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Auction: 23113 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 512

Five: Lance Sergeant D. S. Yates, 122 Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, who was taken prisoner-of-war during the Fall of Singapore 1942 and went on to commit acts of sabotage whilst a imprisoned, as well as witnessing the shooting of three American escapers from Mukden Camp

1939-45 Star; Pacific Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Efficiency Medal, G.VI.R., Territorial (912750. Bdr. D. S. Yates. R.A.), overall very fine (4)

Daniel Stuart Yates was born on 20 September 1920, the son of Thomas and Lillian Yates of The Bank House, Kirkham, Preston. Serving with the 70th Field Battery, Royal Artillery (T.A.) from 1 May 1939 he was stationed at home for slightly over a year before joining 122 Field Regiment in Malaya on 3 January 1941 - this latter unit were part of the British garrison at Singapore which was overwhelmed by the advancing Japanese Army, surrendering on 15 February 1942.

Yates became a P.O.W. and was kept at first in the vicinity of Singapore before being sent to Jinsen Camp, Korea in September 1942. Whilst en-route the ship transporting the Prisoners stopped at Takao, Formosa, Tiawan and the British were used as labourers on Japanese naval craft. Yates describes what followed in his P.O.W. debrief, stating:

'Whilst employed at Takao, Formosa, whilst the ship was in port, British personnel employed moving diesel engines for naval craft. All small parts which were removable were removed & thrown away. This was only made possible by the lack of supervision of the Japanese guards.'

Arriving in Korea Yates was not there long, being transported to Mukden Camp, Manchuria on 9 November 1942. It was whilst here that he saw an escape attempt by three American marines end in disaster, his report stating:

'Three Americans escaped from Hoten [Mukden] Prisoner of War Camp in June 1943. They were recaptured after about ten days & were later shot. One of the personnel involved was Sgt Chastain - U.S. Marines'

This was the attempt of Sergeant Joseph B. Chastain, Corporal Victor Paliotti and Seaman First Class Ferdinand Meringolo to escape capture. There story was recently told in an article on the website of the U.S. Naval Institute, which further describes the terrible conditions of Mukden camp:

'Living conditions for the POWs at Mukden were not much better than on board the hell ship. Starvation and death from diseases such as beriberi, malaria, and dysentery were constant threats, as were beatings from the guards. There was never enough food to assuage the prisoners’ hunger (to supplement their meager [SIC] rations, the POWs would catch and eat wild dogs that roamed the camp at night), hardly any medicine to cure their illnesses, never enough clothing and heating to resist the cold, and never enough news from the outside to console their homesickness.'

Yates certainly saw a good deal of this hardship, as he helped to identify the grave of another Royal Artilleryman who died in captivity - Lance-Bombardier Scholl, also served in the 122 Field Regiment and is buried in the Mukden Camp graveyard. Yates himself survived those brutal conditions and was released into Allied hands on 11 September 1945. He died in Rushcliffe in 1980 whilst still only 59; sold together with copied P.O.W. list, grave identification list, P.O.W. card and prisoner's debrief form as well as a Royal Artillery tracer card and death registry entry.

The story of Sergeant Chastain's escape attempt can be found Here:

https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2007/february/unraveling-fate-three-pows

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Sold for
£230

Starting price
£100