SINGAPORE'S FALL

Evening Post, Volume C, Issue 40, 17 February 1942, Page 5

SINGAPORE'S FALL

WATER AND SUPPLIES LACKING

NO EVACUATION PLAN

LONDON, February 16. It is now known that General Percival, the British commander in Singapore, and Sir Shenton Thomas, the Governor of the island, bbth sent last messages out bf the island before it fell. General Percival sent a, message i tb General Wavell, saying that it was impossible to carry on the defence any longer owing to the heavy losses and the shortage of food, water, ammunition, and petrol. On Saturday a telegram from Sir Shentbn Thomas reached London. It said that in Singapore a million people were concentrated in a threemile radius, and that the water supplies were. badly damaged and were unlikely to" last more than 24 hours. A later telegram received about the time of the surrender' said that the civilian population was quiet but bewildered. Passive defence and fire ser* Vices Were carrying on arid the telephbrie girls Were still at their posts. It was stated in London today that there was no policy of evacuating our troops from the island! The intention was tb fight on to the last. Some of pur Wounded were taken bffyand most of the' British women and children. :. FIRST'STRENGTH'OF FORCES. " The original strength of our forces iri Singapore and* 1 Malaya was about 55,000 troops, excluding auxiliary fbfces. Those taking part in the fighting consisted of the 18th British Division/the 9th arid llth Indian Divisions, about two-thirds'of'the Bth Australian Division, and certain fortress troops. News of the last hours in Singapore is now coming from people who have arrived in Batavia. A Singapore observe^- in a message from Batavia says that as he left the island there was hand-to-hand fighting along the roads west, north-west, and north*of the city. Shells were crashing into the residential areas. He packed his small suitcase as the regular morfting packet of shells struck the grounds of the hospital next door. Japanese planes circled over the city incessantly. Another message from Batavia tells how three Hurrican pilots managed tb escape as the Japanese eriterbd their aerbdrbme. They spent their last hour on the island near the one remaining aerbdroriie iri our harids. Their planes were beirig patched up by the ground staff, who knew that they themselves could riot get away. Iri the last three miriutes Japanese troops broke through to the aerodrome, but the British pilots held them off with rifle-fire until the planes were ready. Then they took off through a hail of machine-gun bullets.