519260 Sgt Thomas Aldwyn Lewis, RAF HQ, Singapore, POW, post-war SB surveillance subject

Look at my post #17 on this thread where I pointed out that allied access to Batavia/Java was delayed.

Japanese surrender was unexpected by Allies, Mountbatten had neither the force nor ability to immediately take Japanese surrender over the entire theatre. MacArthur directed the order of surrender acceptance.

Local fighters had been armed and supported by Allies but in most cases had no appetite to see the return of pre war colonial rule. They were ready and able to step into the power vacuum to further own vision.

To that end Mountbatten retained the Japanese forces, sometimes armed, to continue control until power transition could take place.

This is usually the reason for date of liberation differences as either there was no official to hand over to for a few weeks, PoW were not fully aware of the actual calendar date or dates were retrospectively estimated on records.

The Forgotten Air Force: A History of the Royal Air Force in the War against Japan 1941–1945 (1995) H. Probert - has the best overview, albeit only a few pages in the final chapter of the RAF involvement in PoW release/recovery. You can read this book on Internet Archive for free if you sign up for an account

The forgotten air force : the Royal Air Force in the war against Japan 1941-1945 : Probert, Henry : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Ross

 

Hi there,

The Flight Sgt. you are discussing on this forum, Thomas Aldwyn Lewis, is my grandfather. I came across this stream after seeing a very similar post on Facebook, on my hometown page, with someone from the Institute of National Remembrance, looking for the same information, with a plea for my family to make contact. Debra is my mother, and Penelope, my aunt. Please could you contact me directly regarding this. We will then be able to address any further enquiries you have, if we have that information available.

Many thanks
Sean Lewis

 

Sean,

Welcome aboard. Shercha was started the thread logs in regularly and was here yesterday. I will alert her that you've joined.

 

Thank you. I am very keen to speak to her.

 

Where can I get copies of these documents that you have found about my Grandfather, please?

 

Sean,

The item JohnG505 posted is from The National Archives (TNA) and you can register with them (for free) and then order the item which comes via email. I expect John used the Service Number or Name.

 

The more helpful reply is AIR78 and not supplied by email but by download link.

Name Range: Lewis, K A - Littlewood, Isabel. (Described at item level) | The National Archives

However the full card was posted by John as the attachment there is no additional info.

Ross

 

Hi Sean, as Ross said, the RAF personnel index cards are available via The National Archives. Unfortunately though, you have to download the whole document then scroll through all the index cards, until you find the one you want (at least that's what I've been doing). The file reference is Air 78/97/1.

The transcribed details of the index cards are available via Forces War Records:



Regards.
John.

 

Questions from the service record, p.1:
1. Under Miscellaneous - Embark leave (3x) (hard to read) - is this leave before or after he left for the Far East?
2. What is WSI under that? (War Service?)
3. Below "suitable for..." is something almost illegible: ____ROM 87/46 - G3E. ??
4. Under the medal names on the left lower side - AMO - Air Ministry Order? (what follows is illegible to me)
5. Long service (award I assume?) G.C.M (?) gratuity.

(I'll post my questions page by page to keep things simpler.)

 

Hi,

I’ve not looked through the whole of this now 3 page topic today so sorry if I’m being thick but where is the service record page that you want help with?

You’d likely have had some answers by now if you’d attached the page to your post when you made it 6 hours ago.

Steve

 

Steve's suggestion to repost the record will help for subsequent pages.

Copy attached below

In the meantime to kick your replies off

1. Under Miscellaneous - Embark leave (3x) (hard to read) - is this leave before or after he left for the Far East?
First two are in UK prior to sailing for Hong Kong
Third is in Hong Kong prior to sailing for Singapore

2. What is WSI under that? (War Service?)
War Service Increment
eg 3/9/44 5 years
All service ORs pay was subject to an annual supplement to recognise individuals war service. Increased each full year so on 3/9/44 he was backdated 5 years of increments.

3. Below "suitable for..." is something almost illegible: ____ROM 87/46 - G3E. ??
Special Duties Courses - then a file reference of the paperwork that confirmed the details of this.

4. Under the medal names on the left lower side - AMO - Air Ministry Order? (what follows is illegible to me)
Air Ministry Order No.394/53 eg AMO 394 revised in 1953
A note to say that his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal was issued in accordance with the provisions of that particular Air Ministry Order.

5. Long service (award I assume?) G.C.M (?) gratuity
This medal came with an annual gratuity (money payment) - elsewhere on this page you can see that the gratuity was increased in 1957 and then again in 1958 to mirror further good conduct periods.

Ross

 

Thank you Ross for the info and for reposting the service record. (I only look at this forum while I'm at work and unfortunately only just saw others' comments - thanks for picking that up.)

 

P. 2 of the above service record.
1. HQ CA - HQ is obvious but CA? Looking at the other entries, it looks almost like a place.
2. Below the redacted section on the left is WEAD Uxbridge, 106 PRC and 110 PCR. Is PRC- Personnel Reception Centre? And a couple positions lower is HQ TTC - Technical Training Command, right?
3. In the sideways box on the right, in the 5th position it looks like P.P.X. This means?
4. And the two positions below T/sgt - is this temp. sgt? (I think I saw this somewhere as a wartime title) And the one below I can't even read - can anyone decipher it?
5. And the 'sub' before sergeant and WO means?
6. In the courses section below that, 'reclass' is a course or exam for a promotion in rank? Any comments on other course would be appreciated. (Esp. as they are hard to read!)
Thanks for help and patience. Some of the terms are probably very obvious to you all but this is my first venture into air service and I've learned tons already!
I will be back next week with more but until then, I wish everyone a Happy Easter!

 

In the absence of other players and before this slips down the listings.

1. HQ CA - HQ is obvious but CA? Looking at the other entries, it looks almost like a place.
HQ Coastal Area. (A) means attached eg ownership not posted to this unit just responsibility transferred for pay, training and accommodation - after attachment will return to parent unit. Usually a sign of a training course.

RAF Coastal Area - Wikipedia

2. Below the redacted section on the left is WEAD Uxbridge, 106 PRC and 110 PCR. Is PRC- Personnel Reception Centre? And a couple positions lower is HQ TTC - Technical Training Command, right?
WCAD War Casualty Account Deposit and PRC Personnel Rehabilitation Centre (these and CA were in my previous posts on this thread) - Yes to PRC (depending on date) and HQ TTC

3. In the sideways box on the right, in the 5th position it looks like P.P.X. This means?
File reference to document attached to service record file

4. And the two positions below T/sgt - is this temp. sgt? (I think I saw this somewhere as a wartime title) And the one below I can't even read - can anyone decipher it?
Temporary Flight Sergeant next substansive Flight Sergeant cancelled

5. And the 'sub' before sergeant and WO means?
Substansive. Temporary means being trialled at that rank to see if you are fit for the position could be either with or without new rank pay. Substansive means appointed to the position with required pay and conditions.

6. In the courses section below that, 'reclass' is a course or exam for a promotion in rank? Any comments on other course would be appreciated. (Esp. as they are hard to read!)
Corporal Cpl, Sergeant Sgt, Flight Sergeant F/Sgt are Non Commissioned Officer Ranks, Warrant Officer is an Officer appointed by Warrant. Aircraftman Second Class AC2, Aircraftman First Class AC1 and Leading Aircraftman LAC are classifications. Reclass is a promotion exam for the theory part of a specific classification.

Not sure if you had noticed this bit on page 2

It seems that either just before/on or just after his embarkation leave at Hong Kong he either fell ill or had an accident.

This resulted in a period of treatment at Hong Kong - first redacted period 12/2/40 to 10/4/40

This seems to have delayed his departure from RAF Station Kai Tak and he returns to duty (light or restricted?) there for around 4 to 6 months.

The next entry looks to be his physical transfer from Hong Kong to Singapore with an immediate hospital period on arrival 15/11/40
Two redacted periods so transferred to a different medical establishment before transfer to Tanglin on 21/6/41.

The next entry out of sequence and is an admin catchup to note that he had been paper posted to HQ Unit Far East on 6/2/40 - this is HQ Singapore and where/when he was going to serve after his embarkation leave had been taken.

Tanglin was the Garrison Barracks and due to the next redacted period starting 17/7/41 I think that this was again a medical redaction for a period of rest and recuperation. By this point he had been under medical treatment for over a year.

Tanglin Barracks

Lack of records from Singapore due to the invasion and subsequent fall of Island Fortress makes the next period a grey area - unknown if he returned to duty before Dec 1941 or was part of early hospital cases transfer to Java as forces fell back to the Fortress.

Whichever this was - its clear that he entered Japanese Captivity already medically weak after almost two years of treatment and light duties.

Before it's asked - what medical conditions he was suffering are both personal information and recorded detail that we have no need and no right to access. To be aware of a prior and treated period is sufficient.

Ross

 

"Whichever this was - its clear that he entered Japanese Captivity already medically weak after almost two years of treatment and light duties.

Before it's asked - what medical conditions he was suffering are both personal information and recorded detail that we have no need and no right to access. To be aware of a prior and treated period is sufficient."

To have survived captivity under the Japanese while not being in the best physical condition is some feat or he had great strength of character (probably both). The family may want to request that information for themselves but it is not necessary for the scope of my research.

 

Page 4 Service Record questions (nothing to note on p.3)
1. Training courses in Hereford and Hucknall? (At Hereford it looks like there was only No. 6 School of Recruit Training in 1950 and that from March of that year.)
2. On the left column seem to be order numbers? 'A' is Air Ministry or ? MC means?
3. The redacted period is very short so assuming either a short course under intelligence or just a short illness.
4. MU 30 was at RAF Sealand. USAF took this over in 1951. "30th Air Depot Wing began operating as a tenant organisation at RAF Sealand, with base support for the wing being provided by the 7558th Air Depot Group as of 27 November 1951. Jurisdiction of RAF Sealand was transferred from the 30th Air Depot Wing to the 7558th Air Depot Wing on 27 November 1951. It was handed back to the RAF in 1957." (From Wikipedia, for what it's worth.) It says Sealand later became a communications base for the RAF everywhere.
5. H6 (U?) F T.C. - Training/Transport command? What does this acronym mean?
6. 5 or S PDC (Personnel Despatch Centre)
7. AMU or AMO? Air Ministry Unit? This was the period in the USA. On his return, he was sent back St. Athan rather than Innsworth.
8. What do the abbreviations in the 'Reason' column mean?

 

Page 4 Service Record questions (nothing to note on p.3)
1. Training courses in Hereford and Hucknall? (At Hereford it looks like there was only No. 6 School of Recruit Training in 1950 and that from March of that year.)

RAF Stations have lodger units and a Station HQ formation - that way the station still functions as units are in transit when lodger units change. Reason for 32 MU to St Athans to 32 MU - his posting moved within the site. Station HQ are also used as event organiser/host for Command functions. As no special qualification added during these periods - looks like conference or organisational. Hucknall probably something stores related to Rolls Royce

2. On the left column seem to be order numbers? 'A' is Air Ministry or ? MC means?

Reference is either POR file reference to find the Personnel Occurance Report Form 747 Casualty Form the mention is in.
or from one of the two RAF standard file reference naming conventions (Registry or Branch). A is Air and M is Maintenance or Miscellaneous depending on system


3. The redacted period is very short so assuming either a short course under intelligence or just a short illness.

Illness - Form 543 was Confidential document so redaction for Secret info unlikely.

4. MU 30 was at RAF Sealand. USAF took this over in 1951. "30th Air Depot Wing began operating as a tenant organisation at RAF Sealand, with base support for the wing being provided by the 7558th Air Depot Group as of 27 November 1951. Jurisdiction of RAF Sealand was transferred from the 30th Air Depot Wing to the 7558th Air Depot Wing on 27 November 1951. It was handed back to the RAF in 1957." (From Wikipedia, for what it's worth.) It says Sealand later became a communications base for the RAF everywhere.

All USAF units are lodger units - even today the Station is RAF and described as such eg RAF Lakenheath/RAF Bentwaters the RAF HQ formation remains and in the case of No.30 MU it remained a lodger at RAF Sealand until March 1951 before moving to RAF Stoke Heath

5. H6 (U?) F T.C. - Training/Transport command? What does this acronym mean?

HQ Flying Training Command
HQ Flying Training Command | The National Archives

6. 5 or S PDC (Personnel Despatch Centre)

No.5 Personnel Despatch Unit - typo by clerk reverting back to wartime initials
No 5 Personnel Despatch Unit. With appendices | The National Archives

7. AMU or AMO? Air Ministry Unit? This was the period in the USA. On his return, he was sent back St. Athan rather than Innsworth.
Air Ministry Unit

Air Ministry Unit. With appendices | The National Archives

8. What do the abbreviations in the 'Reason' column mean?

EE, X etc comes from Paragraph on POR A is Attached

Ross

 

Sorry - for the date range for this part M is Administrative:Personnel and A is Air:General

 

Awesome stuff Ross - you're a font of information! I'm amazed at how much information can be found in these records, once you know what things mean. I've learned a lot here.
Last questions:
P.5
1. Lower left - Disch QR 607/2(A) - this is basically a discharge for retirement 'with a view to pension'?
2. Right side - AWP (D?) Commendation - what does that whole line indicate?
3. Under Mustering etc., the second entry is CLK ??? (can't read it but it doesn't look like SD)

P. 6 What do the codes mean under conduct and trade assessments? (Assuming redacted for personal data reasons?)

And that is hopefully the end of questions from the service record!

 

I'm amazed at how much information can be found in these records, once you know what things mean. I've learned a lot here.

My reason for doing this on a open discussion board - General Family History applicants mostly express dismay or disappointment when they get two pages for a service record and park it as a waste of time and not in a readable format. Mainly this is because they do not take the time to think of how and why it was created.

It was an index to a battery of paperwork that supported and detailed events and although the supporting paperwork has been separated the notations follow a strict format set down by the Manual of Administration (Air Publication 837) and mostly this can allow the links to followed. eg Standard Abbreviation of Unit - leads to ORB (Form 540) at TNA catalogue - in the ORB is the location of unit, tasking, events etc. So the usual gripe for Service Record of "did not tell me his geographical location changes" is solved by looking at listed changes to Command and then ORB to see when and where units moved during the period relative was posted to them.

Dates and places also related to local and global events and considering those in conjunction to a service record also goes a long way to answering or understanding the Why?

Lewis record in particular is a rare snapshot of changing RAF structure and tasking PreWar/Wartime/PostWar and into the Cold War for the Clerk Trade and underlines why the period matters for answering what on the face of it seem general questions.

Last questions:
P.5
1. Lower left - Disch QR 607/2(A) - this is basically a discharge for retirement 'with a view to pension'?

Guide here is QR 607/2(A) and leads to a search for Queens Regulations of circa 1966. Kings/Queens Regulations and Air Council Instructions (or variations of the title as period changes)
Search results: "Kings Regulations" | The National Archives
Search results: "Queens Regulations" | The National Archives

Admin procedure for these is to retain Regulation Clause Number from edition to edition where minor changes in wording takes place - new clause is added and out of date deleted if major revision. So 1944 edition does not have clause 607 but a major change amendment in 2013 has put the text online
ch10-22-41.doc

(2) With a view to Service Pension. (a) Having completed time for pension. (Page 4 of the pdf) where you can read the whole table of what and by whom.

2. Right side - AWP (D?) Commendation - what does that whole line indicate?

Awarded Commendation by Air Officer Commanding in Chief MC CRO 21/61
Still goes on today (AOCinC is now Chief of Staff) but a recognition of metorious service within the Military community
New Years Honours List

To underline file reference numbering MC - Personnel, CRO- Central Records Office, 21/61 - piece number 21 issued in 1961 (low number as it was one of the first items of correspondence for 1961 created by the Records Office)

3. Under Mustering etc., the second entry is CLK ??? (can't read it but it doesn't look like SD)

An example of procedure changing over time - Clerk Trade Wartime and into 1950s had only two subdivisions GD and SD but as the admin complexity changed with punched cards , computer data etc a growing number of specialist sub divisions grew up to include the type of admin eg Support Equipment, Information Technology, Satellite Systems, Personnel Admin, Statisics Analyst.

I think the subdivision here is Support Equipment.

In mid 1960 RAF tried to sort the mess out for all trades by going to numbered Trade Groups instead of descriptive. If he remained in service by the late 1960s he would probably be remustered into TG17.

List of Royal Air Force ground trades - Wikipedia

P. 6 What do the codes mean under conduct and trade assessments? (Assuming redacted for personal data reasons?)

Character - Very Good (written as V.G.)/Good/Fair/Indifferent/Bad

Trade Headings
A - Skill as tradesman
B - Ability as technical W/O or NCO (foreman-manager, foreman or supervisor in his trade)
C - Admin ability as W/O or NCO

Trade proficiency
Exceptional - written Ex.
Superior - written as Supr.
Satisfactory - written as Sat.
Moderate - written as Mod.
Inferior - written as Inf.

Specific events and always 31/12 of each year triggered an assessment

I seem to have done the heavy lifting on answering your questions on this forum but hope you can now see why in post #2 I recommended that his service record would answer all and be a much better use of time than searching google for tenuous traces and trying to link.

Ross