On 7 December 1941 the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour, and on the following
day their troops landed in Malaya. The war in the Far East had begun. On 11 December the battalion fought a major battle at
Jitra, holding its positions until ordered to withdraw. At this point however it became separated into isolated groups, only
some of which succeeded in escaping. The survivors were subsequently formed, with the survivors of the East Surrey Regiment,
into the 'British Battalion'.
WOI John T.Meredith DCM (left) had been RSM of the 1st
Leicesters and was also RSM of the British Battalion. He is seen here after receiving his DCM at Buckingham Palace in 1946,
for leadership in Malaya and in captivity
Thus began the fighting retreat down through Malaya to Singapore. Heavy
casualties were inflicted upon the Japanese during this retreat, later estimated at 60,000 for the entire campaign, but each
time a stand was made, the Japanese were able to outflank it by landing further down the coast. British attempts to hold onto
positions around Johore came to nothing, and the survivors were evacuated to Singapore.
In the face of heavy resistance, the Japanese landed on Singapore
Island on 8 February 1942. After seven days of fighting the garrison finally
surrendered, chiefly to spare the civilian population from further Japanese air strikes. Some members of the British battalion
managed to escape, but the remainder found themselves Prisoners of War. Housed in Changi Camp, adjacent to the infamous Changi
Jail, their new Japanese masters initially showed little interest in their new captives, leaving them largely to their own
devices. This changed however, once work began upon the new railway which the Japanese were building in Thailand to supply
their troops in Burma. Working parties were organised from among the POWs, and sent up country. In appalling conditions the
'Railway of Death' was forced through the jungles and over ravines.
In building the Bridge on the River Kwai and other parts of the railway,
British soldiers, Leicesters included, died in their hundreds, from jungle diseases, malnutrition and overwork.
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Drummer Walter Maddocks (above) served with the 1st Leicesters
and the British Battalion. He was killed in action on Singapore Island on 12 February 1942. Below: Maddocks'
medals, India General Service for the North West Frontier, Pacific Star and War Medal
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Arthur Shepherd was captured when Singapore fell and spent three years as a
prisoner of the Japanese, working on the Burma railway. He sent this tremendously moving letter to his family on Christmas
Day 1944
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