Poetry and background to Maurice Crowther, a World War 2 veteran who fought in Malaya and Singapore between 1941 to 1945. He was interned in Changi and subsequently worked as a convict labourer in Korea and Japan. Useful for students who are studying World War 2 in Asia from the perspective of European soldiers caught up in the war.

1. Poems of Maurice Crowther
The Battle of Singapore
Rattle, splutter, crackle, stutter, heavy guns, Brens1
all around
Bofars, mortars, ack-ack barrage, help to swell the hellish sound
Overhead the Nippon2
war planes fill the sky with angry roar
“Lie down flat you silly blighters”, this is what the world calls war
Men upon their bellies creeping, thro’ rubber and thro’ palm
Hungry, dry, bereft of sleeping, knowing not a moments calm
Wading on thro’ marsh and swampland, clothing stiff with mud galore3
On they go, these helpless victims, victims to the “God of War”
All around they are flying, fathers, brothers, husbands, sons
Some are dead and some are dying, victims all of bombs and guns
Grasping, groaning, crying, moaning is this nature in the raw?
No! It’s simply “Bloody Murder”, in history books they call it war
Blackened, bloated, stinking corpses lie unburied all around
Ants and flies and loathsome maggots4
using these for feeding grounds
They have died to save an empire, don’t for God’s sake say “What for?”
They were simply slain and butchered for a Democratic5
War
Whilst at home in London night clubs see the paper tapes fly in
Sharp decline United Rubber, down three points Malaysia Tin
Damn it I shall lose a packet, lucky I’ve got plenty more
Waiter bring me a double brandy6
, yes My Master, this is War
Maurice Murgatroyd Crowther Changi POW Camp 1942
1 Brens - a submachinegun operated by gas pressure; used by the British in World War II
2 Nippon - a Japanese name for Japan
3 galore- in great numbers or quantity
4 loathsome maggots - soft-bodied legless larvaeof flies or other insects thatgive feelings of hatred or disgust
5 Democratic - believingin or practicingtheidea that people are socially equal
6 brandy - an alcoholic liquormadefrom wine or fruitjuice

2. The Fall of Singapore
Since the day we were taken our spirits fell
And although it’s not showing, it’s easy to tell
After long days of fighting our chances were rare
For something was missing! The Boys of the Air
But the lads kept on slamming the shells up the bore
Facing death from dive bombers and mortars galore
And whilst in action their spirits were high
Even smiling whilst the shells whistled by
Still the lads kept on thro’ long weary nights
Helping infantry in its most gruesome fight
But the Nips were numerous and ready to die
That they kept on coming with their help from the sky
But we fought gamely on with our backs to the wall
And each soldier’s heart cried, “Singapore shall not fall”
So the guns barked defiance with angry retort
When a whisper came thro’ “The ammo’s run short”
So the drivers set forth o’er death ridden lanes
Searching for ammo amongst shattered remains
But the dumps had been fired by fifth column spies
Their work satisfactory by the glow in the sky
Our shells were numbered and handled with care
And each one that went over in turn did its share
But we kept from each other that dreaded word “Retreat”
And prepared with fixed bayonets the enemy to meet
Then we found with a shock that our water supply
Had been stopped at the source and the taps were dry
But the lads chatted gaily, though we knew by the tone
That the hour had come, and the last hope gone
And in the afternoon when expecting it least

3. We found on most fronts that the firing had ceased
And it wasn’t the silence that made us all stare
‘twas a white flag flying that caused our despair
The order was given, the enemy had won
And each heart was aching like a true British Son
For we fought and we fought for this small British Isle
Prepared to die to the last rank and file
Now my thoughts wander back to the day I kneeled
By a small wooden cross on the battle scarred field
To a comrade who died for a “Land o’er the Sea”
That country called England, The Land of the Free
Maurice Murgatroyd Crowther Jinsen POW camp 1942

4. About the Poet:Maurice Crowther (1921-5 Jan, 201)
Maurice Crowther grew up about 34 km away from Leeds in Norristhorpe, Liversedge in West
Yorkshire, England. Mr Crowther left his job as an upholsterer and enlisted aged 19 with his
best friend Norman Wood, in August, 1939, unaware that war would begin two weeks later.
Crowther and Wood were enlisted into the 122 Royal Artillery (West Riding) Regiment and the
unit was posted to Singapore in with his best friend, Norman Wood, and his unit was posted to
Singapore as part of the 12th
Indian Brigade. The 122 Royal Artillery was later known as “The
Forgotten Regiment” because it was disbanded immediately after the end of the war.
On 3 Jan 1941, his unit set sail from Glasgow, Scotland, aboard the Canadian Pacific
passenger liner ‘RMS Empress of Japan’ (later renamed Empress of Scotland). He arrived in
Malaya on 11 March to become part of the 12th
Indian brigade. The unit was sent to fight in
Malaya and retreated down to Singapore.
Crowther’s unit joined the 280th battery in the Battle for Singapore when Japanese forces
attacked on 8 February 1942. On the eve of the fall of Singapore on 14 February, Crowther was
at the Raffles Hotel, which was an observation post at the time in search for more ammunition.
According to a newspaper report, Crowther resisted capture until the bitter end and refused to
surrender. He was captured together with his friend, Wood and imprisoned at Changi Prison.
Crowther’s felt that Changi prison had “a surprising amount of freedom”. While in Changi, he
used poetry as a way to record his experience as a way to express himself and fill out his time.
Wood and Crowther were separated when Crowther suffered from pneumonia and was sent to
hospital. Wood was shipped off to work on the Siam-Burma Death Railway and lost his life.
When Crowther recovered, he was sent on a Japanese ‘hell ship’ Fukai Maru to Jinsen Prisoner
of War (POW) camp in Korea to work as convict labour. While there, he reflected on the loss of
his comrades in the poem “The Fall of Singapore”.
Crowther was moved again to Fukuoka , Japan, where he again worked as forced labour until
the end of the war. He was made to work in the coal mines alongside female locals until he
suffered a broken leg in a mining accident. His Japanese captors refused to treat him but his leg
but fortunately a fellow prisoner, an American doctor, helped set it for him. Crowther was
hospitalised but immediately after he recovered, he was again to work on the gruelling railway
salt works in Japan.
Crowther also recounted lighter stories, too. While a prisoner, a Japanese soldier heard he had
boxed for the Army. Keen to learn, he sought him out for a daily lesson. “Maurice would knock
seven bells out of him – with permission!” recounted Mr Ward.
The dropping of the atomic bomb on of Nagasaki led to Japan’s surrender in August 1945.
However, it would take Crowther another six months to get home via Canada. It was a delay he
was glad of, since he did not want his family to see him as he was when he left the camp.
When he was demobilized, Crowther returned to Liversedge and served in the police force for a
short time before starting work at Heckmondwike Carpets. . He became a councillor for
Liversedge and, as a lifelong Huddersfield Town fan, was the chairman of the club’s patron’s
association

5. Crowther married his sweetheart Mary and they had three children – Julie, Susan and Martin.
He served for many years also as secretary of the club’s Patrons Association for many years.
In the last three years of his life, Crowther moved to Selby in North Yorkshire to be nearer his
family.
Crowther was one of just four ex Far Eastern POW’s who took part in the Cenotaph Parade in
front of the Queen in London in 2012. He was also awarded a National Lottery grant to take him
back out to the Far East so he could go see the grave of his best friend that joined up with him
all those years ago.
Unearthing the Poems
Crowther’s daughter, Mrs Julie Ward said: “He never spoke about the war and as a child I was
brought up not to ask. It was only when his great-grandson Charlie began to ask that he opened
up. We knew he had written poetry as my mum told us but we knew nothing about the war
poems until we found them in his stuff. They are very emotive poems and tell of the suffering he
witnessed.
One poem was The Fall of Singapore and the other The Battle For Singapore – written as he
was held captive as a 21 year old on any scrap of rag or paper he could get his hands on.
Maurice Crowther (right) and Norman Wood
on duty in Singapore

6. http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/459870/Sol
dier-s-poignant-poems-of-hell-as-a-prisoner-of-
war-discovered-after-his-death
http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/gallery/for
mer-soldier-maurice-crowther-gallery-
6716767

7. About the 122nd
Royal Artillery as part of the 12th
Indian Brigade
The 12th Indian Infantry Brigade was one of the regular units based in Malaya before the Japanese
invasion in December 1941. During the Battle of Malaya which ended with the surrender of a British
Army at Singapore in February 1942, the 12th Brigade performed better than most units.
They were made up of:
 5th Battalion, 2nd Punjab Regiment- Lt. Col.CharlesCecil Deakin
 4th Battalion, 19th HyderabadRegiment - Lt.Col.E.L.Wilson-Haffenden
 2nd Battalion, Argyll andSutherlandHighlanders - Lt.Col.Ian MacAlisterStewart
 15th FieldCompanyS&M
 122nd FieldRegimentRA - Lieut.Col.George St.JohnArmitage Dyson
Malaya Campaign: The 2nd Bn, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, was considered to be the
best jungle fighters at the time and the Argylls' commander, Lt.Col. Ian Stewart, one of the
better leaders during the campaign. The brigade were among the first troops to face the
Japanese when they landed on 7 December 1941. During the campaign for Malayan, while
many British and Indian forces were thrown in disarray by the rapid encircling and flanking
attacks of the Japanese, the 12th Brigade under Brigadier Archibald Paris, was able to inflict
casualties and slow down the Japanese forces during the fighting in Northern Malaya.’ However
by the time, they had fallen back to Singapore, the 12th
Indian Brigade was severely weakened
and placed as a part of Malaya Command reserve.
Battle for Singapore: During the Singapore campaign, the 22th
Australian Brigade pulled back
to Tengah from the western coast of Singapore that they were defending. The British
commander, General Percival released the 12th
Indian Brigade at 0830 hours but it was too late
and the defensive positions in the Kranji-Jurong Defence Line was threatened.

8. http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/PTO/RisingSun/BicycleBlitz/maps/bicycle-2.jpg
http://bukitbrown.com/main/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Map-9-Feb-James-Tann.jpg
General Percvial ordered Australian and British forces under Australian General Bennett to
concentrate all available forces in the Western Area for a counter-attack o re-establish the
Kranji-Jurong Line. The 22nd
Australian, 12th
and 15th
Indian Brigades counter-attacked with the
44th
Indian Brigade and Tomforce in reserve to cover Reformatory and Bukit Timah Roads.
However, the counter-attack was too little too late because the the counter-attack was less than
a brigade in size. Japanese air attacks harassed the unit and led to the unit’s diserpsion.

9. Lieut. Col. George St.John Armitage Dyson
Bibliography
Maurice Crowther
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/war-hero-s-journey-ends-with-a-poetic-farewell-1-6418857
http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/former-liversedge-man-maurice-crowther-6715385
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/9582650.Former_PoW__91__travels_to_Far_East_to_honour
_fallen_friend/
www.spenboroughguardian.co.uk/news/a-royal-knees-up-for-former-pow-maurice-1-5805335
http://announce.jpress.co.uk/halifax-courier/obituary/maurice-
crowther/22970520?s_source=jpno_hccn
http://www.spenboroughguardian.co.uk/news/remembering-the-hardships-of-war-1-5116273
http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/melanie-howram-stunning-image-war-
8888934
Interview with Maurice Crowther
Interview with Maurice Crowther: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9Vq0-nWVIk
Regiment Information about the 122 Royal Artillery
http://www.cofepow.org.uk/pages/armedforces_122_field_regt.htm
Books and Chapters on the Fall of Singapore
Farrell, Brian. (2005). The Defence and Fall of Singapore. The History Press Ltd; illustrated
edition
Farrell, Brian (2002). Sixty Years On. The fall of Singapore revisited (Singapore:
MiiltaryHistory Journal Article on the Fall of Singapore. http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-
singapore
Bibliography from NHB
http://www.nlb.gov.sg/sure/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/From-Singapore-to-Syonan-to_-
1941-1945.pdf