Raymond James Martin

	From the Commonwealth War Graves Commission′s Website. In Memory of Aircraftman 2nd Class RAYMOND JAMES MARTIN 1205241, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve who died age 35 on 29 November 1943 Son of Hezekiah and Eliza Martin; husband of Queenie Florence Martin, of Abbey Wood, London. Remembered with honour
Click to see larger image		Click to see larger image

An Acknowledgement

Since I wrote the following, I was surprised, pleased, and, I must admit, greatly relieved (!) to receive very nice, and very friendly, emails from Raymond James Martin's son, Brian Ernest Martin, and his grandson, also Raymond James Martin. They both, very kindly, gave me some additional information on their father, and what happened to him, plus some photographs and permission to add all of these to the story - something I am more than pleased to do.

Unfortunately, sad to say,their mother, Queenie, died in 1960.

I would like, here, to give them my thanks for their information, their help, and very kind comments

The Story

I searched the Commonwealth War Graves Commission′s website and found only one "Raymond Martin" and this one had the middle name of "James". I couldn′t be absolutely certain, with the almost non–existent evidence that I′d got, that this was the same man but in the absence of any other information I took it that he was.

Raymond James Martin was an Aircraftsman, 2nd Class (No. 1205241) in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, stationed in Singapore. That much we know for certain.

The CWGC website told me that he was the son of Hezekiah and Eliza Martin and the husband of Queenie Florence Martin, of Abbey Wood, London. I must admit, I couldn′t see any connection with Hooe at this point, which was not only surprising; it was worrying.

I searched various other sources and, in the 1891 Census of Bodle Street Green, Hurstmonceux I found young Hezekiah, aged 11, with his family – see the following extract from the census.

Piece: RG12/776 Place: Hailsham–Sussex Enumeration District: 8 Civil Parish: Hurstmonceux Ecclesiastical Parish: Bodle Street Green Folio: 119 Page: 8 Schedule: 10 Address: –

The index of births, marriages, and deaths told me that Hezekiah Martin married Eliza Augusta Wood in the district of Hailsham, in April–June of 1907 and the Hailsham district covers Hellingly, Hurstmonceux, Hooe, and, of course, Hailsham, so things were looking up!

Searching the 1891 census, I, eventually, found Eliza A. Wood (see below).

Piece: RG12/776 Place: Hailsham–Sussex Enumeration District: 5 Civil Parish: Hailsham Ecclesiastical Parish: St Johns Polegate Folio: 85 Page: 11 Schedule: 78 Address: –

So, both of James′ parents were born in Sussex and not that far away from Hooe. This was good news!

Again, from the BMD indexes, I found that Raymond James Martin was born in the September quarter of 1908, in the Hailsham district.

It wasn′t until I was going through the "Bexhill Observer", for the year 1940, that I found, in the paper dated June 15th, the connection to Hooe. It was a report on the funeral of Hezekiah Martin, and went as follows:

"The Late Mr H. Martin"

"The funeral has taken place of a well–known Hooe resident, Mr Hezekiah Martin, of Samson′s cottage, who died at Hailsham. Mr Martin, who was aged 61, had lived in the village for 15 years. A widow, a daughter, and three sons are bereaved. The funeral service was at Bodle Street Baptist Chapel. The mourners were: the widow, Mr and Mrs Raymond Martin (son and daughter–in–law), Messers Rupert and John Martin (sons), Mrs Duffett (daughter), Mrs Gunn (sister), Mr John Martin (brother), Mrs Mepham (sister), Mrs Richard Martin (sister–in–law), Mr Taylor (brother–in–law), Mrs Lullem (Niece), Mr G. Mepham (nephew), Mr and Mrs Constant, Mrs Tapper, Mr and Mrs Mitchell, and Mr and Mrs Honeysett."

"The four bearers were employees from the Holmes Estate. The floral tributes were from Mr and Mrs Constant and Mrs Tapper; the staff of Holmes, mum and family; Ray and family; Auntie Elsie: Mr Dodson; Mr B. Smith; Mrs Parks and family; Mr and Mrs Munn and baby Jean."

So, finally, I had a solid connection with Hooe but, while it doesn′t appear that Raymond James Martin was born in Hooe his parents lived there for fifteen years and he may have lived there for a while before marrying and moving out, perhaps, to Abbey Road, London.

As I said earlier, from the CWGC website, I found out that James had been stationed on Singapore and, obviously, as his name appeared on the Singapore Memorial that must be where he was killed in action but I was to find out that this was very far from the truth.

Before I go any further, I tried to find out what the RAFVR was and what a ACII did. The hope was that I might be able to find out on which RAF airfield, James was stationed. I searched the Internet and read many books but couldn′t find what I wanted. If I had been the next–of–kin or a close relative of James then I would have been able to look at his RAF records but I wasn′t so that ended that line of research.

However, I don′t need to go too deeply into this man′s military service but I did discover the following of interest:

The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was not, as it might sound, an organisation of lesser trained volunteers making up for aircrew shortages, which is how I, at first, thought of them, due to the name but was formed on 30th July 1936 by recruiting civilian pilots into "Reserve Flying Schools" who were then trained as a back–up force in the event of war. Later, volunteers were trained in many other categories such as radio operator, observer, and navigator.

When war broke out, in 1939, the RAFVR became the main way for getting in to the RAF; a volunteer was trained, took an oath of allegiance, and went back to the work he had been doing before until called up; more than half of Bomber Command, by the end of 1941, were from the RAFVR.

Raymond James's son, Brian, told me that his father volunteered for service and was sent to no. 21 Squadron of the RAF, for training as a navigator. In 1942, he was posted to Singapore, arriving just as it fell to the Japanese, where he was taken prisoner, spending some time in the infamous Changi P.O.W. camp before being moved to Java.

Originally, before my conversation with Brian Martin, in an effort to try to narrow down where James might have been stationed on Singapore, I searched for what an "Aircraftsman 2nd Class" might do, and found such a wide range of functions, from cook to aircraft mechanic, that it didn′t help me, so I moved onto the conflict itself. Now, however, I know that he was a navigator but still have no idea where it was intenetioned he be stationed!

When the island fell, and James was captured, he would have been, I feel almost certainly, imprisoned, at first, in the camp at Kranji.

I have no idea what happened to Raymond James Martin during most of the time between his capture and his death but I believe that his story can be picked up in April 1943 when, roughly, 4,000 British and Dutch POWs are shipped from Surabaya, in East Java, to various islands throughout Indonesia to be used as slave labour in the construction, repair, and expansion of the, now, Japanese airfields; these are the Islands of Ambon, Ceram, and Haruku. About 2,000 more POWs are taken to the Island of Flores and even smaller groups are bound for the Islands of Buton and Timor; it's impossible to say who went where as the POWs came from different camps in Java.

In late November, the work on the airfields had been completed and the Japanese High Command decided to return the POWs to Java, as all of them were suffering from one or a combination of the following – severe malnutrition, dysentery, malaria, skin diseases, beriberi, ulcerated eyes, and diphtheria. Their captors decided that they were too weak to be of any use to Japan; some of the POWs were so bad that they unable to walk. What went through the minds of the Japanese was a simple calculation – if they were shipped to Java, they might recover sufficiently to be of some use again but, if not, it didn′t really matter either way, to the Japanese.

So, the removal of all the POWs, back to where they came from, on Java, began on 24th November.

From Haruku. 776 POWs were put on board an old, dirty coal barge, which would take them to Ambon for the return to Java where they would meet up with the other groups of POWs.

It must have been an horrendous journey from Haruku and is best described on the website of "COFEPOW" (Children and Families of Far Eastern Prisoners of War), which was started by the daughter of a POW who kept a diary of what happened to him throughout. It′s a must that you visit the website because it′s beautifully laid out, there are true, heart–breaking stories, and the story of the diary is well worth reading in itself. The following description, from the website, concerns one of the ′hell ships′; the one that James was to board and which would be the cause of his death, the "Suez Maru". This story was written by Dennis Courant, who kindly gave me permission to use the extract below.

"November 24, 04:00. Haruku (Palao Camp) A group of about 776 POWs from Haruku′s Palao Camp has to board a dirty 2000 ton Coal Barge with destination Ambon where they are to meet up with a second group of 500 POWs from Ambon′s Liang Camp. Down in the holds the coal dust is about 2 inches thick. No ventilation and no air. In a small motor boat they are shuttled from the dilapidated dock in the harbour to the Coal Barge. Since there are a lot of patients on stretchers and the procedure is slow, Camp Commander Kurashima gets impatient and orders the construction of a hastily put together wooden platform mounted on 3 native proas. The patients on stretchers are to be transported on this makeshift raft. The situation is miserable. Due to unbalanced weight, the raft keeps tilting and the sick patients keep sliding into the water. Of a total of 30 who wind up in the water, 2 have to be sent back to the Camp Hospital of which 1 dies the next day."

"November 25, 06:00 Boarding is complete and the Japanese doctors are threatened with punishment if any of the departing prisoners dies within 2 days of leaving. The Palao Camp group stuffed in the 2 crammed holds of the Coal Barge finally leaves Haruku. The tightly packed ship which is immediately spattered with faeces reaches the Bay of Ambon during the course of the day. The conditions on board have steadily worsened; some men are dying and a few corpses have been dropped overboard. No burial ceremonies; just bagged and thrown over the side."

"November 25, Noon time The Coal Barge arrives at the Port of Ambon where the Suez Maru, a (6,400 GRT) Japanese Army Cargo Ship designated PS 45 (Prison Ship # 45 of a total of 56 Japanese Prison Ships) lays anchored in the bay; the only ship available at the time on which these men could be transported to Java."

"November 26 Early morning.About 350 sick men from Liang Camp arrive at the Port of Ambon and are straight away embarked on the Suez Maru. In the mean time the POWs on the Coal Barge from Haruku are inspected by a Japanese doctor and a nurse. They decide that about 2 dozen are too sick to travel and they are sent to Liang Camp; then as the POWs from Haruku are finally embarking, barges with wounded Japanese on board come cruising up. They are given immediate priority for embarkation."

At the time the seas around Ambon were very dangerous and during the boarding of the POWs, Lieutenant Koshio who is in charge, asks his superior officer, Unit Commander Lt. Col. Anami for instructions in case of an enemy submarine attack and possible sinking of the ship. He wants to know what measures to take and how to care for the POWs. The escort will be a Minesweeper which hasn′t the capacity to accommodate everybody. The Unit Commander reminds him to carry out the orders from High Command: ′No Allied prisoner is to survive or fall into enemy hands; you will kill them all!′"

The "Suez Maru has 4 holds. The No.1 and No.2 holds are already occupied by Japanese patients. At final count there are now about 548 sick POWs on board (422 Allied and 126 Dutch). They are located in the No.3 and No.4 holds. There is ample room down below and the dying patients are allowed to stay on deck near the No.3 and No.4 hatches so they don′t have to be hauled up when the end finally comes. They just have to be wrapped up in gunny sacks and thrown overboard."

"November 26, past noon time After the boarding is complete, the Suez Maru escorted by two Minesweepers (W11 and W 12) leaves the Port of Ambon steaming over the Banda Sea heading for Surabaya. There is an aircraft (E13A1 float plane) located on the fore deck of the ship. The aircraft has a fractured fuselage and is scheduled for repairs at the Repair Depot 102 in Surabaya. Tentative time of arrival is November 30th. There are reports of magnetic mines dropped by US in Surabaya harbour."

"November 26 and 27 Minesweeper W11 peels off heading due West for Kendari Air and Naval Base (South East Celebes) and shows up at Kendari harbour on the 28th November. The Suez Maru is now only in convoy with Minesweeper W12 who is not "pinging" (sonar is not "on"). Neither ship is ′zigzagging′, a naval procedure making ships a more difficult target for submarines. The small corvette encounters no problems."

"November 28 night time For reasons unknown, on the night of the 28th the W 12 disappears. The Suez Maru is now sailing alone."

"November 29, morning Position: near the Kangean Islands, a group of small islands located North of Bali and East of Madura. On the morning of the 29th the W 12 reappears on the horizon far to the rear, eventually catching up with the Suez Maru until she is sailing ahead of her at the same speed."

"USS Bonefish locates Suez Maru. By March 1943 the US Submarine Command knew all the Japanese convoy routes and most Allied Submarines lay waiting adjacent to them. The Japanese Maru Code (JN14) had been broken and by knowing the departure time plus the noon position and the destination, they could fix a position."

"Bonefishleaves Fremantle, Western Australia (her home base) on November 22 heading for the Flores Sea. She is on her 4th patrol. Destination: an area in the South China Sea. She has transited the Bali Strait on the evening of November 28th. and her surface radar detects a contact 17 miles (27 km) out at 19:27."

"Bonefish probably tracked it for about 15 to 20 minutes, then reached a location for attack, usually about 1500 yards (1.372 km) from an intersecting course. The whole procedure would probably take less than an hour. Since all US Submarines in the area were aware of Japanese air activity, staying on the surface would invite an attack and that was suicide. The Suez Maru′s fate was that she travelled a known route that Bonefish patrolled. She was an easy target."

"08:00 Bonefish fires torpedoes. Bonefish position now: Kangean Islands 6 degrees 22 minutes South by 116 degrees 35 minutes East. Bonefish′s torpedo data: T4/2DUP –Translation: Fired 4 torpedoes of which 2 hit – Daylight – Under Water – Using Periscope. (Note: Actually only one torpedo inflicted damage on the Suez Maru; the second ′hit′ must have been a ′Premature′ and viewed as a ′hit′ through Bonefish′s periscope. The torpedoes were the old magnetic types prone to all kinds of malfunctions; ′Duds′ or ′Pre matures′. Bonefish fired the 4 torpedoes at overlapping targets: Suez Maru/Minesweeper W12. Only the Suez Maru was hit."

On board the Suez Maru. The lookout spots white traces in the water heading towards the ship and starts yelling: ′Torpedo, torpedo′! What happened to the anti–submarine precautions? Why no warning from W12; what happened to the air coverage? The ship is frantically trying to dodge the incoming torpedo by making a big turn at full speed. The evasive action is successful and the first torpedo misses. Bonefish fires 2, 3 and 4. (Note: The torpedo firing sequence probably went something like this: Bonefish fires 1 and 2 but both miss the overlapping target; she then she fires 3 and 4. Three is a ′premature′ but 4 is a direct hit at the stern of the Suez Maru – back of the ship into the No.4 hold). Panic and mass confusion on board. There are a considerable number of victims in the No. 4 hold; few men are moving. The majority of POWs are coming out of the No.3 hatch some with their life jackets on. They are ordered to go back down below into the No.4 hold to rescue the injured. The ship is dead in the water; the shaft is broken and the engines ceased to function; she slowly begins to sink. Since the POWs are too weak to do any heavy lifting, the Korean guards are instructed to throw the heavy life rafts into the sea and now everybody is jumping overboard. The W12 reports ′heavy loss of life′ and calls for assistance, but none arrives."

"The list of the sinking Suez Maru gradually becomes steep."

"09:40 The Suez Maru finally disappears below the surface at 09:40 taking down with her the dead and seriously wounded who were unable to make it above deck. By this time the surviving POWs, between 200 and 250 of them, are floating in the sea, clinging to the rafts, pieces of wood and debris while slowly drifting in the currents. Minesweeper W 12 who has managed to dodge Bonefish′s torpedoes has come back cruising around in a large circle only picking up Japanese and Korean survivors."

"14:00After the last Japanese survivor is taken out of the sea around 14:00. Captain Kawano of the W 12 confronts Lt. Koshio – who is one of the last ones to be picked up – with the following: The small Minesweeper is full and he cannot accommodate any more survivors; he is afraid the boat will capsize. He wants to know what should be done with the Allied survivors in the sea who are now floating in a long line. There is great animosity towards the enemy amongst his Officers and men and after a short discussion Captain Kawano, as senior officer, orders the shooting of all allied survivors. The standing orders of the Army have to be carried out: ′Under no circumstances shall any allied survivor fall into enemy hands′, especially with the enemy Submarine probably still nearby. Since Lt. Koshio is officially still in charge of the POWs, he gets the order to supervise the killing. He takes charge of the rifle unit on W 12. A machine gun is readied at the bow of the boat and 12 men armed with rifles are deployed,6 on each side of the fore deck. Lt. Koshio orders the officer in charge of the rifle unit and the lookouts to make no mistakes as to the targets because 2 Japanese are still missing. The Captain of the W 12 assumes command on the bridge and Lt. Koshio supervises the shooting."

"14:15 The massacre begins. Minesweeper W 12 begins cruising at slow speed within 50 meters of the POWs, the left side of the ship facing them. The firing with the machine gun and rifles begins and continues until the sea around turns red with blood. Some brave POWs knowing they are going to be shot, stand up on the debris they are clinging to and present themselves as targets for the bullets. No POW′s survived."

"16:30. More than two hours have gone by but sporadic shooting continues and finally seems to come to an end around 16:30. The W 12 having accomplished her gruesome task is gradually moving away from the scene. Her destination has changed and instead of continuing on her journey to Surabaya, she is now heading for Batavia because magnetic mines had been dropped by US planes at the entrance to Surabaya harbour."

"(Note: After the completion of the Japanese War Crimes Trials, no further action was taken to indict Kawano Usumu, Commander of Minesweeper No. 12, for the killing of Allied Prisoners of War or Lt. Koshio for carrying out the orders)"

"The amount of Japanese and Korean survivors is unknown. One of the Japanese survivors shows up at Liang Camp and mentions 7 Japanese/Korean survivors. The Japanese did not like to leave paper trails, but estimates are that there must have been between 200 to 250 Japanese/Korean survivors."

"There were no markings on the ship during transportation of the POWs as required by the Third Geneva Convention. Japanese weapons transports typically bore Red Cross markings while the ships carrying Prisoners of War – including the Suez Maru – were unmarked and therefore targeted by US submarines."

"The Suez Maru was constructed for the Japanese Mitsui Line but taken over by the Army.She had a single hull construction, thus one torpedo was enough to sink her."

"She was built in 1919 by Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd at the Uraga Shipyard, Japan."

So, now, I feel that I am somewhere near the truth or as close as I can get with the information available – James, on that day in November, would have been very weak, very thin, and, almost certainly, very ill from, at least, one of the illnesses that the POWs at the camps had suffered from.

On board the "Suez Maru", he must have wondered what the next day held for him, why he was on board this ship, and where he was going only knowing what rumours told him. He could have had no idea of the dreadful events that were to take place at sea.

Lying there, perhaps too ill to move and, then, feeling the ship hit by the torpedoes, perhaps realising the dreadful situation he was in, perhaps, not, must have been terrifying. How the ship was sunk, by "friendly fire" doesn′t matter so much as the fact that it was and Raymond James died. Did he drown or was he one of those shot by the Japanese; that we′ll never know. What that man, like so many others, suffered for the rest of us today, is mind–stopping.

I must admit, reading all the above as I carried out the research. upset me but I felt that, as I had gone so far, I ought to go on and, finally, write it down, as I understood it. I was born before the war and saw bombers over London, searchlights, barrage balloons, doodle–bugs passing over our house, houses in the next street destroyed, and dog–fights but what this man suffered was horrendous – and he was far from the only one.

From correspondence, in the Lewes record Office, it would seem that there were problems in getting the names of Ernest Stubberfield, Raymond Martin, and Jack Burton added to the memorial. The correspondence ends with the matter seeming to have been settled in that the names would not be added but, they were, and there is no record as to how or why the decision was made to add them

To read the full correspondence between the parties, concerning Ernie Stubberfield, Jack Burton, and James Martin (or at least, as much as I found at the Lewes Record Office), please click here."Correspondence"

To read more on the battle for Singapore click here."Battle for Singapore"