Hi I am trying to find out more about my father Harold Prescott Rank: Gnr Army No: 2139322 who i am almost sure was with the 88th (2nd West Lancashire) Field Regiment RA and according to his army pay books was captured at Singapore. What i am tring to find out is am i correct in thinking he was with the 88th (2nd West Lancashire) Field Regiment RA, he lived in and joined up Preston Lancashire. Is there any information about him in Changi as a POW i notice from this site that a POw questionnaire was some times completed did he do one. If he was with the 88th (2nd West Lancashire) Field Regiment RA are there any war diaries for the time in Mlaya or were they lost. I know very little regarding my fathers time in Malaya he did not talk about it so any information would be really appreciated. Regards John
Hello John and welcome to the forum A link to below explaining how to apply for service records https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence/about/publication-scheme#special-subject-access-requests-ssar--extended-access-to-information there is a wait time up to 12 months. I am sure a forum member will be along soon to offer more advice/information Army Number to check: The army number: 2139322 indicates that the soldier's original unit or date joined was: "Royal Engineers" http://www.corpsofmilitarypolice.org/tools/armynumber?query=2139322 Regards Clive
Thanks Clive i notice a few experts in various fields eg Artillery units and POW's on this site hope they can help Regards John
Hi John, Here he is listed at Changi. It appears he was never transferred overland (OVL) or overseas (OVS) ? Mike. .
Hi John, He is listed on the Cofepow database, so he will almost certainly have a Japanese index card at the National Archives, and possibly a liberation questionnaire. Either document will confirm his regiment/unit at the time of capture. Here is a link to his details on the Cofepow website: Record Details Good luck. Steve
John, I forgot to say, yes, it was definately 88th Field Regiment. The man listed just below him, Preston, was sent off on the England Maru to the Kinkaseki copper mines on Formosa, but he seems to have escaped this horror. (but expect similar horrors occurred) Mike
Hi Thanks for the welcome. yes it is starting to tie in with the little snippets he told me. he was in the Royal Engineers first the his brother JB Prescott who is shown on the list below him "claimed him" as he said into the Royal Artillery. Is there any way to find out what battery he was in ? Thank you John