Lieutenant Till: Ex 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion AIF
The grave (end of row) of Lieutenant Till at the Kranji War Cemetery, Singapore
Only 48 hours before the invasion of Singapore Island by the Japanese, a composite battalion of Australian soldiers, was formed to help strengthen the Australian numbers defending the North West corner of the island. Known as the Special Reserve Battalion (SRB), it comprised men from the Australian Army Service Corps (AASC), Ordinance units and a company from the 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion. The AASC (cooks, mechanics, drivers, clerks etc.) were relatively untrained. Such was the desperation of the time.
The Japanese invasion on the night of the 8th February 1942, saw fierce fighting. With a combat strength of 15,000 men, the Japanese easily overwhelmed the Australian 22nd Brigade (only 3,000 men) and forced it and the SRB to retreat.
On the 10th February, though miscommunication and having retreated as far as Bukit Batok (about 17 kilometres north of Singapore City), the Australian SRB and many British and Indian soldiers (about 1,500 in total), found themselves almost surrounded. They rested that night and at first light the next morning set off towards Singapore City, for the Australian defence line at Ulu Pandan. However, they did not realised that during the night, the Japanese 18th Division, which they had been fighting, had bypassed them.
Grave site of 26 soldiers recovered 10 months after the battle, now a playground
Their escape route took them through open farmland with little cover. After about 450 metres and nearing the end, and without any Japanese being sighted, the Japanese opened fire. Panic and chaos reigned. Many men fell before firing a shot in defence. It was carnage. The Indians ran across the Australian lines making it difficult for the Australians to return fire.
There were many acts of heroism. One man witnessed a Japanese soldier bayoneting wounded soldiers. He was so outraged that he rushed this soldier. In the process, he himself was bayonetted in the neck, fortunately not a severe wound. As he fell backwards, he shot the Japanese soldier with his pistol. He then continued to rush other Japanese in the vicinity shooting another five.
Lieutenant Jimmy Till, had led his men from the start of the Japanese invasion. He was held in high respect and always put the welfare of his men first. Like everyone else, the ambush took him by surprise. Many of his men fell around him either dead or severely wounded from the first round of shots from the Japanese. They were at the rear and had the greatest distance to go to get cover. He knew his duty was to ensure he could get as many of his men through as possible. He was able to regroup his men but their situation became hopeless. They were pinned down. A Japanese light machine gun section blocked their way to escape. With a bren gun in hand, he charged the Japanese position and shot the entire section. But unfortunately, Jimmy was never seen alive again.
For those trapped by the Japanese ambush, help came about mid-morning. A British company made a counter-attack on the Japanese enabling an escape route to be taken. Of the 1,500 who ventured into that open field that morning, only about 400 survived.
Kranji War Cemetery, Lieut. Jimmy Till’s Grave Location
The British and its allies surrendered to the Japanese on the 15th February.
About ten months later, permission was given by the Japanese for a group of Australians to return to the scene of the battle to recover and bury the dead. In all, only 26 bodies were found including that of Lieutenant Jimmy Till. After the war, his remains along with those of the other 25, were reburied at the Kranji War Cemetery. Jimmy Till, a brave and selfless man.
Source:
To Hell-Fire, Purgatory and Back, Ian Saggers, 2000, Optima Press, Perth WA, 12th April 2020
http://ijamesstann.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/the-tragedy-at-sleepy-valley.html, 5th April, 2016