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11th and 12th January 1942
The Company remained in this rubber estate all day of Sunday the 11th and Monday the 12th.
Richardson noted that there was some bombing and machine gunning north of us. Pollock and I refilled petrol tins from a pump in a rubber estate a few miles away. Coolies had looted the manager's bungalow and had removed everything but the main uprights. Pollock and I did a recce of Port Dickson. No Japanese.
It should be noted that in Fearon’s diary for the 12th of January that “at 18.30hrs, the Company received the welcome news that ROSEFORCE was to be disbanded and that the Line of Communication (L of C) Area was to cease to exist as a combatant force from midnight.
The Company had never been happy under L of C Area, (including) the rottenness of the supply organisation as regards the Company (Company ration lorries were almost invariably refused rations during the period on the idiotic excuse that as far as Supply people knew were shown on their returns as belonging to Corp or Command troops and consequently could not draw on L of C supplies. Frequently the Company lorries would travel as much as 100 miles in the night in their search for food and ammunitions).”50
The lack of supplies can be seen from various references in Richardson’s diary to them helping themselves to supplies in the various townships that the Company went through, as well as the reference above to Walter and Richardson helping themselves to petrol from the local rubber estate.
Richardson continues by saying at 2100hrs on the 12th of January the Company moved off to Lubok China, just inside Malacca Territory. An uneventful drive, British soldiers and Volunteers remained at Lubok China while we went to Malacca. Holding a bridge here until after it is blown. Probably stayed 24 hours and salvaged a Wolseley car.
Richardson makes reference to being in position around Lubok China all morning for his entry of the 13th which seems to contradict his entry above saying they went onto Malacca. He says that they mobilised for Malacca about midday.
The convoy was heavily engaged by 2 enemy planes. Richardson describes Proctor's car and Richardson’s truck being machine gunned. A big bomb was dropped in padi fields some 50 yards to Richardson’s right. I plodded on but had to stop up-hill as truck was very slow. They machine gunned the truck again and gave another bomb. Then devoted 5 more bombs to the remainder of the convoy. Machine gun bullets struck Ross's car and O’Callahan's truck. Bomb dropped about 10 yards from Ross's car and Reeves's car and spattered both of them with mud. Reeves's was blown over by blast. Heavy machine gunning of the convoy for some 20 minutes; damned unpleasant. Spent the afternoon in Malacca and had some more bombing. Met quite a number of Volunteers in Malacca. Pollock and I cooked a grand makan51 in the Malacca Club.
In Fearon’s account he says that the Company was to billet in the Volunteers camp by the sea. However, ended up being billeted in the Police Barracks which was a fortunate decision as at 100hrs the Volunteers Camp received several direct hits from bombs during an air raid over the town.
Reference
50 Fearon diary P36.
51 Makan = meal
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