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Auction: 20002 - Orders, Decorations, Medals & Space Exploration
Lot: 250

Pacific Star (17184 Sep. Chain Singh, 14 Punjab R.), good very fine

Chain Singh served with the 1st Battalion, 14th Punjab Regiment, and was killed in action during the Battle of Jitra on 11 December 1941 as Allied forces attempted to stem the Japanese advance down the Malayan Peninsula. Serving under Major General David Murray-Lyon, the 11th Indian Division were tasked with holding an incomplete front line, with significant gaps in the barbed wire and anti-tank minefields. Their weaknesses were compounded by heavy rains which had flooded the shallow trenches and gun pits, causing many field-telephone cables to fail and leading to a significant breakdown in communications.

Holding the right of the line, the 1/14th Punjabis at Changlun faced a significant tank attack by forces under Japanese Commander Takuro Matsui and Lieutenant-Colonel Saeki. The first two tanks were successfully dealt with by anti-tank guns, but the sheer weight of force resulted in a withdrawal to the south. Caught in the early hours of 11 December, Saeki's men conducted a flanking manoeuvre and cut off the battalion. Driving through once more with tanks, the defenders had little chance and were soon scattered. Amidst incessant rain just 270 men of the 1st Battalion, 14th Punjab Regiment, managed to make their way back to British lines (British Army in the Far East 1941-45, refers).

The son of Relu Ram and Sarswati, of Rajumal, Sialkot, Pakistan, Chain Singh is commemorated upon the Singapore Memorial; sold with copied research.


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Sold for
£45

Starting price
£20