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Major MICHAEL DELMÉ-RADCLIFFE
Royal Engineers

by
Lieutenant Colonel Edward De Santis
© 2001. All Rights Reserved.

1. INTRODUCTION

As I get older and continue my research into the lives of soldiers long departed from this earth, I feel ever more saddened by the thought that so many of these men died in the prime of their lives. The story of Michael Delmé-Radcliffe is a particularly sad one because of the circumstances of his death after suffering the horrors of the Japanese prisoner of war camps following the fall of Singapore. Michael Delmé-Radcliffe took his own life at the age of 33, after his release by the Japanese. One can only imagine what nightmares he must have suffered even after his return to England. During my research I was not able to uncover specifically what he might have suffered at the hands of his captors. Perhaps it is just as well that I did not, for knowing might have only deepened the sadness I feel about the premature death of a brave man by his own hand.

I was fortunate enough to be able to obtain some information about the personality of Michael Delmé-Radcliffe from fellow officers who knew and served with him. This information was provided to me by Lieutenant Colonel D.L. Jones, the Hon. Secretary of the Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners Officers’ Association [1]. This information was in the form of the recollections of Kenneth Butters who was a 2^nd Lieutenant serving under Delmé-Radcliffe in Malaya. Butters remembers Delmé-Radcliffe as a very quiet, reserved man, a religious introvert, and in his judgement rather ineffectual as a leader.

Delmé-Radcliffe was a member of the Oxford Group, known nowadays as Moral Rearmament or MRA. MRA grew out of the Oxford Group, which started among Oxford University students in the late 1920s. In 1938, as nations re-armed for war, its originator, Frank Buchman called for a 'moral and spiritual rearmament' to work towards a 'hate-free, fear-free, greed-free world'. At the end of the War, under the name Moral Re-Armament (MRA), a program of moral and spiritual reconstruction helped to reconcile former enemies, such as France and Germany [2]. With these lofty goals in mind, it is not difficult to see that military life might not have suited Delmé-Radcliffe well at all. Becoming a prisoner of the Japanese may have really stretched his believe in a ‘hate-free, fear-free’ world. His introverted personality and the realization that the world was far from being what the Oxford Group hoped it would be, may have been the catalyst for his decision to take his own life after the war.

2. EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY INFORMATION

Michael’s father, Arthur Henry Delmé-Radcliffe, was born at South Tidworth [3] in Hampshire on the 23^rd of November 1870. He was educated at Timsbury House School [4], at Sherborne School [5] and at Oxford University. While at Oxford, Arthur played cricket in the Freshman’s match, but not in any of the first class games during his time in school. Upon graduation from Oxford, Arthur became a Schoolmaster.

Arthur began playing County cricket for Hampshire in 1889, during a period when Hampshire was not considered first class. From 1896 to 1900 he played on the Hampshire team in 7 matches and in 1897 he even played for Berkshire. Arthur Henry Delmé-Radcliffe was a middle order right hand batsman and a right arm slow bowler [6].

Michael was born at Eversley in the Registration District of Hartley Wintney, in the County of Southampton on the 21^st of March 1912. His birth was registered at Hartley Wintney by A. Bashford, Deputy Registrar, on the 26^th of March 1912 [7]. Michael’s birthplace is located approximately 11 miles east northeast of Basingstoke and 7.5 miles northwest of Aldershot in the present-day County of Hampshire.

Michael was the second son of Arthur Henry and Frances Elsie (nee Wright-Anderson) Delmé-Radcliffe. He had an older brother, Peter, who was born on the 9^th of February 1909 [8]. He also had a sister, Elizabeth, whose date of birth is unknown [9].

Michael entered Charterhouse public school in Godalming, Surrey in the Oration Quarter of 1925 and was elected a Junior Scholar [10]. At the time of his entry into Charterhouse, his parents were living in Branksome Park, Dorsetshire. In 1927 Michael was selected for a Senior Scholarship amounting to £96-10s. He left Charterhouse after the Summer Quarter of 1929 and entered the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich.

Peter Delmé-Radcliffe had also attended Charterhouse, entering the school in the Oration Quarter of 1922 [11]. He too had been elected a Junior Scholar and was selected for a Senior Scholarship in 1924. Peter left Charterhouse after the Summer Quarter of 1927 and attended Christ Church College of Oxford University. He received both a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts degree and left Oxford in 1930. Like his father, he became a Schoolmaster. At some later point in his life Peter, a very reserved man, decided to give up teaching and became a farmer [12].

While Michael was serving in World War 2, his brother Peter married Alathea Rachel Constance Talbot-Ponsonby on the 20^th of March 1944. Miss Talbot-Ponsonby was the daughter of Arthur Hugh Brabazon Talbot-Ponsonby, formerly a Major in a Territorial Force battalion of the Hampshire Regiment, and Alianore Rachel Talbot-Ponsonby (nee Howard). This was the second marriage for Miss Talbot-Ponsonby. She had previously wed Major Guy Richard Tufnell Gillett of the Royal Artillery on the 15^th of June 1935. Major Gillett died on the 29^th of November 1942 at age 31. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records indicate that Major Gillett is buried at Catterick Military Cemetery in Yorkshire. It is not known whether he was a war casualty or if he died of disease or the result of an accident.

Prior to Peter’s marriage to Alathea, there was a connection between the Delmé-Radcliffes and the Talbot-Ponsonbys. Major Arthur Hugh Brabazon Talbot-Ponsonby, Alathea’s father, was the son of Lieutenant Charles William Talbot-Ponsonby, R.N and Constance Louisa (nee Delmé-Radcliffe) Talbot-Ponsonby. Constance Louisa’s father was one F.P. Delmé-Radcliffe; hence, Peter Delmé-Radcliffe married a woman whose great-great grandfather was a Delmé-Radcliffe. It has not been determined whether these Delmé-Radcliffes were from the same branch of the family as Peter; however, since the name Delmé-Radcliffe is not a common one, it seems likely that Peter and Constance Louisa were distantly related through some common relative.

3. MILITARY SERVICE

a. Military Training and Education (1932-1934)

Michael Delmé-Radcliffe completed his studies at the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich and was commissioned a 2^nd Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on the 28^th of January 1932. He was assigned Army Number 50840 [13].

Following his commissioning he was posted to the School of Military Engineering at Chatham, Kent where he attended the Young Officers’ Course between January and July of 1932. On the 10^th of October 1932, he entered Cambridge University where he completed the requirements for a Bachelor of Arts Degree with honours in Mechanical Sciences Tripos. At this time, Royal Engineer officers completed the Mechanical Sciences Tripos course in two years instead of the normal three, as the time spent at the Royal Military Academy apparently counted to satisfy their studies requirements. Following his graduation from Cambridge in July 1934 he attended a short equitation course with the 1^st Field Squadron Royal Engineers at Aldershot, which he completed in August [14].

Michael had a will prepared on the 9^th of January 1934 while he was living at The White Cottage, 9 Burton Road, Branksome Park, Bournemouth West, Dorsetshire. His brother Peter was appointed the Sole Executor of his will with the estate to be shared equally by his brother and his sister Elizabeth in the event of his death. The will stipulated that if only one sibling survived him, then the whole of the estate was to go to the survivor [15].

2^nd Lieutenant Delmé-Radcliffe, along with other Young Officers was on the "Held Strength" of the School of Military Engineering at Chatham during the Young Officers course and the Cambridge course. His assignment to the School of Military Engineering lasted until late 1934 when he was posted to India [16]. His actual movement to India probably took place after October or November, as the trooping season was normally during the "cold season" of October to March.

b. Service in India (1935-1940)

At the start of 1935, Delmé-Radcliffe was serving in the Training Battalion of Queen Victoria’s Own (Q.V.O.) Sappers and Miners at Bangalore. It is likely that as a new British officer assigned to an Indian Corps, he would have undergone some "hands on" training in his new unit, with much of that coming from the Viceroy Commissioned Officers [17]. He may also have had some formal language training in Urdu, the lingua franca of the Indian Army at that time.

On the 28^th of January 1935 he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. He continued to serve with the Training Battalion at least through April of 1935. By July of that year he was serving with No. 14 (Field) Company, Q.V.O. Sappers and Miners, and by October he was with No. 44 Divisional Headquarters Company, Q.V.O. Sappers and Miners. Both of these companies also were stationed at Bangalore [18].

Shortly after Delmé-Radcliffe’s assignment to No. 44 Divisional Headquarters Company, the unit was posted to Quetta. Quetta had become an additional out-station for the Madras Sappers and Miners in Baluchistan [19]. Delmé-Radcliffe’s company was sent there to relieve No. 11 Army Troops Company, Q.V.O. Sappers and Miners, which had been serving there since 1933. No. 44 Divisional Headquarters Company served at Quetta until April of 1937 when it returned to Bangalore.

The year 1938 found Lieutenant Delmé-Radcliffe still serving in India, although the 1938 Army List shows that on the 5^th of August of that year he was on the half-pay list. It is likely that he was in hospital for some time, followed by convalescent leave during this period. He was therefore away from the Q.V.O. Sappers and Miners for more than the normal period allowed without penalty.

Delmé-Radcliffe returned to full pay status on the 16^th of November 1938 and appears to have been assigned to the 19^th Field Company of the Bombay Sappers and Miners at that time [20]. The 19^th Field Company was then serving with the Wana Brigade, at Wana in the Waziristan District [21]. His service with the 19^th Field Company at this time would have earned him the India General Service Medal, 1936-1939 [22]. This medal with the clasp [NORTH WEST FRONTIER 1937-39] was sanctioned by Army Order 217 of 1940 to be awarded for operations in Waziristan between midnight 15^th/16^th December 1937 and midnight 31^st of December 1939/1^st January 1940. The operations in which Lieutenant Delmé-Radcliffe and the 19^th Company participated were conducted by General Sir John F.S.D. Coleridge, K.C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., A.D.C., who was the General Officer Commander in Chief of the Northern Command (India). The two divisions employed in the operations were commanded by Major General E. de Burgh, C.B., D.S.O., O.B.E. and Major General A.F. Hartley, C.B., D.S.O. [23]

The 19^th Company, Bombay Sappers and Miners under the command of Captain A.R.S. Lucas, R.E. had been employed in Waziristan since July of 1937. The unit was called upon to perform many tasks including repair of bridges and culverts, the construction of blockhouses, water supply for camps, and the construction of ice factories to provide ice for cold storage of meat, and for use in hospitals. Apparently ice was also supplied to units using armoured cars and tanks, perhaps to cool them down inside during days of extremely hot weather. The company operated with columns on the march and demolished towers, made tracks, and built piquet posts covered with wire screens as protection against bombs [24].

Service in the Wana area where the 19^th Company was operating was quite dangerous during this period. On the 9^th of April 1937, a convoy was ambushed by Wazir tribesmen and seven British officers lost their lives. Among these was Lieutenant E.C.L. Hinde, R.E., who was on his way to rejoin the 19^th Company at Wana.

During most of 1938 things were relatively quiet for the 19^th Company as it continued to work on what was known as the New Wana Project and on the improvement of accommodation at Razmak. The threat of Nazi Germany was spreading over Europe, and the atmosphere in India at that time was that of a calm before the storm. Lieutenant Delmé-Radcliffe joined the 19^th Company as 1938 was nearing its end.

The fateful year of 1939 opened with the New Wana Project construction progressing steadily. The 19^th Company was relieved by the 17^th Company in March of 1939. When war was declared on the 2^nd of September 1939, all leaves were cancelled and all ranks in units throughout India were recalled from leave. Everyone likely to be mobilized was medically examined. Every Sapper and Miner headquarters became the scene of rapid mobilization [25]. The 19^th Field Company, then in the Wana Brigade, was destined to be assigned to 9 Indian Division for service in Malaya.

Soon after the start of World War 2, Lieutenant Delmé-Radcliffe was appointed to the rank of Acting Captain while he was still serving in India. The appointment was effective on the 4^th of October 1939. This appointment was followed on the 4^th of January 1940 by promotion to the rank of Temporary Captain, quickly followed by selection for promotion to the substantive or permanent rank of Captain on the 28^th of January 1940. His promotion to the substantive rank became effective on the 10^th of May 1940. Delmé-Radcliffe became Second in Command of the 19^th Field Company shortly before the unit deployed to Malaya. Also serving in the company at the time was 2^nd Lieutenant Kenneth Butters who commanded the Mahratta section [26] of the company. Butters joined the 19^th Field Company in Bareilly in the United Provinces [27].

c. Service in Malaya (1940-1942)

Following the fall of France in June of 1940, the Malaya Command started building up reinforcements. This action was necessitated by the fact that the new Vichy Government in France was allowing Japan to occupy the northern portion of French Indo-China, and the vulnerability of Malaya to Japanese attack was radically altered. By September of 1940 Delmé-Radcliffe, by then an Acting or Temporary Major was in command of the 19^th Field Company, Bombay Sappers and Miners in Northern Malaya [28]. Captain Roger Kerr-Gibson was his Second-in-Command [29].

On the 8^th of December 1941, when the Japanese invaded, the Malaya Command Engineer Order of Battle was as follows [30]:

A portion of the Japanese invasion force landed at Kota Bharu in the Kelantan State of Northern Malaya in the sector for which Major Delmé-Radcliffe and his company were responsible. The company was in support of the 8^th Indian Brigade under Brigadier Key and was responsible for the preparation of defensive positions that were occupied by the 3^rd Battalion, 17^th Dogra Regiment. One section of the company under 2^nd Lieutenant Ken Butters also worked on the preparation and practice of bridge demolitions, in particular, along the East Coast Railway from the Thai border to the north of Kota Bharu. The other two sections of the company worked on completing the coastal defences and preparing the demolition of road bridges.

The initial Japanese assault force landed at 0025 hours on the 8^th of December 1941. Brigadier Key’s 8^th Indian Brigade fought valiantly behind its heavily mined and wired defences, inflicting heavy casualties on the Japanese forces. The Dogras opposed the Japanese landings with supreme bravery and discipline. Pillboxes were taken and retaken, but the Japanese held tenaciously to their beachhead. By 0400 hours the Japanese managed to secure two strong points on the Khota Bharu beaches [33]. On the following day the British forces were pushed back from the beaches and the Khota Bharu aerodrome and the long defensive action back to Singapore was begun [34]. At this point, the evacuation of the State of Kelantan was started.

On the 16^th of December 1941 the withdrawal out of Kelantan State was ordered due to the increasing buildup and pressure being exerted by the Japanese invasion force. The danger of the 8^th Brigade being cut off from the railway, their only means of retreat through the thick jungle, necessitated this withdrawal and prevented the loss of the entire defensive force in the area. The precarious line of communication in the form of a single line railway into Central Malaya dictated this decision, and the withdrawal was completed by the 22^nd of December. The Dogra troops at first refused to retreat from their regained positions until the acting battalion commander went personally to each pillbox and ordered the retreat. Successful attacks against the Japanese had to be called off to the astonishment of some of the Indian troops who could not understand the need to vacate Kelantan. A Sikh unit made a particularly vicious bayonet attack against the Japanese. Officers and sepoys showed nothing but discipline and devotion to duty during the battle. So bloody was the conflict in fact, that the Japanese suffered 3,000 Japanese casualties amongst who were 800 dead [35].

2^nd Lieutenant Butters and his section of Mahrattas were left behind in Kuala Kerai with MACFORCE consisting of a battalion of the Malay Regiment. Butters and his men joined MACFORCE on the 19^th of December to act as the rearguard during the retreat from Kuala Kerai. Butters himself was one of the last to leave Kuala Kerai after igniting time fuse to detonate the explosive charges that his section had previously set. During the whole time that Butter was involved in this rearguard action, he saw only one British airplane after the first day’s fighting. The Japanese airplanes on the other hand were frequently around attacking the railway and British troops.

While Butters was attempting to delay the Japanese advance with damp gun cotton explosives dating back to 1921, the remaining troops of 9 Indian Division, including the remaining sections of Major Delmé-Radcliffe’s company, carried out considerable demolition work in the face of the advancing Japanese troops, including the disruption of Guillemard bridge – the longest railway bridge in Malaya. During the withdrawal the railway line of communication was most effectively neutralized as an axis for further Japanese advance.

Delmé-Radcliffe’s company withdrew down the east coast of Malaya and were in southern Trengganu State by the 26^th of December 1941. During the night of the 31^st of December/1^st of January 1942 the sappers destroyed the ferry west of Kuantan on the Jerantut road. They then deployed in close defence of the Kuantan airfield [36].

They unit was forced to withdraw further south on the 3^rd of January 1942 and moved to the River Pahang on the east coast. 2^nd Lieutenant Butter’s section rejoined the company at Jerantut on the 7^th of January, having escaped an attempt by the Japanese to cut him off from the main body of the British force. On the 8^th of January General Wavell declared that 3 Indian Corps was no longer fit for active operations and the Corps was ordered to withdraw to Johore, the Malay state just north of Singapore [37].

Delmé-Radcliffe and his men reached Endau on the 14^th of January. The remainder of 9 Indian Division was now assigned to a newly formed organization known as Westforce, whose mission was to deny the Muar-Segamet line to the Japanese. Units of 9 Indian Division were employed in support of 8 Australian Division along the trunk road near Gemas [38].

The withdrawal south continued under relentless Japanese pressure. Rumours of a great defensive line having been constructed by civilians across Johore near Segamat proved false. Consequently, the pattern of resisting the enemy only to be outflanked continued until the retreating British troops reached Singapore. As the men of the 19^th Company approached Singapore, to their astonishment they saw that there were no prepared defenses on the north shore facing Johore.

Delmé-Radcliffe’s company reached Mersing on the 21^st of January and Jemuluang on the 27^th. By the 30^th of January, 8 Indian Brigade was withdrawing down the railway corridor above Johore Bahru and on the following day the brigade crossed the causeway into Singapore. Once in Singapore, 9 Indian Division was broken up and its units assigned to 11 Indian Division. Units of 3 Indian Corps were placed in defence of the northern area of Singapore from, but not including Changi on the extreme east of the island, to but not including the causeway crossing from Johore to Singapore [39]. Hurried defences were prepared by all and Delmé-Radcliffe gave 2^nd Lieutenant Butters and his Mahrattas the hopeless task of demolishing as much of the Naval Base as possible.

After two weeks of hard fighting, the Japanese captured Singapore. Major Delmé-Radcliffe was taken as a prisoner of war on the 15^th of February 1942. While many of the British engineer officers, non-commissioned officers and men were sent to Japan after their capture, Michael Delmé-Radcliffe apparently was not one of them [40]. He spent the remainder of the war in an unknown prisoner of war camp.

D.H. Andreae was a 19-year old 2^nd Lieutenant in 42 Field Park Company, Bombay Sappers and Miners during the long fight and withdrawal down the Malayan peninsula. Andreae remembers that initially the Japanese wanted to send all the generals and the Sapper officers to Japan rather than have them work on the Burma railway, although this did not apply to all Sapper officers. 2^nd Lieutenant Andreae was one of those officers who did go to Japan. While he did not know Delmé-Radcliffe personally, he was almost certain that he was not sent to Japan [41].

d. Life as a Prisoner of War (1942-1945)

Initially, the British prisoners of war were marched off to Changi where the jail and big groups of Army barracks were located. The Japanese separated the British officers from the Indian officers and men for reasons of indoctrination [42]. Kenneth Butters relates that he was certain the Delmé-Radcliffe went with him into captivity in Changi. They were housed for the first six months in the Royal Artillery Mess in Changi Military Zone.

The military prisoners had been marched the 14 miles to Changi in long columns headed by at least four files of brigadiers and colonels. The housing shortage at Changi was acute, but the food shortage was worse. The prisoners went hungry and had to manage as best they could until the Japanese issued them sacks of rice during the first week of captivity.

At Changi the men were crowded to the extent of 200 to a space meant to house only 20 people under ordinary conditions. It was assumed that the accommodation would be temporary. The prisoners were soon organized into work parties, some of which, for the sake of convenience and not comfort, were moved into quarters nearer their place of work. All sorts of accommodation were utilized including schools, empty buildings of all kinds, tented camps on cricket fields, and thatched huts constructed by the prisoners [43].

Soon after their arrival in Changi, the officers of the 19^th Field Company began to compile a diary of the events from the time of the Japanese invasion until their capture. This diary had to be produced from memory, as the original unit war diary had been lost at the time of their surrender. Most of the writing was done by Major Delmé-Radcliffe [44]. Lieutenant Butters concealed this pencil-written diary in his valise where he found it several months after he arrived home following the end of the war [45].

Whether Michael Delmé-Radcliffe remained in Singapore or was sent to work on the infamous Siam – Burma Railway made famous by the movie The Bridge Over the River Kwai, is not known for certain. Kenneth Butters lost track of Delmé-Radcliffe while they were in captivity because Butters spent six months in hospital suffering from beri-beri, malaria, dysentery and severe tropical ulcers. Following his stay in hospital, Butters spent five months convalescing.

When he was well enough, Butters was shipped to Japan and then to Mukden in Manchuria by way of Taiwan in a ship filled with of dysentery-sick people [46]. After about 12 months in southern Taiwan, he and the other officers with him (among them a number of Sapper officers) were moved to Shirakawa where conditions improved for the prisoners. In early in 1945 they moved to a camp in Meata, Japan and after two months were moved again to Korea. The prisoners’ journey finally ended at Mukden, Manchuria. Conditions had been bad during their journeys and the men suffered from intense cold and no heated accommodation. Additionally, 50 men were killed by American bombing raids. Once they were established at Mukden, they experienced a period of relative comfort, although they were still very hungry from lack of adequate rations. Butters believes that Delmé-Radcliffe was with him during part of this journey, at least until they got to Taiwan. If his memory serves him correctly and this was the case, then Delmé-Radcliffe did not work on the notorious railway. For those who did work on the railway life was much more difficult.

Squalid and disease-ridden as Changi and other prison camps might have been, the men who were sent to camps to work on this railway suffered a much worse fate. The causes of death and sickness in the camps along the route of the railway were starvation, climate, hardship, accidents, occasionally personal violence, neglect, poor physique, despair, neurosis and disease. The diseases included malaria in all its forms, recurrent fevers, dysentery, cholera, scurvy, pellagra, beri-beri, sleeping sickness, hookworm, ringworm, jungle ulcers and abscesses and general toxemia. The fatal casualties of all troops in captivity totaled about more than a third. Nearly every prisoner had some sickness, many had several diseases, and because of their poor diet every man lost weight, and consequently resistance to disease, to an alarming degree. They were always crowded together, so that contagion was inescapable. Washing was difficult, as water was in short supply. In some areas bathing in nearby rivers was allowed only rarely. Dirt encouraged swarms of flies as it was hard to keep eating utensils clean and in the damp heat of the jungle remnants of previous meals quickly went bad. The prisoners became vermin-ridden. The river water held the fearful risk of cholera unless it was boiled. Resistance was low so that the will to live was low too. Sick prisoners often preferred to lie down and die, for death for some was so much easier than going on under such conditions.

These or similar conditions are what Michael Delmé-Radcliffe might have had to endure and endure them he did until the Japanese surrender and the liberation of the prisoner of war camps by the Allies [47]. Neurosis and despair while a prisoner may have been at the root of his suffering as will be seen after his return home. The author has a portrait sketch of Michael Delmé-Radcliffe made by a Chaplain on the 5^th of February 1945 while they were still in captivity. The sketch shows him as a thin-faced, gaunt looking man with drooping eyelids. The Chaplain’s caption on the sketch reads: "Delmé-Radcliffe – a manic depressive." This was rather a prescient remark by the Padre [48].

e. Return to India (1945)

After his release from captivity, Major Delmé-Radcliffe returned to India via Manila. Delmé-Radcliffe met up with Ken Butters again in the Officers’ Mess in Manila before Butters embarked on the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious bound for Vancouver, British Columbia. Butters was certain that Delmé-Radcliffe returned to India from Manila.

Brigadier C.H. Cowan, CBE was the Staff Major at the Headquarters and Depot of the Bombay Sappers and Miners in Kirkee when the majority of the released prisoners of war arrived there in preparation for their trip home to the United Kingdom. In an interview in April 2000, Brigadier Cowan remembered Delmé-Radcliffe’s arrival at Kirkee. He recalled that he appeared to be in surprisingly good shape both physically and mentally [49]. Unfortunately, this observation was to prove to be deceptive, especially with regard to Delmé-Radcliffe’s mental condition.

f. Return Home (1945)

Following some time for rehabilitation in India, Michael Delmé-Radcliffe was sent home, arriving in England on the 20^th of November 1945. He returned to his pre-war home at The White Cottage, 9 Burton Road, Branksome Park in Bournemouth. Almost immediately upon his return to England, things began to go badly for Michael. The following newspaper article tells of the sad events that ensued [50]:

BRANKSOME PARK MAJOR
TAKES HIS LIFE

After Three Years In Jap Hands

"The tragedy of an Army officer whose mental outlook, as the Poole Coroner put it, had been altered by his experiences after three and a half years as prisoner of war in Japanese hands, was revealed at a local inquest on Tuesday.

It related to the death on Monday of Major Michael Delmé-Radcliffe, aged 33, whose home was at 9, Burton Road, Branksome Park.

His father, Mr. Arthur Henry Delmé-Radcliffe, told how his son returned to this country on November 20 from a Japanese P.O.W. camp. He seemed quite normal until he went out about 5 p.m. two days later. At 12.30 (the) witness was informed that his son was at the police station, having been seen acting strangely by a railway porter. Later he was seen by a doctor who prescribed rest and quiet. On Monday (the) witness found his son lying dead in his bedroom.

Captain C.H. Devereaux, R.A.M.C., said that two days previous to this he saw Major Delmé-Radcliffe and found him to be suffering from neurosis. On Monday (the) witness was called to 9, Burton Road and found that he had died from a self-inflicted throat wound.

P.C. Arnold deposed to finding a blood-stained razor blade on the dressing table. The Coroner, Mr. J.W. Miller, recorded a verdict that deceased took his life whilst the balance of his mind was disturbed."

Michael Delmé-Radcliffe’s death certificate, issued on the 28^th of November, indicated that the cause of death was suicide resulting form "Hemorrhage from wound of throat involving jugular vein. Self-inflicted while balance of mind temporarily disturbed." His death was registered at Poole in the County of Dorset by S.M. Woodford, Registrar. Michael was buried at Bournemouth East Cemetery, Hampshire, Plot X, Row 1, Grave 197.

With regard to Michael Delmé-Radcliffe’s death, psychiatrists would opine that every suicide is both tragic and unique. Also, in general suicides are rare events, not lending themselves to statistical/epidemiological treatment. What would be needed to even begin to understand Michael’s death is in effect a psychological autopsy.

A guess about Michael’s death, made by an Army psychiatrist at the author’s request, is that he had sustained himself through the three and a half years in the prisoner of war camp with a vision of what it would be like to return home. That vision was shattered when he arrived by the actual circumstances he encountered when he did return home. Alternatively, perhaps he had done things to survive in the camp which, when reexamined in the light of the home environment brought his intense shame. If this were the case, then Michael Delmé-Radcliffe was certainly much too hard on himself if his suicide was in any caused by any feelings of shame for being captured or for the way he behaved while a prisoner. Kate Caffrey put it very well in her book Out in the Midday Sun when she wrote the following:

"Courage in battle (which may be the courage of the fool who does not see the risk or the higher kind that shrinks from the terror and still goes ahead) is, rightly, recognized and awarded with decorations. But there is a higher kind still – that of solid endurance, when there is no way of knowing how long one must go on, when there is no sign of light at the end of the tunnel, and always the inner fear that one is forgotten. Sometimes ex-prisoners have felt almost ashamed to admit that they were in captivity, not realising that as prisoners who managed to survive they can justly be regarded as being in a special category of bravery. News, action, hope, company and the cheers of the multitude reinforce the soldier in battle; no such comfort is available to the soldier in enemy hands, whose daily companions are silence and despair."

In Michael Delmé-Radcliffe’s case, something clearly happened on the way home or upon his return home to disturb him to point of seeing suicide as the only answer to his problem. If that something had been noticed by his mates at Kirkee, or by his family, or by the Royal Army Medical Corps doctor who examined him in England, perhaps Michael would have had a long and happy life after some psychiatric treatment. If that something could be uncovered, the mystery of his unfortunate death would be solved. Unfortunately, we will never know [51].

4. EPILOGUE

Michael Delmé-Radcliffe was awarded the 1939-45 Star, the Pacific Star, Defence Medal and War Medal for his service in World War 2 [52]. The medals along with a condolence slip from the Under-Secretary of State for War were forwarded to his brother Peter at Peak Farm [53] in West Meon, Petersfield, Hampshire, a town located about 15.5 miles north of Portsmouth and 15 miles northeast of Southampton. Peter was farming the land at West Meon at the time [54].

Michael’s will was probated in London on the 24^th of September 1946. All of his estate, valued at £11,972-5s-6d went to his brother at Peak Farm. Peter, as Executor of Michael’s estate, would have shared it with his sister Elizabeth if she were still living.

Arthur Henry Delmé-Radcliffe died at Branksome Park on the 30^th of June 1950 at the age of 80 [55]. One can only imagine the grief experienced by him at having to bury his son after waiting all those years to hear if he had survived the Japanese prisoner of war camps. Worse still, it is difficult to imagine Arthur’s horror when he found his youngest son’s body and realized the how he had died.

Peter Delmé-Radcliffe worked the farm at West Meon until September of 1952 when he relinquished the tenancy of Peak Farm to Mr. George W. Atkinson. Peter went to Pensholt Farm at West Tisted in Hampshire [56].

Peter Delmé-Radcliffe died on the 25^th of December 1998 at the age of 89 years. His residence at the time of his death was Featherton House, Chapel Square, Deddington, Oxfordshire. Peter’s will was probated on the 18^th of November 1999 with probate granted to Mr. Nigel John Yeadon and Mr. Anthony Scott Andrews of Banbury, Oxfordshire.

5. OTHER DELMÉ-RADCLIFFES

During the course of this research, many other Delmé-Radcliffe s were uncovered whose relationship to Michael Delmé-Radcliffe could not be determined. The names of these other individuals are presented below with the hope that anyone seeing them might be able to make some connection to Michael’s family.

1. Brigadier General Sir Charles Delmé-Radcliffe, KCMG, CB, CVO, psc; Commander of the Order of St. Maurice and St. Lazarus (Italy); Grand Officer of the Crown of Italy [57]. Born 1864, the only child of Sir Frederick Treves Delmé-Radcliffe [58]. Died 1938. Sir Charles was the author of an article in the Journal of the United Services Institute for 1907 entitled "The Swiss Military System." He was a First Class Interpreter in French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Hungarian.
   
2. Ralph (born 1877), son of the Reverend Arthur Delmé-Radcliffe [59].
   
3. Lieutenant Colonel E. Delmé-Radcliffe. Author of "Notes of the Falconidae Used in India in Falconry, 1860? [60].
   
4. Captain Arthur Delmé-Radcliffe, Double Company Officer, 105^th Mahratta Light Infantry, (Poona) c. 1912 [61]. Awarded the Distinguished Service Order, London Gazette, 12 December 1919. Born 16 June 1879; 2^nd Lieutenant, South Lancashire Regiment, 3 August 1898; Lieutenant, 25 May 1900; Lieutenant, Indian Army, 8 August 1900; Captain, 3 August 1907; Major, 1 September 1915; Lieutenant Colonel, March 1919; Retired, 31 January 1921; Mentioned in Despatches. First Class Interpreter, German [62].
   
5. Commander F.A. Delmé-Radcliffe, late Royal Navy [63]. Member of the Territorial Force Council for Hertford. Deputy Lieutenant for Hertford [64].
   
6. Lieutenant Colonel H. Delmé-Radcliffe, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, c. 1912. Commanding Officer, 2^nd Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers at Quetta. He was a First Class Interpreter in German and a Second Class Interpreter in French [65].
   
7. Major S.A. Delmé-Radcliffe, Indian Army (Retired), c. 1924. The Great War, 1914-1921. Operations in Gallipoli, 2 August 1915 to 31 December 1915. Egypt, 2 January 1916 to 18 March 1916. Egyptian Expeditionary Force, 19 March 1916 to 31 October 1918. Mentioned in Despatches, London Gazette 6 July 1917 and 5 June 1919. Order of the Nile, 4^th Class. Order of the Crown of Italy, 5^th Class. OBE [66].
   
8. Captain R.H.J. Delmé-Radcliffe, 12^th London Regiment and Indian Army, c. 1920 [67].
   
9. Margaret Delmé-Radcliffe, Aldborne, Wiltshire, c. 1999 [68].
   
10. Lieutenant Colonel A. Delmé-Radcliffe, c. 1926 [69].
    
11. Major Peter Audley Delmé-Radcliffe, Madras Sappers and Miners, c. 1944 [70]. Wife: Gladys Margaret "Peggy" Delmé-Radcliffe (nee Nugent). "Peggy" Delmé-Radcliffe died at Savernake Hospital in Marlborough on 12 May 2000, aged 87.
    
12. F.P. Delmé-Radcliffe of Hitchin, Herts [71].
    
13. Emma Delmé-Radcliffe, the wife of F.P. Delmé-Radcliffe, collected and pressed wild flowers. Her collection is presently in the Southampton University Library [73].
    
14. Constance Louisa Delmé-Radcliffe (died 1927). Daughter of F.P. Delmé-Radcliffe. Married Lieutenant Charles William Talbot-Ponsonby, Royal Navy in 1868. They had one child, Major Arthur Hugh Brabazon Talbot-Ponsonby, Hampshire Regiment (T.F.). Major A.H.B. Talbot-Ponsonby married Alianore Rachel Howard. They had one child, Alathea Rachel Constance Talbot-Ponsonby (born 1914) [72].
    
15. Major E.C. Delmé-Radcliffe took part in the relief of Lucknow and from July of 1863 he served at the headquarters of the Connaught Rangers [73].
    
16. Lieutenant Frederick P.R. Delmé-Radcliffe, 23rd Foot. Killed on the 20th of September 1854 at the Battle of the Alma during the Crimean War [73].
    
17. Major C. Delmé-Radcliffe. Mentioned in an article entitled "Description of Two New Fishes Discovered by Major C. Delmé-Radcliffe in Victoria Nyanza" published in The Annals and Magazine of Natural History [73].

ADDENDUM

The following War Diary and associated target list of the 19^th Field Company, Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners were made available to the author by Lieutenant Colonel D.L. Jones, Hon. Secretary, Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners Officers’ Association and Mr. Kenneth Butters of Swanage, Dorset, who served in the company as a Lieutenant under the command of Major Michael Delme-Radcliffe.

WAR DIARY
of the 19^th Field Company
Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners
During the Malayan Campaign, 1941-1942

Company Officers

Major M. Delme-Radcliffe, O.C.
Captain R. Kerr-Gibson, 2-I-C
Lieutenant Millar
Lieutenant Peel
Lieutenant Pande (No. 1 Section)
Lieutenant Butters (No. 2 Section)
Lieutenant Griffiths (No. 3 Section)

The following is a copy of the war diary of the 19^th Field Company, Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners, 8^th Indian Infantry Brigade, 9^th Indian Division. The diary was written by the Officer Commanding (O.C.) the company, Major Michael Delme-Radcliffe while in captivity at the Changi Prisoner of War Camp, Singapore in 1942. When the officers of the 19^th Field Company were moved from Changi to Taiwan, the diary was given to Lieutenant Kenneth Butters, Commander of No. 2 Section (Mahrattas) of the company, as Lieutenant Butters had a valise that offered a better place to hide the document. Throughout numerous moves made by Butters to Taiwan, Japan and Mukden in Manchuria, and through numerous inspections made by the Japanese, the diary survived. Not least remarkable was the survival of the diary during the confusion of repatriation after the war.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: The actual War Diary or Intelligence Summary, Army Form C. 2118, was lost during the campaign. The following diary was reproduced from memory by Major Delme-Radcliffe, with the assistance of other company officers. For the transcription of the original diary for inclusion on this web site, some abbreviations in the original handwritten diary have been spelled out completely for clarity. Partial sentences and phrases have also been completed for better understanding of the writer’s meaning. Where question marks (?) appear in the diary, these are to indicate that certain words could not be deciphered. Major Delme-Radcliffe used many military abbreviations in common at the time. I have tried to clarify these abbreviations wherever possible. I may have made some errors in translation; therefore, I welcome any corrections noted by readers. It should also be noted that brackets [ ] are used to denote footnotes for the war diary.

WAR DIARY FOOTNOTES

[1] This was the start of the Japanese invasion of Malaya.
[2] 1^st Hyderabad Infantry (Indian State Forces), 8^th Indian Infantry Brigade, 9^th Indian Division.
[3] 2/10^th Baluch Regiment, 8^th Infantry Brigade, 9^th Indian Division.
[4] Thought to men Second In Command of the company.
[5] The reference to CO2 is believed to be the Second in Command of the company.
[6] This refers to the Target List at the end of the war diary.
[7] Recce is a military slang term for reconnaissance.
[8] Commander Royal Engineers.
[9] Coiled concertina-like barbed wire.
[10] The term M.S. throughout the diary indicates mile stone markers on roads.
[11] A road constructed using log or timbers laid on soft ground to support vehicle loads.
[12] A composite British task force.
[13] Ken Butters adds a correction to the diary at this point stating that his section fired a "time-fused demolition of a railway water tank" at Krai.
[14] Ken Butters makes a correction to the diary indicating the unit was actually the 42^nd (Bengal) Field Park Company, 9^th Indian Division.
[15] Original diary says 45 Army Troops Company, but Ken Butters corrected the entry to indicate that the unit was 42 Field Park Company.
[16] See Footnote 15.
[17] Steel Wire Rope.
[18] See Footnote 15.
[19] See Footnote 15.
[20] Australian Imperial Forces; that is, the Australian Army.
[21] Sergeant Shaftoe was the Motor Transport Sergeant of the 19^th Field Company.
[22] Reinforced Concrete.
[23] Warehouses or storerooms. A term used in the Orient.
[24] This is questionable, since the 8^th Australian Division in Singapore at the time does not show a 30^th Battalion in the Order of Battle.
[25] This unit was part of the 8^th Indian Infantry Brigade, 9^th Indian Division.

TARGET LIST OF THE 19^TH FIELD COMPANY
ROYAL BOMBAY SAPPERS AND MINERS
MALAYA CAMPAIGN
1941-1942