Ronald
Firstname
Harry
Middle Name
Willett
Surname
Date of Birth
School Years:
Date of Death:
1922 - 29
Family
Parents : H. H. & Alice Willett of 470 Norwich Road Ipswich.
Married Mildred in 1949
School Record
Branch of Service:
Army Suffolk Regiment
Service Number:
78320
Rank:
Decorations:
Service Record
Captain
Campaign Medals
Post War Career
He joined the 4th Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment initially commanded by Lt Colonel Rands and then by Lt. Colonel Johnson both O. I. s. In view of the danger of invasion,The Battalion was utilised for the defence of the East Anglian coast line. After the danger receded, the Battalion was posted to St. Neots and then to Stobbs Camp in Scotland for further training. The Brigade, including the 4th Battalion were then moved to Herefordshire in August 1941. Captain Willett was named as Transport Officer of the 4th Battalion between October 1941 and January 1942 when the Battalion made the voyage to Singapore, initially on S. S. Andes and then U. S. S. Wakefield, arriving in Singapore on 29th January 1942. The Battalion was soon engaged in bitter fighting to defend the Island and lost 7 officers and 93 other ranks who were either killed or died of wounds. Singapore surrendered to the Japanese on 15th February 1942. Captain Willett was initially held at Changi (Malai 4) Camp and was moved with three other officers and 121 other ranks to Banpong in Thailand on 17th October. He remained in captivity until the end of the War. The Fourth Suffolk Battalion lost a total of 464 men during the Battle of Singapore and their subsequent captivity.
He became Senior Partner of Oxborrows, the Ipswich auctioneers and estate agents. He was a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and a director of the Britannia Building Society. He was also Chairman of the Supplementary Benefits Tribunal and a member of Eastern Rent Assessment Panel.
Burial Information
Additional Information
Obituary in OIM No.32 of 1984 at page 94.
The story of the 4th Battalion is fully covered in "The Suffolk Regiment 1928 - 46" written by Colonel W. N. Nicholson and published by the East Anglian Magazine Ltd Ipswich.
Other Pictures
Officers of the 4th Battalion Suffolk Regiment in October 1941. Captain R. H. Willett is third from the right in the second row.
