About

Walter Pollock was born on 25th December 1910 in Kilmarnock, Scotland.

walter_pollock-picture-4

When he was 26, Walter first went out to Malaya (now known as Malaysia) on the 26th of June 1937, departing from Liverpool on the Blue Funnel Line Ship the Polyphemus, with his intended destination the Straits Settlement, Malaya and his occupation being a Planter.

The PolyPhemus . Built 1930 and torpedoed and sunk off Bermuda in 1942
The PolyPhemus . Built 1930 and torpedoed and sunk off Bermuda in 1942

At the outbreak of hostilities, Walter was a Corporal with the 1st Federated Malay States Volunteer Force (FMSVF), but it is not clear when he joined, presumably volunteered for, the 1st Independent Company, officially known as the 1st Independent Infantry Company (Malaya), which was formed on the 1st of April 1941.

To find out more about the 1st Independent Infantry Company, go to http://walterpollock.com/1st-independent-…y-company-malaya/

The map on this website shows the places (with dates) where Walter was in the 47 days it took the No 1 Independent Company to retreat the 820kms (509 Miles) from Changlun, near the Thailand Border, to Singapore.

It was only another 24 days after this that the Allied Forces surrendered to the Japanese on the 15th of February 1942.