Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria including the collection to Naval Artificers formed by JH Deacon

Four: Private M. Creese, Manchester Regiment

1939-45 Star; Pacific Star; Defence and War Medals, together with named condolence slip, extremely fine (4) £100-120

Meryvn Creese was taken P.O.W. at the fall of Singapore in February 1942, while serving with the 1st (Machine-Gun) Battalion, Manchester Regiment. In the lead up to Percival’s much criticised surrender, the Manchesters fought with distinction and witnessed numerous Japanese atrocities, some of which were inflicted on their own men - see Michael Moore’s Battalion at War, Singapore 1942. And worse was to follow in the years of captivity, many of them, including Creese, being employed on the Thai-Burma railway. He was later transferred and died on a Japanese transport ship on 21 September 1944. Creese, who was 30 years of age, has no known grave and is commemorated on the Singapore Memorial.