The 4th and 5th Battalions were raised as a prelude to this war and were assigned to the 18th Division sent to guard Singapore when Japan entered the war.
Ernie was in the 18th Infantry Division. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/18th_Infantry_Division_(United_Kingdom)
54th Infantry Brigade (consisting of the following battalions) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/54th_Infantry_Brigade_(United_Kingdom)
- Brigadier E.K.W.Backhouse
- 4th Battalion, The Royal Norfolk Regiment
- 4th Battalion, The Suffolk Regiment
- 5th Battalion, The Suffolk Regiment
4th Suffolk Regiment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Suffolk_RegimentThe 4th and 5th (Territorial Army) Battalions of the Suffolk Regiment fought briefly in the defence of Singapore, with the 18th East Anglian Division, before British Commonwealth forces on that island surrendered on 15 February 1942. Men from the two battalions suffered great hardship as prisoners of war and only a few would survive the war.
Surrendering troops of the Suffolk Regiment held at gunpoint by Japanese infantry.
File:Bosbritsurrendergroup.jpg – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Having recently discovered I had a distant relative (Basil Ramsey) in the 4 th Battalion Suffolk Regiment who was sadly killed in Singapore on 14 Feb 1942 aged 20, I am trying to find out more about him. I have found a memorial pictured at the Kranji War cemetery but cannot find out what actually happened to him and I would be interested to know. Thankyou for referring me to anything that would help me find more details