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War |
Malaya |
Singapore
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Service with other Units
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Battalion
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Order of
Battle
Arrived 23 mile peg 2200hrs 29/1/1942
Departed 1300hrs 30/1/1942
Arrived Senai 1730hrs 30/1/1942
Departed 2000hrs 30/1/1942
Arrived Woodlands
Estate (Causeway) 0130hrs 31/1/1942
1) Capture
of Japanese Sword - "C" Company, 2/30 Bn, 30/1/1942
"C" Company was in
position amongst old rubber trees on the right hand side of the main road
from Yong Peng to Johore Bahru at the 23 Mile Peg.
15 Platoon was
forward adjacent to the main road with
13 Platoon on the right
towards the railway line and
14 Platoon was in reserve. The Company
was still moving out of night perimeter into daytime positions when a
Japanese patrol came swinging down the road in single file making no
attempt at concealment. Members of 15 Platoon engaged them with L.M.G. and
rifle fire and they scattered going to ground leaving four badly wounded
or dead on the edge of the roads.
The action was reported
to the Bn. H.Q. and two armoured cars under
Sgt. George CHRISTOFF went
down the road and shot up those members of the patrol who had not been
killed by 15 Platoon. Corporal (later Sgt.) Bill Ennis and Privates Ron
Sweeney & Frank Jones were sent down to inspect the Japanese dead and to
recover any items that would be of value. Cpl. Ennis'
party found that one of the Japanese, although badly wounded, was still
alive. They collected a map case, small L.M.G. basket and bayonet, but
were unable to detach a sword from the dead Japanese officer. Cpl. Ron
Johnston was ordered to take his section out to cover Cpl. Ennis and the
stretcher-bearers.
This extract from Cpl.
Johnston's diary vividly describes what took place during the morning:
"Myself and two others
were detailed to cover Cpl. Ennis while he searched the three dead bodies
and also while the stretcher-bearers brought in the fourth who was still
alive. He was shot in several places in the head and looked in a bad way.
No sooner back than I had to take a patrol out to our immediate front. It
was only a short patrol & we reported in after about 30 minutes. Twenty
minutes break & I was out again. This time we got caught by planes & lay
for over an hour on a bare hill watching them dive-bomb & machine-gun a
position forward of us where our artillery had been the previous day. The
bombs shone in the sunlight as they dropped to their target. The planes
came circling round & we could see the pilots quite plainly as they
watched the ground for movement. Finished bombing they searched our
Battalion area for us. Finding one of our armoured cars they dived on it
as it raced for cover. Sgt. G. Christoff was killed from a bomb splinter
in this attack. At last they swung around & were soon racing back for more
bombs & petrol. We returned by the road, it being my intention to once
more search the Nip. patrol.
Leaving three of the
section to cover us, Don McKenzie & I hopped out onto the road. The three
bodies were in a shocking state, having been shot in numerous places &
lying in the sun for several hours had not improved them any. I collected
a bayonet, rice ration basket, L.M.G. spare kit, straw helmet, several
clips of rounds and then being unable to detach a sword from the officer's
belt I cut it loose with a jack-knife. Reporting back to Company H.Q. I
gave my report and handed it in as it is routine with Nip equipment.
Trying to draw the sword we found it stuck. I was recalled to Platoon at
this stage by Johnny. The Company having to be ready to move in ten
minutes. On my leaving the sword it was found to have a secret catch."
Capt. Lamacraft sent the
sword to Bn. H.Q. in the hands of Pte. Merv Shaw, who later died of
cholera in Thailand. He handed it to Lieut. (now Brigadier) Col Galleghan
with the compliments of "C" Coy.
This was the only
Japanese sword captured by Australian troops during the action in
Malaya. It was brought back to Australia by Capt. W. Melville who was
evacuated from Singapore in the flat bottomed Yangtze River Boat Wah Sui (Wusei)
which had been converted into a hospital ship. On the voyage to Batavia
the Wah Sui (Wusei) was stopped by a Japanese cruiser & inspected
by a boarding party. Capt. Melville placed the sword under his bed
mattress & lay on it. At Batavia he was transferred to the British
Hospital ship Karapi & during this transfer he had the sword in
his pyjama trousers. The Karapi made a safe
voyage to Colombo where Capt. Melville was in hospital & convalescent camp
for several months. He returned to Australia in the Sea Ambulance
Transport Stirling Castle which made a non-stop, unescorted voyage from
Colombo to Melbourne taking a route down towards Durban across the lower
Indian Ocean & around the bottom of Australia. Capt. Melville handed the
sword to Mrs. Galleghan when he reached Sydney.
(Source: Makan No.
179)
2)
Japanese Sword in the Australian
War Memorial
"There is a sword, said to be hanging in
the War Memorial at Canberra, which was brought back to
Australia by Capt. Melville, O.C. “Don” Company, who had
been badly wounded at Gemas and repatriated home before the
capitulation. This is said to be the first one to come to
Australia and is credited with having been captured by C.
Coy, 2/30 Bn. It is reported on page 174 of the Bn. History,
"Galleghan's Greyhounds", that the Bn was in position at
23/21 Mile Pegs on 30/1/42, when, as a Unit of "West Force"
the Bn task was a "holding" one for 24 hours, in order to
permit the retirement of the 9th Indian Division on the 27th
Brigade's right flank and covering the Railway line, down
which that Division was moving. "The
armoured car commanded by Sgt. George Christoff, DCM
contacted an enemy patrol forward of "C" Company and engaged
it, killing one Jap Officer and two other ranks and wounding
one other. Tom writes, "It was after the
armoured car had done its work rather well that Ron, in
charge of his section, went forward to investigate. I having
been left with one other, together with the Bren Gun to
cover the operation, recall them coming back with this
Samurai sword, a beautiful piece of blue steel, two handed
and jewel studded. It was the first one that we had seen. We
could not carry it, so sent it back to H.Q. with the
Officer's Map case and other equipment of the Jap. Patrol."
(Source: Makan No.
249 - July / August, 1979)
3) Getting
the Japanese Sword
back to Australia
NX34711 - MELVILLE, William Sydney (Billy (The Pig)), Lt.
Col. - D Company, O/C
His wounds caused him to be evacuated from Singapore by
Hospital ship on 10th Feb. 1942. Back in Australia he became
fit for further service and rose to the rank of Lt. Colonel
in the New Guinea fighting.
Page 174 of the Bn. History reports that Capt. Melville took
home with him the first Japanese sword captured in battle by
a member of the Unit. His wounded leg being stiff at the
time "Big Bill" thought it a great joke to slip the sword
down the trouser leg of his pyjamas for that leg with little
chance of anyone being aware that he had it.
(Source: Makan No.
263 - Oct/Dec, 1981)
4)
Capturing a Japanese Sword (unknown location)
D Company, 16 Platoon
Harley
also asks, "does 16 Platoon remember, when Ward sent them
out into a Kampong, where a leader of the Japanese was
supposed to be, of how that leader ran, as 16 Platoon
entered the Kampong and they shot him down, and took his
sword and wallet back to Ward Booth?"
(Source: Makan No.
236 - Sep/Oct, 1977)
NB. The exact location of this Kampong is
unknown, but it was possibly during the fighting in Malaya.
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Last updated
24/08/2022 |
