Leonard Clarence Smith

A Warrant Officer Class II with 4th Bn., Leonard died on 15th of February 1942 at the age of 35. 

Leonard was born at Barton Mills, Suffolk, in 1907, a son of Henry Arthur and Elizabeth Smith. In 1911 his family lived at Nene Parade, March. 

Leonard married Doris Amy Grimmer at Saint Peter's Church, Kirkley, on 18 January 1936. They lived at 27 Lovewell Road, Lowestoft.

In autumn 1939 the 4th Battalion Suffolk Regiment was on guard duty in the Lowestoft area and from July to September 1940 had various local deployments, including guarding Great Yarmouth. The Battalion then moved to Bedfordshire and then Scotland until April 1941. Next the Battalion moved to Bury, Lancashire, and Hereford, before embarking on the S.S. Andes at Liverpool and sailing for Halifax, Nov Scotia. The Battalion changed ship, to the American liner Wakefield, and sailed for Trinidad and then Cape Town, arriving on 9 December 1941. The Battalion was given three days shore leave.

The Battalion was part of 54 Brigade in the 18th (East Anglian) Division. 

With the Japanese entry into the war the Battalion was now allocated to the Far East and sailed for India, arriving on 5 January 1942. The Battalion had three weeks of training before embarking at Bombay and sailing for Singapore, arriving on 29 January 1942. The Battalion had orders to defend the Golf Course and then fell back to defend the perimeter before the Singapore garrison was forced to surrender on 15 February 1942. 

Ninety men of the Battalion were killed, or died of wounds, in the defence of Singapore and 865 were taken prisoner.      

Leonard was reported as missing on 15 February 1942 and later was presumed to have been killed in action between 11 and 15 February 1942 (date from British Army Casualty List 1832 dated 13 August 1945). Records show that Leonard was buried, by Reverend Cordingley, in the 'garden of a burnt out house - Mount Pleasant Road - map reference 830142 (as was Reginald Lord, also from Lowestoft). In June 1948 his body was exhumed and reburied at Kranji War Cemetery.