William Wadsley

KANCHANABURI WAR CEMETERY 8. G. 11.

In July 1943, the 3rd Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) Regiment, Royal Artillery no longer existed as an active combat unit on the front lines. The entire regiment had been captured at the Fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942.Throughout July 1943, the surviving officers and men were held as Far East Prisoners of War (FEPOWs) under brutal Japanese captivity. During this specific month, hundreds of men from the regiment were scattered across disease-ridden camps, enduring forced labour under horrific conditions on the Burma-Siam Death Railway.

The Regiment's Status: July 1943

The "Hugonin" Party: In the months leading up to July 1943, a major contingent of roughly 700 men from the regiment—commanded by their own Lieutenant Colonel Hugonin—was moved by the Japanese from camps in Saigon and Singapore up to the dense jungles of Thailand.The Death Railway Work: By July 1943, these gunners were deeply embedded in the most brutal construction phase of the railway line. They faced near-total starvation, systemic physical beatings, and rampant tropical outbreaks like cholera and dysentery.Mass Casualties: July and August 1943 marked the peak mortality period for the regiment due to the combination of the monsoon rains, starvation diets, and a cholera epidemic ripping through the jungle camps. William Wadsley died during this period.

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