SS Hong Chuen

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SS Hong Chuen was a 62-ton wooden coastal steamer owned by the Ho Hong Steamship Company and formerly owned by the Straits Steamship Company. Her last voyage was under charter to the Minister of Economic Warfare for Malaya, complete with Malay crew, in the final days before Singapore fell to the Japanese on 15 February 1942, during World War II.

Steamboat smaller than a steamship; boat in which the primary method of marine propulsion is steam power

A steamboat is a boat that is propelled primarily by steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S or PS, however these designations are most often used for steamships.

The Straits Steamship Company was a shipping firm that operated steamships on Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca

Charter grant of authority or rights

A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority, and that the recipient admits a limited status within the relationship, and it is within that sense that charters were historically granted, and that sense is retained in modern usage of the term.

Final voyage

A party comprising Commander J. Petrie, Lieutenant Colonel Goodfellow, Captain Morgan, Second Lieutenant Hemby, Sergeant Lamb and from the Ministry of Economic Warfare were ordered by Rear Admiral Ernest John Spooner of the Naval H.Q Singapore Base to establish an escape route from Singapore when its fall to the Japanese became inevitable. [1] [2] [3] They planned to go to Sumatra, then overland to Padang, on Sumatra's west coast. The SS Hong Cheun was chartered for this assignment.

Vice Admiral Ernest John Spooner, DSO was one of the senior Royal Navy officers at Singapore during the World War II Japanese invasion of Malaya and the subsequent fall of Singapore.

Battle of Singapore World War II battle

The Battle of Singapore, also known as the Fall of Singapore, was fought in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II when the Empire of Japan invaded the British stronghold of Singapore—nicknamed the "Gibraltar of the East". Singapore was the major British military base in South-East Asia and was the key to British imperial interwar defence planning for South-East Asia and the South-West Pacific. The fighting in Singapore lasted from 8 to 15 February 1942, after the two months during which Japanese forces had advanced down the Malayan Peninsula.

Sumatra island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands

Sumatra is a large island in western Indonesia that is part of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island that is located entirely in Indonesia and the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2.

The party departed from Singapore on 12 February 1942, and after receiving provisions at the island of Salat Sinki and at Penju on Soregi Bawah Island, the party reached the mouth of the Jambie River at Tigi Solok, at dusk on 13 February 1942.

Their passage had been eventful. The ship was machine gunned from the shore on leaving Singapore waters and there were frequent flights of Japanese bombers overhead. The Malay crew deserted at Penju. The ship picked up sixteen Chinese escapees adrift in a disabled motor tanking off Tjombol Island, and a defective compass caused the party to miss their planned landfall on Sumatra at the mouth of the Indragiri River at Prigi Raja. On the morning of 14 February 1942, the party proceeded up the Jambie River, arriving at Jambie after 24 hours of continuous steaming, at 10:00 on 15 February 1942. The Hong Cheun tied up at Jambie Wharf, where she was set on fire by a blazing oil barge which became wedged alongside her. She sank in one hour. The barge had been set on fire by the Dutch authorities in their "denial of fuel" operations.

Machine gun fully automatic mounted or portable firearm

A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm designed to fire rifle cartridges in rapid succession from an ammunition belt or magazine for the purpose of suppressive fire. Not all fully automatic firearms are machine guns. Submachine guns, rifles, assault rifles, battle rifles, shotguns, pistols or cannons may be capable of fully automatic fire, but are not designed for sustained fire. As a class of military rapid-fire guns, machine guns are fully automatic weapons designed to be used as support weapons and generally used when attached to a mount- or fired from the ground on a bipod or tripod. Many machine guns also use belt feeding and open bolt operation, features not normally found on rifles.

Indragiri River river in Indonesia

The Indragiri River is a river in Sumatra, in the Indonesian province of Riau, Indonesia, about 800 km northwest of the capital Jakarta. It is formed from the union of the Ombilin River and the Sinamar River, and empties into the Strait of Malacca. The middle part that flows in the Kuantan Singingi Regency is called Batang Kuantan.

Escape party

The escape party, including the sixteen Chinese escapees, proceeded over land by road in two trucks and a car provided by the Dutch authorities and reached Padang, after continuous day and night driving, on 17 February 1942. Some were then dispersed by sea to Columbo, Java, and Australia. Lieutenant Colonel Goodfellow remained in Padang. The escape route established by the party was subsequently used by some hundreds of escapees from Singapore.

<i>Columbo</i> American detective mystery television film series

Columbo is an American television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. The character and show, created by Richard Levinson and William Link, popularized the inverted detective story format, which begins by showing the commission of the crime and its perpetrator; the plot therefore usually has no "whodunit" element, and instead revolves around how a perpetrator known to the audience will finally be caught and exposed.

Java island of Indonesia

Java is an island of Indonesia, bordered by the Indian Ocean on the south and the Java Sea on the north. With a population of over 141 million or 145 million, Java is the home to 56.7 percent of the Indonesian population and is the world's most populous island. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is located on its northwestern coast. Much of Indonesian history took place on Java. It was the center of powerful Hindu-Buddhist empires, the Islamic sultanates, and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies. Java was also the center of the Indonesian struggle for independence during the 1930s and 1940s. Java dominates Indonesia politically, economically and culturally. Four of Indonesia's eight UNESCO world heritage sites are located in Java: Ujung Kulon National Park, Borobudur Temple, Prambanan Temple, and Sangiran Early Man Site.

Australia Country in Oceania

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. The population of 25 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. The country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

See also

Japanese occupation of Malaya Empire of Japan military rule in contemporary Singapore and Malaysia

Malaya was gradually occupied by the Japanese between 8 December 1941 and the Allied surrender at Singapore on 16 February 1942. The Japanese remained in occupation until their surrender to the Allies in 1945. The first Japanese garrison in Malaya to lay down their arms was in Penang on 2 September 1945 aboard HMS Nelson.

Japanese occupation of Singapore Japanese military rule over Singapore, including massacres of Chinese Singaporeans

The Japanese occupation of Singapore or Syonan-to in World War II took place from 1942 to 1945, following the fall of the British colony on 15 February 1942. Military forces of the Empire of Japan occupied it after defeating the combined British, Indian, Australian, and Malayan garrison in the Battle of Singapore. The occupation was to become a major turning point in the histories of several nations, including those of Japan, Britain, and the then-colonial state of Singapore. Singapore was renamed Syonan-to, meaning "Light of the South Island" and was also included as part of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.

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References

  1. ↑ 'This Inglorious Business' from 'Singapore: The Pregnable Fortress' by Peter Elphick, Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1995.
  2. ↑ Megan Spooner: Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  3. ↑ Ernest John Spooner: Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
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