Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Six: Lieutenant-Colonel L. E. Thorpe, Royal Corps of Signals - captured at Singapore - a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese

India General Service 1936-39, 1 clasp, North West Frontier 1936-37 (Lieut., R. Sigs.); 1939-45 Star; Pacific Star; Defence and War Medals; Coronation 1953, these unnamed; together with a mounted set of six miniature dress medals and a riband bar, full-size medals nearly extremely fine (12) £260-300

Leofric Egerton Thorpe was born on 1 June 1914. He was educated at Bigshotte School and Wrekin College. He enlisted into the Royal Corps of Signals at Catterick in February 1934. As a 2nd Lieutenant, his first posting was to 5 Div. Signal Regiment based at Scarborough. In September 1936 he was posted to Karachi and in 1939 he was posted to Singapore. He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1937 (London Gazette 2 February 1937) and Captain in 1942 (London Gazette 3 February 1942). As a Major, he was captured with the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942. He was interned in Changi for six months before being sent to work on the infamous Siam-Burma railway. Despite the disease and privations he survived until the Japanese surrender in May 1945. One thing that may have helped him was a growing interest in the theatre - he put on numerous plays to entertain his fellow captives. After the war, during his rehabilitation, he and a few friends put together a small theatre company, at which time he met his wife to be. In 1954 he attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel (London Gazette 26 October 1954) and commanded 3 GHQ Signal Regiment based partly in Egypt and partly in Cyprus. Lieutenant-Colonel Thorpe retired in 1958 (London Gazette 3 June 1958) and joined De Haviland Propellers who were developing the Blue Streak missile. With its cancellation three years later, he joined GCHQ where he served for fourteen years. He died in 2004

With copied gazette extracts; Japanese P.O.W. record card; I.G.S. and Coronation Medal roll extracts and other research.