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Men of Sherwood
Rowing Boat Escape
Derby Evening Telegraph
October 24, 1945
Using a steel helmet to paddle a small rowing boat out of Singapore Harbour after the island had fallen in 1942, Pte. A. Coates, 4977566, 1/5th Sherwood Foresters, whose home is at 10 Cross-street, Fairfield, Buxton, has returned to England after service in Burma, where he fought with the 17th Indian Division.
Pte. Caotes related to a “Telegraph” representative an amazing story of human endurance and courage in the face of almost overwhelming odds during his escape from the doomed island.
The 1/5 Sherwood Foresters sailed from Liverpool in the SS Orcades on October 27, 1941. the convoy’s first stop being Halifax, Canada.
The battalion was there transferred to the U.S. liner West Point. With short halts at Trinidad and Capetown the foresters disembarked at Bombay on December 28.
The food on board - the last English food the men were to enjoy for nearly four years - was excellent, said Pte. Coates. The fare on Christmas Day included turkey, ham, eggs, apples and oranges, but no beer.
Sealed Orders
The New Year found the battalion at Ahmednagar, where the men were put on hardening training, but a little more than two weeks later the British 18th Division re-embarked in West Point.
Twelve hours after leaving Bombay Lt-Col. H.H. Lilly, the C.O., opened sealed orders, and the destination - Singapore - was at once revealed to the men. West Point docked at the island of tragic memories on January 28, after a Japanese aeroplane had made an unsuccessful attempt to bomb the ship on the way in.
After describing the fighting on the island, during which the Forestes were shelled for 18 hours, Private Coates said the “Down Arms” order was issued at 4 p.m. on February 15th.
In his opinion, one of the main reasons for the loss of the island was the fact that British troops were fresh from England and that in jungle warfare they could not tell the difference between Japanese, Indian and Malayan troops. The British 18th Division met the full attack of the 18th Division of the Japanese Imperial Guards.
Sporadic fighting continued in Singapore throughout the night of surrender. At dusk Pte. Coates made his way to Keppel Harbour, where he met two Australians who had a small rowing boat hidden away. When darkness fell the three men paddled the boat out of the harbour and through the minefields, using their steel helmets in place of oars.
Reached Island
Just before dawn the following day they ran alongside a deserted junk, from which they took some planks to use as oars, the junk being too large for the three men to handle. On Tuesday night, February 17, they landed on a small island west of Singapore, where they decided to rest as none of the men had slept since the fall of the island.
They also managed to find some pineapples and coconuts, their first food for four days, The following day was spent rowing due west, and at nightfall they reached Morrow Island, where they were warned to leave as soon as possible, the Japs being expected at any moment.
They therefore joined a party of 40 British, Indian, Australian and Malayan troops, who were ready to sail for Sumatra in a junk.
Ran Aground
Tragedy, however, nearly befell the party, for the following day, February 19, when out of sight of land, the junk ran aground, Two-and-a-half hours later, when all hopes were nearly gone a Dutch patrol vessel, Eureka. approached and took them off.
The men were landed at Solak, Sumatra, exactly a week after leaving Singapore - a week during which the men had eaten only pineapples and coconuts and had practically no water. On landing, the Dutch gave them a meal of boiled rice, eggs and potatoes.
On Monday, February 23, the junk was towed up a river known locally as the “River of a Thousand Bends” to Ringot, where they waited four days for transport to take them over the mountains to the railhead for Pedang. Two days later, Private Coates boarded the last train out.
Met Repulse Men
At Pedang he spent three days searching for a way to escape from the rapidly approaching Japs, during which time he met several survivors from H.M.S. Prince of Wales and Repulse. On the evening of the third day, word was passed round by the Dutch naval authorities that two British ships were coming to take off as many men as possible.
The British destroyers, Heron and Scout, came alongside the wharf at 7 p.m. and both ships were soon loaded to capacity. A few miles out to sea all the men rescued from Pedang were transferred to the cruiser Hobart, which took them to Ceylon.
Later the men were sent to Bombay, and those fit for service were drafted to other units.
Pte. Coates did not meet any Foresters during his escape, the 11 men who got away having left the island singly.
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