Peter Eric Day

A Private with 4th Bn. Peter died on 13th of February 1942 at the age of 20. 

Peter was born at Lowestoft in 1921 (his birth registered in the last quarter of 1921), a son of Walter Percy and Clara Maud Day. In 1939 his family lived at 13 Haward Street, Lowestoft.

In autumn 1939 the 4th Battalion Suffolk Regiment was on guard duty in the Lowestoft area and from July to September 1940 had various local deployments, including guarding Great Yarmouth. The Battalion then moved to Bedfordshire and then Scotland until April 1941. Next the Battalion moved to Bury, Lancashire, and Hereford, before embarking on the S.S. Andes at Liverpool and sailing for Halifax, Nov Scotia. The Battalion changed ship, to the American liner Wakefield, and sailed for Trinidad and then Cape Town, arriving on 9 December 1941. The Battalion was given three days shore leave.

The Battalion was part of 54 Brigade in the 18th (East Anglian) Division. 

With the Japanese entry into the war the Battalion was now allocated to the Far East and sailed for India, arriving on 5 January 1942. The Battalion had three weeks of training before embarking at Bombay and sailing for Singapore, arriving on 29 January 1942. The Battalion had orders to defend the Golf Course and then fell back to defend the perimeter before the Singapore garrison was forced to surrender on 15 February 1942. 

Ninety men of the Battalion were killed, or died of wounds, in the defence of Singapore and 865 were taken prisoner.      

Although official records show that Peter died on 13 February 1942, this is actually the date by which he was presumed to have died and original Commonwealth War Grave records shows that he was missing, presumed dead, between 5 and 15 February 1942. 

Initially Peter and four other soldiers (two from the 4th Suffolks and two from the 4th Norfolks) were buried at Geyland Village, Singapore, 'approximately 125 yards east of the junction of Katong and Wereham Roads'. In 1946 the men were exhumed at reburied at Kranji War Cemetery, Singapore.