John Cady

A Private with the 4th Battalion, John died on 18th of August 1943 at the age of 20.

John was born at Lowestoft on 15 January 1923, a son of Charles and Adelaide Cady. Note that some official sources suggest he was born in 1920, but his birth was registered in 1923. In 1921 his family lived at 68 Norwich Road and by 1939 his family lived at 64 Somerton Avenue.

John was a working as a painter when he joined the Army. 

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.      

John was attached to the Headquarters of 18 Division when he was captured at Singapore on 15 February 1942. 

John was one of a group of men taken overland, on 24 April 1943, to work on the Burma Railway. He developed colitis and died at Sonkurai and was buried at No 2 Sonkurai Cemetery, In 1948 he was reburied at Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery.