December 1941, South Siam (Thailand)

On the morning of 9th December 1941, at Ronpibon, South Siam (now Thailand), a group of courageous, mainly British volunteers and Special Operation Executives, took part in an operation to sabotage Tin Mines and Railroads as the onslaught of the Japanese was imminent. This was just two days after their attack on Pearl Harbour. The exact details of their plan, codenamed "Operation Dickens", are still vague, but it resulted in the death of at least six men and others interned as Prisoners of War until their release in 1945. One report was given in September 1945 by SOE agent Robert Leslie Orton who was interned in Bangkok. He wrote that the situation at Ronpibon, South Siam, at 4 a.m. 9th Dec. 1941: All personnel engaged in above operation had been under guard by Siamese Police and home guard at Orton's bungalow, at Ronpibon. Six members of the party are now missing: Gordon, Regan, Wright, Bird, Billinghurst and Powell. Powell is said to have broke out to the north west through jungle. Rod Gordon reported executed by Japs at Yala. Several others thought to be killed in running fight at Tungsong, but no definite information from any source. This website is dedicated to these brave men and I hope to unravel as much as possible about this incident. It is a "work in progress", best viewed in Chrome or Edge. It may not display correctly in other browsers.

Killed

Captured

Other Casualties

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Acknowledgements

Killed

	Surname	First Names	Details
	Billinghurst	Charles William	Born:   About April 1913, Grangetown, Cardiff, Wales. Parents:   Ernest Walter and Eva BILLINGHURST, of Ely, Cardiff. Killed:   Between 10 Dec 1941 to 15 Feb 1942, Thailand. Aged 28. Memorial:   Kranji War Memorial, Singapore. CWGC:   Commonwealth War Graves Commission Military:   Federated Malay States Volunteer Force, 1st Perak battalion. Number - Rank:   Special Operations Executive. SOE Number - Codename:   0.2614 - "Quilp". Occupation at death:   Miner at Tronoh Tin Mines, Malaya
	Bird	William "Billo" Edward John	Born:   19 Feb 1911, Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales. Parents:   John and Elizabeth Sophia BIRD. Killed:   Between 10 Dec 1941 to 15 Feb 1942, Thailand. Aged 30. Memorial:   Kranji War Memorial, Singapore. CWGC:   Commonwealth War Graves Commission Military:   Royal Navy - Enlisted at Devonport, 19 Feb 1929 for 12 years. Due for Discharge:   18 Feb 1941. Number - Rank:   JX 129684 - Special Operations Executive SOE Number - Codename:   0.2615 - "Grimwig". Occupation at death:   Miner at Tronoh Tin Mines, Malaya
	Gordon	Roderick	Born:   16 Oct 1905, Otago, New Zealand. Parents:   John and Ruth GORDON of Manuherikia, Otago, New Zealand. Executed:   16 December 1941, Songkhla beach, Thailand. Aged 36. Memorial:   Kanchanaburi, Thailand. CWGC:   Commonwealth War Graves Commission Military:   British Special Forces. Number - Rank:   Captain SOE Number - Codename:   0.2602 - "Dombey". Occupation at death:   Miner at Anglo Oriental Tin Ltd., Ronpibon, Thailand.
	Laub	George Christians Haae	Born:   14 Sep 1886, Copenhagen, Denmark. Parents:   Soren Johan Hase and Angeliea Emilie LAUB. Killed:   18 Dec 1941, Kampsong Toh, Thailand. Memorial:   Kranji War Memorial, Singapore, Column 399. CWGC:   Commonwealth War Graves Commission Occupation:   Chemist, Owner of Rubber Factory Military:   Captain in Johore Volunteer Engineers. Military:   Special Operations Executive. SOE Number - Codename:   0.2704 - "Scott". Notes:   Missing in Siam (Thailand).
	Powell	George	Born:   12 Jul 1911, Battersea, London. Parents:   Lnc.Cpl. Charles Bellenden and Henrietta Olive POWELL. (both deceased). Wife:   Margaret Mary Ann nee NOLAN(divorce in process). Intended Wife:   Lavinia Florence Coates. Killed:   Between 10 Dec 1941 to 15 Feb 1942, Thailand. Aged 30. Memorial:   Kranji War Memorial, Singapore. CWGC:   Commonwealth War Graves Commission Military:   Royal Navy - Enlisted at Chatham, 12 Jul 1929 for 12 years. Due for Discharge:   11 Jul 1941. Number - Rank:   JX 128980 - Special Operations Executive. SOE Number - Codename:   0.2650 - "Conrad". Occupation at death:   Miner at Taiping Tin Mines, Malaya.
	Regan	Daniel Note: There is much confusion as it appears that two men named Regan were killed in Thailand in December 1941; Thomas and Daniel Regan. It also appears that Thomas and Daniel are the same person. I have listed them as two individuals until proven otherwise. Private Daniel Regan is named on the same panel as C.W. Billinghurst, at Singapore, but the memorials of Gordon, Regan and Wright are side by side, in Thailand. To add to the confusion, some of the letters from the Colonial Office to Thomas' mother refer to her son as Mr. D. Regan of Petaling Tin Ltd, Selangor. The letters appear to prove that he was from Sevenoaks, son of Thomas and Ethel, but the CWGC entry shows his mother as Mrs K. Regan, appearing to show his parents were Cornelius and Kate.	Born:   16 Jul 1911, Schull, County Cork, Ireland. Parents:   Cornelius and Kate REGAN. Killed:   Between 10 Dec 1941 to 15 Feb 1942, Thailand. Aged 30. Memorial (Capt. E.):   Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Memorial (Prvt Daniel.):   Kranji War Memorial, Singapore. CWGC:   Commonwealth War Graves Commission Military:   British Special Forces. Number - Rank:   Private or Captain - Special Operations Executive. SOE Number - Codename:   0.2609 - "Chuckster". Occupation at death:   Miner at Petaling Tin Ltd., Selangor, Malaya.
	Regan	Thomas a.k.a. Daniel	Born:   12 Aug 1910, Crockham Hill, Sevenoaks, Kent. Parents:   Thomas and Ethel Edith REGAN. Killed:   Between 10 Dec 1941 to 15 Feb 1942, Thailand. Aged 31. Memorial:   No records for Thomas Regan CWGC:   No records for Thomas Regan Military:   Royal Navy - Enlisted at Chatham, 12 Aug 1928 for 12 years. Due for Discharge:   11 Aug 1940. Number - Rank:   JX 125379 - Special Operations Executive. SOE Number - Codename:   0.2609 - "Chuckster". Occupation at death:   Miner at Petaling Tin Ltd., Selangor, Malaya.
	Thomas	Harding John	Born:   1902, Llandeilofawr, Carmarthenshire, Wales. Parents:   Thomas and Alice THOMAS. Killed:   December 1941, Thailand. Occupation:   Tin Mine Manager. Military:   Special Operations Executive. SOE Number - Codename:   0.2705 - "Durward". Notes:   Missing in South Siam. (See Note 8)
	Wright	Herbert Charles	Born:   10 Jan 1915, Edmonton, London. Parents:   Richard Thomas Herbert and Florence Louisa WRIGHT, of Portchester, Hampshire. Executed:   16 December 1941, Songkhla beach, Thailand. Aged 26. Memorial:   Kanchanaburi, Thailand. CWGC:   Commonwealth War Graves Commission Military:   British Special Forces Number - Rank:   Captain SOE Number - Codename:   0.2620 - "Brownlow". Occupation at death:   Miner at Malayan Tin Dredging Ltd.

Captured

	Surname	First Names	Details
	Belcher	Horace Reginald	Born:   About December 1909, Blaenavon, Monmouthshire, Wales. Mother:   Lily BELCHER. Wife:   Margaret Ellen nee Walpole Died:   About September 1964, Eton, Buckinghamshire. Occupation:   Tin Miner Military:   Number - Rank:   SOE Number - Codename:   0.2630 - "Scrooge". Captured:   December 1941, Thailand. P.o.W. Camps:   Bangkok, Thailand. Repatriated:   October 1945 Rangoon to Liverpool. Notes:
	Collins	Terence a.k.a. Terence Coyne	Born:   Died:   Occupation:   Military:   SOE Number - Codename:   0.2612 - "Doyle". Captured:   P.o.W. Camps:   Notes:   No info but included with the photos of Belcher, Bird, Powell, Regan, ES Wright and HC Wright. The dead have R.I.P. on reverse so it is assumed he survived.
	Gentry	A.A.	Born:   . Parents:   . Died:   . Occupation:   Military:   Special Operations Executive (Bangkok). SOE Number - Codename:   0.2000. Captured:   Dec 1941 - Feb 1942, Thailand. P.o.W. Camps:   Bangkok, Thailand. Notes:   .
	Hempson	R.D.	Born:   . Parents:   . Died:   . Occupation:   Military:   Special Operations Executive (Bangkok). SOE Number - Codename:   0.2006. Captured:   Dec 1941 - Feb 1942, Thailand. P.o.W. Camps:   Bangkok, Thailand. Notes:   .
	Omay	James Watson	Born:   15 Sep 1907, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia? Parents:   Ernest Watson and Irene Mary O'MAY. Wife:   Nizza Laura SARRELL OBE. Died:   30 Jan 1966, Karrakatta, Nedlands City, Western Australia. Occupation:   Manager of Huey Moot Tin Mine, Thailand Military:   Number - Rank:   Special Operations Executive SOE Number - Codename:   0.2610 - "Watson". Captured:   Between 13 Jan and 2nd Feb 1942 at Phuket Island, Thailand. P.o.W. Camps:   Tha Prikand, Bangkok, Thailand. Notes:   James returned to Australia and married Nizza in 1948. She was a sister of Richard Guy Sarrell, who was interned at Bangkok with James. Nizza was awarded an OBE in 1972 for services to the community. She was previously married to Wilfred E. Campion, son of Sir William R. Campion, Governor of Western Australia.
	Orton	Robert Leslie	Born:   17 Dec 1891, California Gully, Victoria, Australia. Parents:   James and May Fulton ORTON. Died:   21 Jun 1961, Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia. Occupation 1916:   Pottery worker Occupation 1941:   Tin Miner/Winchman, Nawng Pet Tin Ltd, Ronpibon, Thailand Military:   2nd Cyclist Corp., 8th Div. Enlisted 29 Nov 1916 at Bendigo. Number - Rank:   58426. Military:   7th battalion Number - Rank:   7986? - Private. Special Operations Executive Officer in Charge of "Operation Dickens" SOE Number - Codename:   0.2601 - "Rudge". Captured:   Between 13 Jan and 2nd Feb 1942 at Phuket Island, Thailand. P.o.W. Camps:   Tha Prikand, Bangkok, Thailand. Repatriated:   6 Oct 1945. Singapore to Sydney, Australia.
	Pattullo	A.C.	Born:   . Parents:   . Died:   . Occupation:   Tin Miner - Special Operations Executive. SOE Number - Codename:   0.2606 - "Weller". Captured:   Between December 1941 and February 1942. P.o.W. Camps:   Tha Prikand, Bangkok, Thailand. Notes:   .
	Peters	Edward Valentine	Born:   15 Nov 1890, Jubbulpore, India. Parents:   Col. Edward Nicholls and Elizabeth Ellen PETERS. Died:   3 Jul 1944, P.o.W. camp, Malaya. Cause of death:   Preliminary vaccination for sheep-pox (fever). Occupation:   1925 - Manager of Bundi Mines and Freda Tin Mines, Trengganu, Kedah, Siam Occupation:   1941 - Manager of Thailand Tin Mines, Kuala Lumpur, Malaya Military:   Special Operations Executive. SOE Number - Codename:   0.2703 - "Quentin". Captured:   Probably December 1941. Notes:   Edward was first reported to have been killed by the Japanese in December 1941, but a later report by the Colonial Office, dated 27 Apr 1945, states that he died in a civilian internment camp in Malaya.
	Pfordten	P.B.	Born:   . Parents:   . Died:   . Occupation:   Military:   Special Operations Executive (Bangkok). SOE Number - Codename:   0.2005. Captured:   Dec 1941 - Feb 1942, Thailand. P.o.W. Camps:   Bangkok, Thailand. Notes:   .
	Redford	A.R.	Born:   . Parents:   . Died:   . Occupation:   Tin Miner - Special Operations Executive. SOE Number - Codename:   0.2603 - "Peggotty". Captured:   Between December 1941 and February 1942. P.o.W. Camps:   Tha Prikand, Bangkok, Thailand. Notes:   .
	Sarrell	Richard Guy	Born:   24 Apr 1912, Perth, Western Australia? Parents:   William Francis and Grace Ermengarde SARRELL. Wife:   Enid Grindrod nee HUNTER. Died:   15 May 1951, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Occupation:   Mining engineer. Military:   Number - Rank:   Special Operations Executive SOE Number - Codename:   0.2611 - "Sherlock". Captured:   Between 13 Jan and 2nd Feb 1942 at Phuket Island, Thailand. P.o.W. Camps:   Tha Prikand, Bangkok, Thailand. Notes:   Richard married Enid in 1939 on the island of Penang, Malaya, where he was probably recruited and trained as an SOE agent. He was captured and interned with James Omay, who later married Richard's sister. In 1951, aged 39, Richard was killed in a mining accident, when a 10lb boulder fell into a mine shaft as he was ascending. It hit the roof of his lift, knocking it onto his helmet.
	Turner	R. Keith	Born:   Parents:   . Died:   . Occupation:   Mining engineer. Military:   Number - Rank:   Special Operations Executive SOE Number - Codename:   0.2604 - "Dorritt". Captured:   Between December 1941 and February 1942. P.o.W. Camps:   Tha Prikand, Bangkok, Thailand. Notes:   .
	Windred	George Loftus	Born:   21 Apr 1906, Balmain, Sydney, N.S.W., Australia Parents:   Augustus Loftus and Nellie Gertrude WINDRED. Wife:   Gwendoline Maude Graham. Died:   2 Apr 1964, Liphook, Hampshire, UK. Occupation:   Biologist, Scientist, Actor? Military Rank - Number:   Captain Inteligence Corps - 183201. Military:   Special Operations Executive SOE Number - Codename:   0.211 Captured:   12 Dec 1941, Bangkok. P.o.W. Camps:   Tha Prikand, Bangkok, Thailand. Notes:   .
	Wright	E.S.	Born:   Parents:   Died:   Occupation 1941:   Military:   Royal Corp Signals Number - Rank:   Sergeant - Special Operations Executive. SOE Number - Codename:   0.2605 - "Heep". Captured:   Between 13 Jan and 2nd Feb 1942 at Puket Island, Thailand. P.o.W. Camps:   Tha Prikand, Bangkok, Thailand. Repatriated:

Other S.O.E. Casualty Miners

	Surname	First Names	Details
	Brauchman	Emil Franz	Born:   . Parents:   . Died:   . Occupation:   Military:   Special Operations Executive. SOE Number - Codename:   0.2608 - "Twist". Notes:   Missing in Siam (Thailand).
	Bryce-Smith	R.B.	Born:   . Parents:   . Died:   . Occupation:   Military:   Special Operations Executive (Bangkok).SCS India SOE Number - Codename:   0.2009. Notes:   Escaped. Missing in Siam (Thailand).
	Butler-Jones	Frank	Born:   . Parents:   . Died:   . Occupation:   Military:   Special Operations Executive. SOE Number - Codename:   0.2700 - "Walter". Notes:   Missing in Siam (Thailand). (See Note 8)
	Byles	D.V.	Born:   . Parents:   . Died:   . Occupation:   Military:   Special Operations Executive (Bangkok). SOE Number - Codename:   0.2010. Notes:   Escaped. Missing in Siam (Thailand).
	Cumyn	A.L.	Born:   . Parents:   . Died:   . Occupation:   Military:   Special Operations Executive (Bangkok). SOE Number - Codename:   0.2001. Notes:   Missing in Siam (Thailand).
	Davy	E. Raymond	Born:   . Parents:   . Died:   . Occupation:   Military:   Special Operations Executive (Bangkok). SOE Number - Codename:   0.2004. Notes:   Missing in Siam (Thailand).
	Donnelly	T.J.B.	Born:   . Parents:   . Died:   . Occupation:   Military:   Special Operations Executive. SOE Number - Codename:   0.2701 - "Rob". Notes:   Missing in Siam (Thailand). (See Note 8)
	Matthews	J.V.	Born:   . Parents:   . Died:   . Occupation:   Military:   Special Operations Executive (Bangkok). SOE Number - Codename:   0.2011. Notes:   Missing in Siam (Thailand).
	Ravenwood	George Albert	Born:   . Parents:   . Died:   . Occupation:   Military:   Special Operations Executive. SOE Number - Codename:   0.2702 - "Roy". Notes:   Missing in Siam (Thailand).
	Richardson	W.A.	Born:   . Parents:   . Died:   . Occupation:   Military:   Special Operations Executive (Bangkok). SOE Number - Codename:   0.2005. Notes:   Missing in Siam (Thailand).
	Small	H.	Born:   . Parents:   . Died:   . Occupation:   Military:   Special Operations Executive (Bangkok). SOE Number - Codename:   0.2008. Notes:   Escaped (Lost sight of).

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