Born on the 9th of December 1914 at Canterbury, New South Wales Nigel was the only child of Ralph and Lily. Working as a storekeeper Nigel married Isabella Easton in Gloucester in 1940 and lived at Cowper Street.
Born on the 9th of December 1914 at Canterbury, New South Wales Nigel was the only child of Ralph and Lily. Working as a storekeeper Nigel married Isabella Easton in Gloucester in 1940 and lived at Cowper Street.
Enlisting on the 4th of July 1940, at Newcastle, Nigel marched in to RRD and was posted to the 4th Battalion Newcastle. After rejoining his unit from sick leave on the 21st of August he was transferred to the 5/32 Artillery Battery on the 27th of August. On the 5th of September Nigel was taken on strength with the Artillery Wing 1/1 at the Showground and on the 17th of September was taken on strength from 1 RAR to Regiment 1/1 at Glenfield, an outer suburb of Sydney. On the 2nd of October he again transferred to the 1st Field Training Battery and taken on strength 5th Training Battery at Glenfield. Nigel finally arrived at the 2/15 at Ingleburn on the 22nd of October.
On the 5th of May 1941, Nigel was charged with being AWL from 09.00 to 21.00 on the 14th of April and was awarded 5 days CB (Confined to Barracks) at Holsworthy. Having training with antiquated Ordnance QF 18-pounders, the regiment was re-equipped with 3-inch mortars due to a shortage of field pieces. On the 29th of July, 1941the 2/15th embarked at Sydney, disembarking at Singapore on the 15th of August 1941 along with the 27th Brigade to reinforce the 22nd Brigade.
Throughout November and the start of December it seemed that war with Japan was increasingly likely. Late in the afternoon of the 5th of December the 2/15th began moving from Singapore to the state of Johore, Malaya, to relieve the 2/10th Field Regiment. The 2/15th was headquartered and took up position at Kluang Rubber Estate, near Kluang.
By the start of January 1942, the Japanese had advanced through Thailand and most of Malaya. On the 5th of January the 2/15th left Kluang and moved north to reinforce the Allied troops that would fight the main Japanese force when it reached Johore. While the regiment’s 65th Battery went to Muar, on the west coast, under the command of the 45th Indian Brigade, the regiment’s other batteries continued further north to join the 8th Division’s 27th Brigade. The 29th Battery went to Paya Lang Estate, between Gamas and Batu Anam, under the command of the 2/29th Battalion, while 30th Battery dug in a near Gamas, under the command of the 2/30th Battalion. All were in position by the 13th of January.
The 27th Brigade was to act as a “shock-absorber” to the first contact with the Japanese, to inflict as many casualties as possible before fallback to other defensive positions. Consequently, on the 14th of January, B Company, the 2/30th Battalion, ambushed a Japanese column and destroyed the bridge crossing the Gemencheh river. Within hours, though, the Japanese repaired the bridge and continued advancing towards the 2/30th Battalion. Heavy fighting followed and the Japanese attack, which included tanks, was beaten off.
From then on, the regiment’s gunners were in almost constant action, providing artillery support for the infantry withdrawal along the Malayan Peninsula towards Singapore. Among some of the last to cross were the 2/15th’s B and D troops, who formed the last Allied artillery units in action on the peninsula. During this chaos, Nigel was reported missing on the 23rd of January. On the 6th of February he was confirmed as a POW and on the 8th the Japanese crosses the Johore causeway. The British formally surrendered on the 15th of February.
The movement of POWs northward from Changi Prison in Singapore and other prison camps in Southeast Asia began in May 1942. The Burma-Siam railway, built by prisoners of war. During its construction, 12,619 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway. An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 civilians also died in the course of the project, chiefly forced labour brought from Malaya and the Dutch East Indies or conscripted in Siam (Thailand) and Burma (Myanmar).
Two labour forces, one based in Siam and the other in Burma worked from opposite ends of the line and work began on 16 September 1942. The line, 415 kilometres long, was completed by 25 October 1943. Thanbyuzayat became a prisoner of war administration headquarters and base camp in September 1942 and in January 1943 a base hospital was organised for the sick.
Nigel died of illness (Colitis)on the 11th of August 1943, aged 28 years just 2 months before the project was completed. The graves of those who died during the construction and maintenance of the Burma-Siam railway (except for the Americans, whose remains were repatriated) were transferred from camp burial grounds and isolated sites along the railway into three cemeteries at Chungkai and Kanchanaburi in Thailand and Thanbyuzayat in Myanmar.
Nigel’s wife, Isabella went on to remarry Cedric Carpenter at Hamilton and in the 1980’s was living at 56 Bungay Rd, Wingham
