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Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival, MC (December 26, 1887 - January 31, 1966) was a British Army officer, most noted for his involvement in World War II, when he unsuccessfully commanded the British forces during the Battle of Singapore, and surrendered to the smaller invading Japanese army.
Early Career
- 1914: At the outbreak of WWI, aged 27, he volunteered in the army, joining as a private.
- 1916: As a first lieutenant, he went with the Bedfordshire Regiment to France for the Battle of Somme, and won the Military Cross.
- 1917: He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and given command of a battalion, shortly afterwards he was given a brigade to command.
- 1918: He was recommended for the staff of Sandhurst.
Between the Wars
- 1919: He volunteered to serve in the north of Russia.
- 1920: He was an intelligence officer with Essex Regiment during the Anglo-Irish War, members of which were targeted without the chance of surrender, due to the frequent deaths of prisoners in their custody.
- 1930: He entered the Staff College, Camberley, whose commander General Sir John Dill, became Percival's mentor over the next 10 years.
From 1936 - 1938 Percival was General Staff Officer in Malaya.
- 1939: He commanded the 43rd Division of the British Expeditionary Force.
Malaya and Singapore
In the Spring of 1941 Percival was appointed General Officer Commanding (GOC) Malaya in command of the British forces in Malaya.
On December 8, 1941: the Japanese Army landed on the Malay peninsula (the day after Pearl Harbor with the difference in date being because of the international date line). That night a Japanese Army under the command of General Yamashita began arriving at Kota Bharu on Malaya's East coast. This was just a diversionary force and the the main landings took place until the next day at Singora and Patani on the south-eastern coast of Thailand.
On January 25, 1942 Percival ordered a general retreat across the Johore Strait to the island of Singapore and organised a defense along the length of the islands 70 mile coast line.
On February 8, 1942: 13,000 Japanese troops landed on the northwest corner of Singapore island.
- February 9, 1942: 17,000 Japanese troops landed in west Singapore.
- February 15, 1942: He surrendered Singapore to Lieutenant-General Tomoyuki Yamashita of the Imperial Japanese Army.
A common view holds that 130,000 Allied personnel surrendered to fewer than 30,000 Japanese. Percival himself was held prisoner in Manchuria until the end of World War II, when he was evacuated to the Philippines to witness the surrender of the Japanese army there whihc in a twist of fate was commanded by General Yamashita.
Twilight Years
Percival retired from the army in 1946. Thereafter he worked for the British Red Cross and acted as patron for Far East Prisonners of War Association. His memoir, "The War in Malaya", published in 1949 did little to quell criticism of his command in Malaya, notably from Sir Lewis "Piggy" Heath who had commanded the 11th Indian Division. Unusually for a British Lieutenant-General Percival was not awarded a knighthood.
He died at the age of 78 on January 31, 1966, in the UK. His memorial service was held in St Martin-in-the-Fields, with the address given by Leonard Wilson, formerly the Bishop of Singapore.
Publications
- The War in Malaya. – London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1949
References
- Publication
- Dixon, Norman F, On the Psychology of Military Incompetence, London, 1976
- John George Smyth, Percival and the Tragedy of Singapore, MacDonald and Company, 1971, ASIN B0006CDC1Q
- Peter Thompson, The Battle for Singapore, London, 2005
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