Captain Smith-Ryan
Four; 1939/45 Star, Pacific Star, War Medal all correctly impressed WX3453 A. R. Smith-Ryan
A bank officer with the Commercial Bank of Australia from Northam, WA, enlisted on 21 Nov 1940, after service as a Lieutenant in the 11th Battalion of the Militia. As the original Second-in-Command of ‘B’ Company, 2/4th MG Bn.
Landing in Singapore in January 1942 with his company as support to the Manchester Fusiliers originally tasked with defending the naval base. From 8–15 of February, 137 men of 2/4th MG Bn were killed or missing, 106 wounded, and 24 suffered ‘shell shock’ from Japanese air, artillery and infantry attacks.
Upon the units surrender, he was marched to Changi with remnants of 2/4th MG Bn and spent the duration of the war in Adam Park and Changi. He was responsible for writing the unit’s War Diary and secretly kept a personal diary whilst a POW, hidden from the Japanese. Much of what we know about the 2/4th MG Bn during the Battle for Singapore was extracted from these diaries. He was recovered in 1945, and returned to WA, living in East Perth. He died in Floreat Park, WA, on 13 Nov 1970.
A very rare officer’s medal group to a key player in the 2/4th story
VF SOLD
