The detailed account below follows the movements of the 196 Field Ambulance and of the events at Singapore, both before and after the surrender of the Commonwealth forces, and highlights this vulnerable non-combative unit, especially when they have to support the fighting troops without their field equipment.  

I wish to thank Clayton for allowing me to share his account with you on this web site.

Albert Carter and the men of the 196 Field Ambulance

The creation of the 196 Field Ambulance
        On 1^st December 1939, the 161 (East Anglian) Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps  - Territorial Army, formed a training cadre for a new duplicate unit -The 196 Field Ambulance of the Royal Army Medical Corps.  An infantry Field Ambulance at that time comprised of a Medical Officer, his batman, 13 officers and 225 other ranks (Sergeants, Corporals and Privates). The unit also had 42 vehicles including eight six-wheeled motor ambulances, which were driven and maintained by members of the Royal Army Service Corp, who were attached to the unit. There were three Field Ambulances per Division and 1 per Corps. The 196 Field Ambulance was destined to become part of the 18^th Division, 54^th Brigade along with the 4^th Royal Norfolk and 4^th and 5^th Suffolk Regiments.  The Headquarters of the 196 started in a building in Coleman Street , Ipswich, where they stayed until January 1940. During this time men from the 161 Field Ambulance were transferred to the 196 and the unit began to take shape.

Albert Carter
        On the 15^th January 1940 the unit, with around just 30 men in total transferred to Necton Hall, Norfolk (This hall has now been demolished it is sad to say).  The unit stayed at Necton until May 14^th 1940 and during this period the 196 rapidly began to take shape as a unit.  On 5^th March 1940, a large number of men were enlisted to the unit, including Albert Francis CARTER.  Albert was born on 11th May 1917 and lived at 90 London Road, Brandon, with his parents John and Mary Carter. A Brandon resident, Harry Rumsey, said that Albert used to live where the Methodist Church is now built.  Albert may have worked at the bookstall on Brandon Railway Station (but not sure).  He had a brother Jack and in earlier years the Carter family were well known as flint knapping specialists and worked from the premises at the junction of Church Road and London Road.  Albert was enlisted as Private 7372869.

Training
        During the period at Necton, more men came from the 161 (EA) Field ambulance and some from other units such as 2/5^th (East) Battalion, The Essex Regiment. The men were sent on courses and equipment such as War Department Motorcycles and vehicles and clothing were gathered.  Men were promoted within the War establishment to Staff Sergeants, Sergeants, corporals and Lance Corporals.  As this compliment of men were increased the 196 and it’s training were put to use, as Germany had now invaded France and the Low countries and the first Luftwaffe raids were seen over East Anglia.  51 men moved to establish Advance Dressing Stations (ADS) at Loddon, Coltishall and Acle in Norfolk. With the move of the ADS’s, the HQ of the unit was based at White House in Trowse (picture) on the 15^th May 1940. The unit was formed into three companies, A, B and HQ, but it is not known by the author which company Albert was in at this stage.  On the 31^st May 1940, the headquarters then moved to “Coonoor”, 151 Yarmouth Road, Thorpe, Norfolk.

        In July 1940 the unit was based at Witton House in Witton near Norwich having moved there on 6^th July.  On the 5^th July Lieutenant-Colonel Huston reported for duty as the officer commanding the 196 Field Ambulance. He would stay as the last officer to command the unit.  The unit stayed at Witton for a few months, not moving on again until December 1940, nearly a year since the unit was formed. The Main Dressing Station (MDS) was based at Witton House and there were two ADS’s at Acle - “A” Coy, and Barton Hall - “B” Coy. There was also detachments of Regimental Aid Posts (RAP) at Rollesbury and Great Yarmouth.  Private John Margerum remembers tearing down the “Acle straight” when Great Yarmouth was raided by the Germans, to help with the injured at the hospital there.  It appears that between moving from Witton to Newton Hall, Newton, Cambridge in December 1940, the unit was based at the Old Hall, Hethersett. “A” coy moved from Somerleyton Hall to Chatteris, Cambs and “B” coy from Witton to West Wratting, Cambs. This continued into January 1941 with the HQ operating a Main Dressing Station (MDS) and “A” and “B” Coy operating ADS‘s at Chatteris and West Wratting.

        On 3^rd January 1941 the unit moved to Yeltholm, Kelso, Roxburghshire, Scotland. It was reported that weather conditions were poor with snow and ice present during this time. Some of the unit were given leave during January during some severe weather conditions at times.  In April 1941 the whole unit stayed in Bury, Lancashire at “Two Brookes Mill”, Hawkshaw until August 1941. The Nursing medics of the unit attended a course in Manchester at a rate of 12 men every 14 days. Training continued throughout July with courses on Law, messing, clothing and equipment as well.  There was also joint exercises with other units from the 18^th Division and Western command.  The unit moved on the 13^th August 1941, by road and rail, to it’s final British location of Norton Manor, Prestigne in Radnorshire, with all of the unit arriving by the 18^th August.  There it pitched in a tented camp and continued training as part of the 54^th Brigade, 18^th (East Anglia) Division. Here the unit, with Albert Carter, had it’s picture taken outside the manor.

        On 24^th September Lieut Col Huston was told that the unit would proceed overseas at an early date as part of the 18^th Division. The unit was then given embarkation leave at 30% of the unit a week, starting 26^th September 1941. This leave lasted for seven days.  

Leaving Britain
        By the 27^th October 1941 the unit was back to together at Norton Hall. Around 0830hrs they marched through the streets of Prestigne to a special troop train, that took them to Avonmouth and the Bristol Channel. This was the final step on the 196’s journey of Britain.  The men boarded the SS Oransay, which was an Orient Line British ship of 20,000 tonnes. The 18^th Division was mostly made up of East Anglian regiments and included battalions of The Suffolk, Royal Norfolk and Cambridgeshire Regiments, the Beds and Herts, Sherwood Forrester’s and Northumberland Fusiliers. There was also units of the Royal Engineers, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Royal Army Service Corps, Royal Engineers, Royal Artillery and the 5^th Loyals. There were two other Field Ambulances as well. These were the 197 and 198 Field Ambulances and were attached to 55^th and 53^rd Brigade’s. A lot of these men were from East Anglia as well. The whole of the 18^th Division boarded their troopships including the British vessels Reina Del Pacifico, Orcades, Andes, Warwick Castle, Durban Castle, Duschess of Atholl and Oransay. (Source: Paul Morrell) and there was also a Polish ship the MV Sobieski. These were escorted by British cruisers, Destroyers and Corvette class ships.  

        Around 15 men of the 196 had already left for Liverpool for embarkation there and they travelled on the SS Andes to meet the rest of the convoy. On each ship there was a detachment of Royal Army Medical Corps personnel away from the main body of their individual unit. This was known as “trooping” and had the purpose of caring for combatant troops medically when they went abroad on a ship. Albert would have travelled on one of these ships.

        On 28^th October 1941 The SS Oransay left Avonmouth and headed up the English coast in stormy weather, with nearly all of the 196 and around 3000 other troops.  On the 30^th October the SS Oransay arrived at Greenock in Scotland where it joined the rest of the fleet for an, unknown at that time, journey across the Atlantic to Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada. The 4^th Suffolks were also on the SS Andes.  A lot of the men realised that they were heading West and for Canada or the US.  The 2^nd November, in the middle of the Atlantic, saw the British convoy meet up with an American convoy of escort ships that would escort them to Halifax.  The British escorts then left the convoy and this job was taken over by the US Navy.  Of course the United States had not joined the war at this stage and so this convoy remained secret.  They arrived in Halifax on 7^th November 1941 and barely had chance to stretch their legs before embarking once again for another unknown destination.  The 196 and most of the Division were kitted out for Desert fighting, so speculation ran that they were set for Africa or the Middle East.  Transport this time was provided by the US Navy and the 196 Embarked on the USS Joseph T Dickman, an American troopship.

        The convoy set sail on 10^th November 1941 and on 22^nd November had travelled to Trinidad in the West Indies to refuel. There was no time to allow the troops onto land at this stage though and the convoy soon set sail once again. On the 24^th the unit were “victims” of the American Crossing the line ceremony, as the convoy crossed the equator, many of the unit getting an impromptu soaking or haircut, by the US hosts.  The 7^th December 1941 saw the Japanese invade the Malay Peninsula, and the sinking of HMS Repulse and Prince of Wales, off it’s coast. This was a great loss to the Royal Navy, and soon after this Pearl Harbour was infamously attacked.  It was noted that the attitude of the American sailors had gone from slightly patronising to much more friendly on 8^th December and strong friendships were formed.

Christmas 1941
        By this time the unit had arrived in Cape Town, South Africa and was given 4/5 days shore leave. This was a welcome relief to the unit, having spent ten weeks at sea. Some of the unit later described table mountain and the sight seeing that they did. They also described route marches and continued training.  It was around this time that the convoy was officially diverted from its original secret destination of the Levant-Caspian front to the Malay Peninsula.  The 196 and Albert Carter spent Christmas day in 1941 aboard the Joseph T Dickman.  The menu was Roast Turkey, Giblet gravy, pickles, Sage Dressing, Cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and Buttered Peas to start.  Plum Pudding, Camper down sauce and Fruit salad for dessert.  There was also bread, candy, tea, raisin cookies, butter and cigarettes. The ships food was complimented by many in the unit.

And so the journey continues on to Singapore
        27^th December 1941 saw the unit arrive in Bombay, India, where they disembarked before getting on a train to Ahmednager, where they stayed for around two weeks.  The living quarters were huts with a veranda, and the first encounters with mosquitos were experienced.  The next stage of this epic journey was a train journey back to Bombay and another sea journey, this time aboard the USS West Point. This was a magnificent vessel that had been the SS AMERICA, before it was converted into a troopship.  The same detachment, originally on the SS Andes, travelled on the USS Wakefield.  The West Point and Wakefield were part of a convoy destined for Singapore, and it left Bombay on 19^th January 1942.  The journey saw the first encounters with the Japanese, as an escort vessel fired on a Japanese plane, apparently on a spying mission.

Under fire in Singapore
        The convoy reached Keppel Harbour in Singapore and the 196 disembarked on 29^th January 1942. They were taken by lorries to a tented camp on the Tampines Road. They were to provide medical treatment to the soldiers of the 54^th Brigade who were now to be deployed in the North East sector of the island, next to 55^th Brigade and the Singapore City troops. The men of the Royal Army Medical Corps were not issued with any weapons, and relied on the fighting troops around them for protection, as much as the fighting troops relied on them for medical treatment. This North East Coastal sector faced the Malay peninsula, where the Japanese had been steadily advancing, and were expected to attack from.  

        All of the 196’s equipment had been unloaded and delivered to them by the 31^st January. This equipment included 8 Austin K2 ambulances, 19 3-tonne Bedford Lorries, 5 motorcycles and a water tank. These vehicles were driven and maintained by members of the Royal Army Service Corps, who were attached to the 196 since they had been formed. One Section established a dressing station behind the 5^th Suffolks and another Section established a dressing station behind the 4^th Suffolks. These contained around 20 men of the 196 each.  A further Dressing station was established at the camp where the pool of Ambulances were kept, ready to take cases from Divisional HQ, Royal Artillery and reserve battalions.  A lot of the men’s time was taken digging trenches for themselves and for the tents even.

        On 1st February 1942 the unit experienced the first enemy activity with Artillery fire and Air bombing. By this time, the Japanese had almost complete air superiority, as the RAF had been evacuated from the Island.  20 more men of the unit formed a dressing station behind the 5^th Beds & Herts, who were part of 55^th Brigade, to the left of 54^th Brigade.  Between 2^nd and 5^th February the unit maintained it’s position and treated the wounded from the Japanese fire. The minor sick were treated and held in the dressing stations, with the major casualties evacuated in ambulances, to one of three hospitals in Singapore, as they were quite close to the dressing stations.  

The battle for Singapore
        On 6^th February the Dressing station of the 196 behind the 5^th Suffolks area was shelled by the Japanese and Private Moffat was seriously injured by shrapnel and Private Goldthorpe was also slightly injured.  These were the first casualties of the war for the unit.

        The day before the casualties, the Japanese landed a small force on an island opposite 54^th brigades position and then the Japanese landed on Singapore island late on 8^th February 1942, in the North Western sector.  This was held by the 8^th Australian division and they quickly established a bridgehead and began to work their way inland towards Singapore City.  L/Col Huston noted that he was informed of this landing on 10^th February.  In between this time he withdrew the Dressing station from behind the 4^th Suffolks, due to an Indian Brigade taking over their position.  As the situation began to grow more desperate, 30 men from the Royal Army Service Corp were taken from the 196 and told to report as riflemen.  54^th Brigade and forces in the North East now began the move to the West of Singapore in an effort to contain the Japanese advance and the dressing stations were called back to the main tented camp on the Tampines Road, except one, which remained in support of the 5^th Suffolks.  The 13^th of February now saw the 196 deployed in the Thompson Road/Bukit Timah Road area of the island, just north of Singapore City and almost exactly in the middle. The unit was heavily shelled around Thompson Road though and almost immediately they were ordered to move from that location.  The unit came under Japanese rifle fire as it prepared to move and the further withdrawal resulted in the 196’s MDS being set up at the City High School around 1800hrs on the 13^th February.

        Other men of the 196 where still in the thick of the action as Regimental Aid Posts and an ADS were still supporting the fighting men away from the MDS on the 14^th February.  At one of the RAP’s the Captain commanding two men from there was killed by heavy shelling, however this Captain was a member of the RAMC but not attached to the 196.  This day was one of the busiest for the unit and they treated large amounts of casualties. Private STEWART of the 196 was injured following the shelling of the Thompson Road and RAP’s and ADS’s were bravely assisting the troops where they could and evacuating many wounded men from the 5^th Suffolks, 4^th Norfolks and 1/5^th Sherwood Forrester’s mainly.  Men of TOMFORCE had to surround and protect the 196 Field Ambulance as they attempted to withdraw casualties from the frontline to the MDS.

        The morning of 15^th February saw large numbers of severe casualties received at the MDS, and L/Col Huston reports that 200 were being treated.  Only the cases requiring difficult surgery were withdrawn to local hospitals.   The MDS buildings at the City High school were being straddled and strafed by artillery and air attack and L/Col Huston ordered the evacuation of the wounded to the same hospitals as the morning wore on.  The 196 suffered more casualties as Major Read and Sgt Cain were wounded and Lieut Cuthbert was severely wounded at the 4^th Suffolks RAP.

        It is difficult to tell where individuals of the 196, like Albert Carter, were at this stage, but the battle was coming to a close. There were many wounded being treated by the medical units, and many men survived due to their skill and care.  The War Diary of the unit shows records of 426 men treated between 12th-15^th February and 11 of those treated that died.  The records are not fully complete and won’t ever be, due to the extremely trying conditions.  The early afternoon of the 15^th saw the 196 set up Aid Posts at the Goodwood Park Hotel.  Around this time, the commander of the Allied forces in Singapore unconditionally surrended the Island and City to the Japanese. The Japanese had complete air superiority and had captured the Islands water reservoirs, giving Percival no choice but to surrender. The 196 had come through the battle with five men wounded, but no deaths.

Singapore surrenders
        For a short while the unit would stay at the City High School, until 22^nd February when they were ordered to march to Changi prison, on the East side of the island, around 15 miles from the school.  Here the 196 and 197 Field Ambulances shared accommodation and continued the care of the sick and wounded in very cramped conditions. Almost all of the 105,000 prisoners were held at this prison and around the Island.  As time went on conditions and the treatment of the men started to deteriorate.  The diet was the main issue, with very little food given out and there were very few Red cross parcels reaching the men, as the Japanese held them back.  With virtually the only food available to eat being rice, the men started to contract diseases such as Dysentery and Beri Beri, due to a lack of vitamins.

Private Robert (Bob) Ungless  | Bob Ungless picture |
        Private Robert (Bob) Ungless, my great uncle, was sadly the first of the 196 men to die on 18^th June 1942 aged 24.  He died of a perforated appendix, following an operation 36 hours earlier, and was buried at Changi the same day.  He now rests at Kranji Cemetery in Singapore.

In captivity - FEPOW (Far East Prisoner Of War)
        The next 3½ years of captivity in the hands of the Japanese, would see over 30 more men of the 196 lose their lives.  Altogether 16,000 Allied soldiers died during the captivity as the Japanese now embarked on building the Burma-Siam Railway, brought to infamy in the film “The Bridge over the River Kwai”.  This entailed men from Changi Prison and smaller camps on Singapore island and other Japanese held territories, being moved in work groups, in appalling conditions “up country” by rail. This movement started for the 196 in June 1942 when on 24^th June 1942 Major Read and Capt.  Hetreed led some of the unit to start work in the hospitals along the railway.

Albert Carter - FEPOW
        On 26^th June Capt Davies led Albert Carter and more men of the 196 to Banpong.  Banpong was the start of the notorious railway, that was to run for 415km, across dense jungle, through sheer rock and over rivers, all cut by hand and some explosives.  Albert stayed here until 11^th October 1942 when he travelled around 60km along the railway to Chungkai.  This is just a short distance from Kanchanburi and now both of these places hold large cemeteries for men who died while working on the railway.  Albert stayed here for over two years and would have mostly been working in the hospitals, with comrades from the 196 and other medical units.  On 26^th October 1944 Albert was based at Kurikonta, before returning to the main hospital at Chungkai Camp on 27^th January 1945.  His final move was to Tamuan, 39km’s from BanPong, until his liberation in September 1945.

Horror of being a FEPOW
        While Albert had been at Chungkai and the other camps his comrades in the 196 had been sent to various places along the railway and even to Japan, where they had travelled across the ocean in “Hellships”.  These ships stored thousands of men in the holds with little water, no facilities or even lighting. The temperature was very high and allied ships sunk some of them as they carried no markings stating they were transporting POW’s. The men who travelled to Japan, mostly worked in mines.

        Some of the men of the 196 who worked on the railway found themselves travelling to the furthest point in the Railway at Thanbuyzayat, with the ill fated “F” Force.  3,600 British and 3,400 Australian POW’s worked there between April 1943 and April 1944. L/Col Huston was part of this force.  Nearly 60% of the British soldiers who worked there died.  The 196 mostly worked at Hospitals in Sonkrai and Tanbaya.

        With the dropping of the Atomic bombs in August 1945, Japan finally surrended and the camps across Japan, Malaya, Singapore and the other places in the Far East were gradually liberated in September 1945.  The Japanese had been cruel captors, but I will not dwell on this here and it is well documented in books.  What is clear though is the bond between all the men who shared this horrifying experience.

Albert Carter after the war
        Albert returned home and is believed to have worked for the Post Office and to have moved to Essex.  His brother Jack, from Thetford, is also believed to have been captured in the Far East and worked on the Railway as well.  

        Surviving member of the 196 held regular reunions organised by Cpl Douglas Skippen up until 2000 and held in Ipswich, where it all began.   I have been lucky enough to have met some of these brave and remarkable men and I was proud to have shook their hands and to have my great uncle serve alongside them.

Below - Men of the 196 RAMC and RASC, Bob Ungless is second from the left, three of these four did not make it home. (Picture: Derek Ford)

Dedicated to the memory of 7368909 Private Robert Joseph Ungless. Rest In Peace. My thanks to Paul Morrell and Darren Norton for their assistance with this article.

This research is Copyright 2006 Clayton Ford. (clayton(at)ford2162.freeserve.co.uk) Please contact me if you have any information you wish to share with me about the 196 Field Ambulance.