Arthur Edward Williams
Memorial: Thornbury - St Mary's Church
Regiment: Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Medals: 1939–45 Star, War Medal 1939–1945
Rank and number: Aircraftsman 2nd Class
Parents: Ruth and Alfred Williams
Marital status: Married
Home address: Home Address: 13 Castle Street, Thornbury, Bristol. Lived: Shortwood Road, Pucklechurch, Bristol
Date of birth: 23/04/1906
Date of death: 05/01/1945
Buried/Commemorated at: Buried at Labuan War Cemetery, Malaysia and commemorated on Thornbury War Memorial
Age: 38
Further information:
Arthur was the second youngest of 8 children with 3 sisters and 4 brothers. He attended Thornbury Council Upper School in 1913. Arthur married Freda Joyce Payne in 1940.
Arthur was captured at Tasikmalaya on Java on the 8th March 1942. He was transported to Sarawak, Borneo and first held prisoner at Jessleton POW camp a former gaol, from where, at the beginning of April, he and other POWs were sent to Sandakan to construct a military airstrip and prisoner-of-war camps. Prisoners were forced to work at gunpoint, and were often beaten whilst receiving very little food or medical attention. Arthur died at the beginning of January 1945 and was originally buried at No 1 cemetery Sandakan camp. That same month, other Sandakan prisoners were forced onto notorious death marches into the interior from which virtually no one survived.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/
Thornbury Roots - http://www.thornburyroots.co.uk/castle-street/13-castle-occ/#williams
https://www.cofepow.org.uk/armed-forces-stories-list/raf-in-se-asia