54th (East Anglian) Division in 1942

v.1.0 November 25, 2001

Mandeep Singh Bajwa with help from Dr. Graham Watson

Commanded by Maj Gen M.B.Beckwith-Smith, the division was taken prisoner by the Japanese in Singapore in Feb 1942.  Whilst many of its men never fired a round during the defense of Singapore, it suffered appalling losses at the hands of the Japanese while POW on the Thailand-Burma Railway.

Units

18th Divisional Signals, Royal Corps of Signals.

Machine Gun Battalion:  5th Battalion, the Loyal Regiment

Divisional Reconnaissance Battalion: 18th (Loyals) Battalion, Reconnaissance Corps.

53rd Brigade

5th Battalion, The Royal Norfolk Regiment

6th Battalion, The Royal Norfolk Regiment

2nd Battalion, The  Cambridgeshire Regiment

54th Brigade

4th Battalion, The Royal Norfolk Regiment

4th Battalion, The Suffolk Regiment

5th Battalion, The Suffolk Regiment

55th Brigade

5th Battalion, The Bedforshire and Hertfordshire Regiment

1st Battalion, The Cambridgeshire Regiment

1st/5th Battalion, The Sherwood Foresters

 

118 Field Regiment, RA

135 Field Regiment, RA

148 Field Regiment, RA

125 Antitank Regiment RA

 

287 Field Company, RE

288 Field Company, RE

560 Field Company, RE

251 Field Park Company, RE


Plus the normal HQs, Transport Companies Royal Army Service Corps, Field
Ambulances (medical units of the Royal Army Medical Corps), Ordnance Field
Parks Royal Army Ordnance Corps, and minor units of dental, military police,
field hygiene etc.

 

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All content © 2003 Ravi Rikhye. Reproduction in any form prohibited without express permission.