion; The RAC’s 18th Reconnaissance Battalion. As well as the divisional troops, 53rd Infantry Brigade was on board: it was a lot of men to be sorted and moved.
The other two Infantry Brigades (54th and 55th) with their own support units were on the next part of the convoy. A full Infantry Division contained over 17000 men, but the convoy had also carried 7th Bn RTR (58 Matilda II) and an extra Royal Artillery Medium Regiment and Heavy AA Regiment, along with various RN, Army and RAF replacements, almost 20000 men altogether. All these men carried off the ships just their own duffel bag and personal weapons. All the weapons and equipment that made the men into the fighting force, including over 4000 vehicles, needed to be unloaded and that would take time.
The crated Tomahawks for the RAF were being prioritised. The RAF had learned from the arrival of the Buffaloes earlier in the year that it would take time to uncrate the aircraft, put them together, test fly them and train the pilots on them. All this would come to naught if they were destroyed on the ground by Japanese air raids. The crates would be taken to a number of different locations where the work could be carried out in some semblance of safety.
HMS Ark Royal was currently on a run between Ceylon and Port Sudan to pick up RAF Hurricanes to be flown off directly to Singapore. HMS Formidable sailing from the Mediterranean would join her, they expected to arrive with almost 100 Hurricanes between them at by the middle of January. HMS Formidable would return to the Mediterranean fleet after ferrying the Hurricanes. HMS Illustrious had started her journey from North America but was in a collision with HMS Indomitable while sailing together. They would both sail for the UK for repairs, with both carriers eventually joining the Eastern Fleet. HMS Indomitable was supposed to replace HMS Ark Royal in Gibraltar, but HMS Furious would do so after her refit in America.
Ships carrying crated Martlet IIs (G-36Bs with folding wings) sailed in August 1941, with 36 shipped to the UK and 54 shipped to the Far East. At Ceylon these aircraft were being prepared and Fleet Air Arm pilots training on them, to become the fighter squadrons on HMS Ark Royal and to defend Ceylon. HMS Illustrious and Indomitable would also have those Martlets shipped to the UK as their fighter squadrons when they sailed for Ceylon after repairs.
Admiral Phillips was waiting for more reinforcements including HMS Warspite coming from Alexandria to replace HMS Barham. Four R Class battleships, Ramillies, Resolution, Revenge and Royal Sovereign along with HMS Hermes, which was at Durban being refitted, were all expected in Ceylon around March, for all the good Admiral Phillips thought they would do. HMS Repulse was in the dry dock in Singapore having emergency repairs, she was expected to sail with the empty merchant ships when they left Singapore. The battlecruiser was likely to need a longer time for repairs, which would probably mean sailing to the United States.
Major-General Merton Beckwith-Smith (GOC 18th Infantry Division) was glad to get off the ship and onto dry land. With his senior staff they went for an immediate meeting with Lieutenant-Generals Percival and Mackay, who were to be his Commanding Officer and Corps Commander respectively. Mackay had been responsible for the planning for the men of 18th Division coming off the ships, the Australians had learned a lot from the arrival of their own 9th Division.
Since he’d sailed from Durban two weeks earlier, Beckwith-Smith hadn’t had much in the way of news of how things were going with the Japanese. The situation in Hong Kong was terrible, Percival thought that the end would come in a day or two at most. Percival’s senior intelligence officer gave a briefing of the current situation in Malaya and Borneo. Mackay laid out his plan for 8th and 9th Australian and 18th Division. The two Australian Divisions had been working hard on training and preparing defences to protect Johore. He wanted Beckwith-Smith’s men to have time to regain their fitness, and then have some jungle training and exercises so that they’d be in the best possible shape for the fight to come. To enable this 18th Division would stay on Singapore island in the first instance. There were some defensive preparations they would have to make. Should there be a failure to hold Johore having 18th Division prepared to defend the island, it would give the Australians, and whatever was left of the Indian Corps, somewhere to fall back to.
Mackay believed that if the Indians could continue to bleed the Japanese as they had been doing, by the time the Australians were on the front line, the Japanese would have shot their bolt. Then 18th Division would be Mackay’s choice to begin the counter-attack, pushing the Japanese back up the Malaya peninsula. Beckwith-Smith had some questions, but was generally happy with the plan. He had been training his men since July 1940, training and hard work was something they were well used to. Having a clear role to prepare for, both defensively and offensively, gave the Major General a chance to show how far his Second Line Territorial Army Division had come and just exactly what they would be able to do.
