Thomas Charles Tuttle

A Private with the 4th Battalion, Thomas died on 18th of November 1943 aged 27. 

Thomas was born at Lowestoft, on 6 April 1916, a son of Thomas Charles and Ethel Tuttle. He was baptised at Saint Margarets Church, Lowestoft, on 27 April 1916, and his family lived at 66 Tennyson Road. By August 1916 his family were living at 26 White Hart Street, and this was still their home in 1921. Thomas’ father died in 1933 and by 1939 the family home was at 47 Mariners Street. 

Thomas was working as a baker when he joined the Suffolk Regiment and served with the 4th Battalion.

In autumn 1939 the 4th Battalion Suffolk Regiment, part of 54 Brigade in the 18th (East Anglian) Division, 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, Nova 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.

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.      

Thomas was taken prisoner at Singapore. On 27 April 1943 he was part of a group of men taken overland to work on the Burma Railway. In November 1943 he was at a camp at Kami Sonkari. Thomas developed beriberi and died. He was buried at Kami Sonkari and reburied at Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery in 1946.