Sir Winston Churchill described the Fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942 as the “worst disaster in British military history.” A mix of being outgunned and making strategic and tactical blunders led to an Allied force of about 80,000 personnel surrendering to Japanese forces.
Among them were around 15,000 Australian personnel. Nearly half of them died as Prisoners of War (POWs). One of these POWs was Bruce Gidley Abbott, a King’s Old Boy (1924-26) from Glen Innes, who joined the 2/15th Field Regiment and shipped out with it in late 1941.
As the Japanese army advanced, Abbott’s regiment retreated to the northwest side of Singapore Island. Between 8 and 15 February 1942, they engaged in intense frontline fighting. However, stretched thin, their lines soon faltered, and they had no choice but to further withdraw.
When Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival ordered the Allied surrender, Abbott became a POW. We are fortunate to have a copy of his diary in the archive, which he managed to keep during his captivity. The diary offers a heart-wrenching account of Abbott’s experiences, as he describes losing his mates to disease and enduring the brutal deprivations of the labour gangs, which worked them to the point of utter exhaustion. His story is one of incredible survival against all odds.
One entry from Tuesday 5 October 1943 reads:
“Young Hughes died last night after a good fight. The camp is rife with sceptic scabies. No dressings to cure anything. Barely enough water is brought for char and cooking. It makes me see the with fury to see walking or tottering skeletons of men who were as healthy as possible. No one can ever forgive them”.
Bruce’s son, Matthew Abbott wrote an article about his father’s experience which can be read here.
Image 1 (above): 2/15 Field Regiment group portrait, Jan-Feb 1941, Bruce Abbott stands far right of the middle row. Courtesy of Australian War Memorial.
Image 2 (below left): Bruce Gidley Abbott
Image 3 (below right): Inside cover page of Bruce’s wartime diary, courtesy of The King’s School Archive.
