Roll of Honour – qooh.org.uk

QOOH / OY ROLL OF HONOUR

Remembered this Month of September 2024

During this month we pay our tributes and due reverence to those soldiers who had served in a unit holding the QOOH or OY appellation, who gave their lives in pursuit of peace for the Nation. And especially that we are able to live our lives as we wish, without fear of dictatorships, race, or creed.

The names of the Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, and Other Ranks who were either killed in action (K); missing in action (M); died of wounds (DW); died in captivity (DC); or otherwise died in service (D); for remembrance during the month of September 2024 are listed below.

Age at date of death, if known, is shown in brackets following date of death.

2nd Anglo-Boer War

1900
4/9/1900 (20) Tpr Francis Walter Ford DW, at Welverdiend, Gauteng Province, S Africa (possibly received at Kraalkop, Gauteng Province)
Buried at Alexander Park Cemetery, Potchefstroom, Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality, North-West, S Africa

1901
16/9/1901 (19) Sjt Albert Walter Pizzala K, at Zoutlief, Northern Cape Province, S Africa
Not known where buried/commemorated
21/9/1901 (27) Tpr Edward Kennedy K, at Zoutlief, Northern Cape Province, S Africa
Not known where buried/commemorated

First World War

1915
13/9/1915 (22) Pte Frederick George French D, of enteric fever (typhoid) at 2nd Eastern General Hospital, Brighton, East Sussex, England
Buried at Mollington (All Saints) Churchyard, Oxfordshire, UK

1918
6/9/1918 (24) Pte Daniel Swift, MM DW, at Bailleulval, Pas de Calais, France (received at the Battle of Drocourt-Queant Line, near Arras, France)
Buried at Bac-du-Sud British Cemetery, Bailleulval, Pas de Calais, France
30/9/1918 (20) Pte Owen Walter Buckingham K, at Ribécourt, Cambrai, France (Battle of Canal du Nord, France)
Buried at Flesquieres Hill British Cemetery, Nord, France
30/9/1918 (49) L/Cpl William Alexander Hugh McIntosh, MM K, at Ribécourt, Cambrai, France (Battle of Canal du Nord, France)
Buried at Masnieres British Cemetery, Marcoing, Nord, France

World War Two

1942
5/9/1942 (26) Sgt Donald Hubert Mann DC, of dysentery and malnutrition at Ban Pong, Thailand
Buried at Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, Thailand
29/9/1942 (30) Gnr Harry Leslie Evans DC, of dysentery and beri-beri at Roberts Hospital, Changi, Singapore
Buried at Kranji War Cemetery, Singapore (originally buried at Changi cemetery)

1943
8/9/1943 (30) L/Sgt George Haines Stanley DC, of avitaminosis and dysentery at Chungkai, Thailand
Buried at Chungkai War Cemetery, Thailand (originally buried at Chungkai North cemetery)
10/9/1943 (23) Dvr Robert Oswald Lionel Lawson (RASC att) DC, of colitis and beri-beri at Thanbaya, Burma
Buried at Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery, Burma (originally buried at Thanbaya Cemetery #9, Burma)
11/9/1943 (24) Gnr Percy William George Colborn DC, of beri-beri & avitaminosis at Chungkai camp, Thailand
Buried at Chungkai War Cemetery, Thailand (originally buried at Chungkai North cemetery)
11/9/1943 (24) Gnr Norman Metcalfe DC, of pneumonia and malnutrition at Chungkai, Thailand
Buried at Chungkai War Cemetery, Thailand
13/9/1943 (31) Dvr Herbert Samuel Butcher (RASC att) DC, of colitis and tropical ulcer at Thanbaya, Burma
Buried at Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery, Burma (originally buried at Thanbaya Cemetery #9, Burma)
13/9/1943 (23) Gnr Albert Reginald Prior DC, of pneumonia and avitaminosis at Tarsao, Thailand
Buried at Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, Thailand (originally buried at Tarsao #2 cemetery)
17/9/1943 (27) L/Bdr Henry Lloyd Hughes DC, of dysentery at Tha Makhan, Thailand
Buried at Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, Thailand (originally buried at Tha Makhan cemetery)
26/9/1943 (32) Gnr Wilfred Howorth DC, of malaria at Tarsao, Thailand
Buried at Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, Thailand (originally buried at Tarsao #2 cemetery)
26/9/1943 (24) Gnr Frank Steadman DC, of Beriberi at Chungkai camp, Thailand
Buried at Chungkai War Cemetery, Thailand (originally buried at Chungkai North cemetery)
27/9/1943 (23) Gnr Jack Lord DC, of acute enteritis at Chungkai, Thailand
Buried at Chungkai, War cemetery, Thailand

1944
12/9/1944 (30) Gnr William Andrew Bettison
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
12/9/1944 (35) Gnr Arthur Albert Bonarious
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
12/9/1944 (25) Gnr Albert James Borsberry
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
12/9/1944 (32) Gnr Arthur Sidney Brunger
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
12/9/1944 (26) Gnr William John Evans
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
12/9/1944 (24) Gnr William Norman Flanner
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
12/9/1944 (32) Gnr George Fyfe
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore

All the men listed above Died in Captivity, onboard the Rakuyo Maru in the South China Sea, torpedoed by US submarine USS Sealion II, about 250 Mi east of the island of Hainan, bound for Yokohama, Japan

12/9/1944 (40) Dvr Joseph Arthur Howard (RASC att) DC, onboard the Kachidoki Maru in the South China Sea, torpedoed by US submarine USS Pampanito, about 250 Mi east of the island of Hainan, bound for Japan
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore

12/9/1944 (37) L/Bdr Thomas Hughes
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
12/9/1944 (24) Bdr Jack Ingham
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
12/9/1944 (30) Gnr Edwin James
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
12/9/1944 (28) L/Sgt James William Lavin
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
12/9/1944 (24) Gnr Henry Edmund Minett
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
12/9/1944 (29) Sgt William Natt
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
12/9/1944 (28) Sgt John Nolan
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
12/9/1944 (35) Sgt David Richard Price
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
12/9/1944 (26) Gnr John Routledge
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
12/9/1944 (32) Sgt John James Singleton
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
12/9/1944 (24) L/Sgt Alexander Wilton
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore

A Japanese Convoy HI-72, consisting of seven vessels – the Kachidoki Maru carrying the ashes of 582 war dead, the British POWs, and 6,000 tons of bauxite (the main source of aluminium); the Asaka Maru (593 passengers and bauxite); the Shincho Maru (573 passengers and a load of fuel oil); the Nankai Maru (6,500 tons of bauxite and 4,000 drums of av-gas); the Zuiho Maru (8,000 tons of oil); the Kimikawa Maru (273 passengers, bauxite and av-gas); and the Rakuyo Maru (US, British and Australian POWs and bauxite). About 2,200 POWs aboard Kachidoki Maru and Rakuyo Maru had suffered the heat in the hot holds for 36 hours before their departure.
Both the Rakuyo Maru and the Kachidoki Maru left Singapore on 6 Sept 1944 as part of Japan Party 3, bound for Yokohama, Japan. The Rakuyo Maru was sunk six days later at about 05:30 on 12.9.44 by US submarine USS Sealion II, with the loss of 1161 of 1318 British and Australian POWs, leaving 157 survivors.
The Kachidoki Maru was sunk on the same day at about 23:00 by US submarine USS Pampanito, with the loss of 380 of 900 British POWs, leaving 520 survivors.

21/9/1944 (35) L/Bdr William Edward Black
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
21/9/1944 (26) Gnr George William Thomas Brown
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
21/9/1944 (30) Gnr John Herbert Crabtree
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
21/9/1944 (25) Gnr Alfred John Ecuyer
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
21/9/1944 (24) Gnr Brian Alexander Edwards
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
21/9/1944 (25) Bdr Bernard Austin Freeman
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
21/9/1944 (37) Gnr Alfred Martin Harvell
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
21/9/1944 (26) Gnr Ernest Hodgson
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
21/9/1944 (23) Gnr William Hosty
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
21/9/1944 (24) Gnr William George Lees
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
21/9/1944 (26) Gnr Gilbert McCallum
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
21/9/1944 (33) L/Bdr Matthew McMillan
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
21/9/1944 (38) Bdr Edwin John George Roberts
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
21/9/1944 (27) Gnr Philip George Upton
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
21/9/1944 (27) Gnr Vincent Joseph Valantine
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
21/9/1944 (36) Sgt Edwin Vaughan
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
21/9/1944 (24) Gnr William Henry Wade
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
21/9/1944 (33) Gnr Stanley Adolf Wenzel
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
21/9/1944 (32) Gnr William Craig Whyte
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
21/9/1944 (32) Gnr Harold Williams
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore

All the men listed above Died in Captivity, onboard the Hofuku Maru when bombed by US carrier aircraft, 3 Mi off the west coast of the Philippines, in the West Philippine Sea, bound for Takao, Formosa

The Hofuku Maru left Singapore on 4th July 1944 as part of Japan Party 2, reaching Borneo on 8th July, and Manila on 19th July (where it sat in the bay for a month being repaired, during which time POWs were kept onboard with many dying). In August some were taken off to Bilibid prison. On 20th September it sailed again, for Takao, Formosa, and was sunk the next day at around 10:35. The convoy was attacked by approx 100 carrier-based planes of the 2nd wave of the US Task Force 38, with the loss of 1047 of 1289 British and Dutch POWs, leaving 242 survivors.

On both of the above incidents (12th and 21st September 1944), the attacking American battlegroup commanders had no knowledge of the huge numbers of Allied POWs being transported in these convoys – there certainly was no International Red Cross indication marks on these Japanese ‘Hell-Ships’. In the 1929 Geneva Convention (which describes the rules of humane treatment for POWs), there are rules regarding hospital ships, but it’s never been found that there were any rules on the ships transporting POWs. However, since about 1940, the International Red Cross repeatedly made recommendations for belligerent countries that those ships employed for the transportation of POWs shall be marked with the recognized markings.

1945
10/9/1945 (25) Gnr Henry William Waldron DC, at Osaka, Japan
Commemorated at Singapore Memorial, Singapore

QOOH Men Who Were Transferred Into Other Units in World War One

During the First World War, and with the high number of casualties happening, there was an urgent need for replacement soldiers to back-fill these gaps. Many hundreds of these came from men of the 2/1st and 3/1st QOOH. Whilst being given a Service Number when signing up to the QOOH, these men were then re-issued a second Service Number on transfer, and a great many men were lost to the QOOH records. Over time, a lot of records have been found informing us of a number of these transfers and where they ended up, and of course, their casualty numbers. In the section below we list the QOOH men who were transferred into these other units and subsequently lost their lives. I would like to give great credit to Mike Cross and Harry Staff who have been delving into these further records and without their due diligence these QOOH men would most likely not be remembered here on this page. As new information comes to light, these lists will be updated and is certainly a ‘Work-in-Progress’ situation.

In the lists below can be found the soldier’s original QOOH Service Number, his new secondary Service Number, and the Battalion he was posted to. It has been found that some QOOH soldiers had been transferred more than once, and this is mentioned in the text below where this has been uncovered.

QOOH Men Transferred Into Secondary Units

Infantry Battalion Names
1917 QOOH 2nd/3rd unit Bn
20/9/1917 (20) L/Cpl William Barrett 2719 32764 6th Oxf & Bucks LI
K, at Langemarck, 3rd Battle of Ypres, Belgium
Buried at Cement House Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium (originally buried at Langemarck)
20/9/1917 (20) Pte Frank Henry Bayliss 3371 8012 – 33474 1st/4th & 6th Oxf & Bucks LI
K, at Langemarck, 3rd Battle of Ypres, Belgium
Commemorated at Tyne Cot Memorial, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
20/9/1917 (20) Pte Henry Edward Burley 3332 33475 6th Oxf & Bucks LI
K, at Langemarck, 3rd Battle of Ypres, Belgium
Commemorated at Tyne Cot Memorial, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
23/9/1917 (26) Pte Reginald Charles Woodbridge 3086 32900 6th Oxf & Bucks LI
K, at Langemarck, 3rd Battle of Ypres, Belgium
Commemorated at Tyne Cot Memorial, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
24/9/1917 (33) Pte William Goulding 3418 32795 6th Oxf & Bucks LI
DW, at Dozinghem, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium (received at Langemarck, 3rd Battle of Ypres)
Buried at Dozinghem Military Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
27/9/1917 (28) Pte Leonard Oakley 3130 235084 5th Oxf & Bucks LI
K, at Neuve Eglise, Hainaut, Walloon, Belgium
Buried at Westhof Farm Cemetery, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium

1918
11/9/1918 (19) Pte William Henry Woolley 3218 203422 2nd Oxf & Bucks LI
K, at Havrincourt, Nord, France
Commemorated at Vis-en-Artois Memorial, Pas de Calais, France

Machine Gun Corps Names
1917 QOOH MGC Sqn
26/9/1917 (21) Pte Fred Perks 2727 105434 113th Coy MGC (Cavalry)
K, in the vicinity of Erquinghem-Lys, Lille, Nord, France
Buried at Erquinghem-Lys Churchyard Extension, Nord, France (also served with Lancs Hussars with No 40732)

Rank Abbreviations

2/Lt – Second-Lieutenant
Bdr – Bombardier (artillery equivalent to Corporal)
BQMS – Battery Quarter Master Sergeant (artillery equivalent to Company QMS)
Capt – Captain
Cpl – Corporal
Dvr – Driver (RASC equivalent to Private)
Gnr – Gunner (artillery equivalent to Private)
L/Bdr – Lance-Bombardier (artillery equivalent to Lance-Corporal)
L/Cpl – Lance-Corporal
L/Sgt – Lance-Sergeant (a local promotion of a Bombardier /Corporal by his commanding officer, usually with extra pay)
Lt – Lieutenant
Lt-Col – Lieutenant-Colonel
Maj – Major
Pte – Private
QMS – Quarter Master Sergeant
RSM – Regimental Sergeant Major
Sdlr – Saddler (maker and repairs to Saddles)
Shg Sth – Shoeing Smith (Shoeing of horses)
Sgt – Sergeant
Sjt – Serjeant
SSgt – Staff Sergeant
SSM – Squadron Sergeant Major
Tpr – Trooper (cavalry equivalent to Private)
Tptr – Trumpeter (cavalry equivalent to Bugler)

Post-Nominal Letters

Post-nominal letters, are letters placed after a person’s name to indicate that an individual holds a military decoration, or honour :-

DSO – Distinguished Service Order (awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the Armed Forces during wartime).

MC – Military Cross (for officers only until 1993, when it was opened up to all ranks) – awarded for acts of exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy on land.

MM – Military Medal (other ranks’ equivalent to the Military Cross until 1993) – awarded for bravery in battle.

MiD – Mentioned in Dispatches (is one whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the High Command, in which his or her gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy is described)

These awards in the British Armed Forces, were, and still are, published in the London Gazette.

As more details of soldiers who have served with the OY and QOOH become available, this Roll of Honour list will be updated. This is very much a ‘work-in-progress’ item.

If you know of any person whom you think should be remembered in our Roll of Honour, please inform any of these people –Mick Luxford, Mike Cross, or Harry Staff – for consideration, thank you.

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