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“I took this blokes place. They go abroad, and I ended up on a the Empress of Australia. She had taken over as a troop ship and we went out in a convoy”
On 10th January 1941 “paper transfer€¯” was completed from RAF Home Establishment to RAF Field Establishment - specifically Far East Command. This was the day his paperwork moved not specifically him, it seems that he went to RAF Cardington where he would then have done medical/embarkation leave/rekitting/jabs/ move to typically Liverpool and embarked on troop transport ship to Far East (Singapore).
Arrived at RAF Butterworth (Singapore)
A little bit of history : The Singapore strategy was a naval defence policy of the British Empire that evolved in a series of war plans from 1919 to 1941. It aimed to deter aggression by the Empire of Japan by providing for a base for a fleet of the Royal Navy in the Far East, able to intercept and defeat a Japanese force heading south towards India or Australia. To be effective it required a well-equipped base; Singapore, at the eastern end of the Strait of Malacca, was chosen in 1919 as the location of this base; work continued on this naval base and its defences over the next two decades.
The important thing to know about RAF Butterworth in Oct/Nov/Dec 1941 when Stan would have arrived in Singapore is that it had just been newly constructed and like most of the RAF assets in Malaya was being stocked ready to accept it's flying compliment. The pre Japanese invasion plan was to address the limitations of Singapore air defence by placing a strong dispersed air asset in distributed aerodromes in Malaya. RAF needs for the Battle of Britain then the Desert war had delayed to despatch of more modern types to replace the early Mk Blenheim/Vildebeest and Buffalo in use. To prevent congestion on Singapore Island the construction and war equipment stocking of the new aerodromes was to take place before arrival of the new fighters. The Japanese invasion struck when these aerodromes were stocked but lacking the air defences giving a materials bonus to the attacking forces if not destroyed/disabled.
RAF Seletar (Singapore)
Stan remembers:-
“You know, in fact, posted to Malaya was an absolute marvellous, you know, because the life but and the whole standard of living you had servants to do this. You never cleaned your shoes. They were done. there was a bloke that used to come in. And sweep up. If you laid in bed, a bloke would come around with a bowl and shave you. You know, it was bloody marvellous. But this soon changed. Yeah”
Some of the Indian Tamil boys (2nd from right Lanana - Stan’s boy)
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