Sketch by Jack Chalker
Diary kept by Walter Pollock

This story is not Public Domain. Permission must be obtained before any part of this story is copied or used.

December 1941 - 15th February 1942

On 1st of December 1941 a State of Emergency was declared across all of Malaya and orders were issued for the mobilisation of the Volunteers.8

As Major Fearon indicated in his diary, it wasn’t until the 6th of December that the 1st Independent Company was to start its involvement in Malayan Campaign:

On 6th of Dec 1941, the Ind Coy was at it's training camp in SEMILING when it was ordered on the early evening of the 6th to go to CHANGLUN, near the border with Thailand (or Siam as it was called then) and arrived there 20.30 hrs. Described as incessant rain that night.9

Appendix 1 contains a transcript of a diary (a scrap of two sheets of paper) which Walter kept of his time with the 1st Independent Company prior to his capture in Singapore. Rather than entering Thailand, the 1st Independent Company ended up fighting a rear-guard action (engaging, then retreating from, the over whelming power of the Japanese army numbers) down the Malayan Peninsula

A Google Map has been created for this period (excluding the period 21st December to 1st January when Walter was with the Perak River Patrol), primarily based on the dates and places written in Walter’s diary, with additional material taken from the diaries of Major Fearon, Commanding Officer of the Independent Company and of James Richardson, who fought with Walter Pollock from 21st December 1941 until their capture in Singapore.

Google Map Google Map - The Google Map shows the places (with dates) where Walter was in the 71 days it took to retreat the 820kms (509 Miles) between Changlun, near the Thailand Border, to Singapore.

 

18th-19th December2 18-19th December 1941 - Lenggong and Sumpitan

21st December to 1st January 1942 21st December to 1st January 1942 - Perak River Patrol

2-4th January 2-4th January 1942 - Continued withdrawal to Kuala Lumpur

5th January 5th January 1942 - Berjuntai Bridge incident

6th January 1942 6th January 1942

7th January 1942 7th January 1942

8th January 1942 8th January 1942

9th January 1942 9th January 1942

10th January 1942 10th January 1942

11th-12th January 1942 11th-12th January 1942

13th January 1942 13th January 1942

14th January 1942 14th January 1942

11th-12th January 1942 15th January 1942

16th January 1942 16th January 1942 - Incident near Minyak Beku

16th January 1942 Mentioned In Despatches

11th-12th January 1942 17th-18th January 1942

19th-22nd January 1942 - Arrive Singapore 19th-22nd January 1942 - Arrive Singapore

1st-2nd February 1942 - Commissioned as an Intelligence Officer 1st-2nd February 1942 - Commissioned as an Intelligence Officer

3rd-15th February 1942 3rd-15th February 1942

 

Reference

8 [REF: Notes on the Malayan Campaign by Brigadier Moir; p3]

9 Account of the formation, role and operation of the 1st Independent Company during the Malaya Campaign ; in the Fearon papers.

 

 

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Any material  to add to the Fepow Story please send to:

Ron.Taylor@fepow-community.org.uk

and their story will live on.

 

[Walter Pollock] [Malayan Volunteer Forces] [Malayan Campaign] [Mentioned In Despatches] [Postscript - The 1st Independent Infantry Company] [Appendix 1] [Appendix 2]

 

Ron.Taylor@far-eastern-heroes.org.uk

 

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