大象传媒

On 12 August 1941, my grandfather, Company Sergeant Major Andrew Yule of The Royal Scots was discharged from Hintelsham Military Convalescent Home after a serious operation. He was declared 'unfit for active service' and posted to 18th(East Anglian) division, Reconnaissance Battalion.Within 6 months, he was drafted overseas, sailing on the liner 'Empress of Asia'to the far East, via Calcutta. was bombed and shipwrecked near to Raffles Lighthouse, rescued by a Royal Engineers Captain who managed to get him to the rocks near the lighthouse(grandfather couldnt swim),picked up eventually by some chinese fishermen and taken to singapore, made his way to Kalang and went straight into action against the Japanese Army near the Bukit Timah river. On February 11th 1942 his company were ordered to hold the junction of the Bukit Timah Road and Racecourse Road to allow the Brigade to fall back, this they did, losing a lot of good men in the action. They fell back to the Racecourse, under constant attack from Japanese Aircraft. On the 15 February they were still in the same position, my grandfather being wounded in the ankle, when at 4 o'clock they were ordered to lay down thier arms. My grandfather then joined a lot of very brave men and passed into captivity. In the next 3 years he journeyed via Changi,Mandai Quarry, Johore, Ipoh, Alor Star, Bangkok,Nakompathon, the Meckon River, Kanchanburi,The POW camp(Wampo) on the River Kwai Noi(where he was to encounter a guard by the nickname 'The Mad Mongol'), No 4 Base Camp (kami North), Kinsaiyok (where he was to fall foul of two Japanese guards by the nakes of Lt Tanaka and Takiyami, a camp called Nikki a camp called Tamarkan, Chungkai camp, Tamuang, Nongpladuk, and Prachai( fell foul of a guard by name of Manaka), until the evening of 14 August 1945 they all heard the news that the war had ended. My grandfather returned home to Kelso, in the Scottish Borders where he worked as an engineer, joined the Territorial Army RASC, until he was discharged in 1960. During his captivity he suffered from Beri Beri, Cholera, dysentry, Tropical Blindness, Malnutrition, Gangrene, Tropical Ulcers, and the brutality of Japanese and Korean guards, he underwent an operation on his ankle, without any anaesthetic,but he survived. I remember my Grandfather as a HERO (he wouldnt agree), on my leave from the Navy, I enjoyed going to our local pub where he had his own bottle of Abbots Choice Whiskey,and his dominoes, talking to him and having a laugh, but he rarely spoke about his time in captivity.He was a member of the Royal British Legion, became Branch Chairman. My grandfather passed away on 7th August 1988 aged a 86

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