Dearie:Russell Family History

The Straits Times, 19 February 1947, Page 5  BATU ARANG CHIEF DISCUSSES MINE LABOURERS. Japanese Removed More Than Million Tons Of Coal. Extract:.....Mr. J. W. Elliot, General Manager at Batu Arang revealed that during the Japanese occupation, the Japanese produced an aggregate total of 1,300,000 tons of coal. ........ Mr. G. Hinchcliffe, a mining engineer at Batu Arang…”With regard to the Union’s demand for rehabilitation grant and back pay, Mr. Hinchcliffe, recalled that during his internment he received secret reports that the Batu Arang mine was being worked by a Japanese company and also from his personal contact with the labourers after the war, he learnt that the Japanese employed a bigger labour force at the mine than had happened at any other time. • On the basis if this information Mr. Hinchcliffe said his opinion was that labourers suffered very little financially during the Japanese occupation. • Referring to the union’s fifth demand for eight days wages due to workers before the Company withdraw from Batu Arang in Jan. 1942, Mr. Hinchcliffe recalled that sometime before the Company evacuated on Jan 5, 1942, wages were computed every three days and during the last few days wages were computed every day. • When it was finally decided to evacuate the property, wages for all labourers were computed. Pay chits were available to all labourers who presented themselves at the office. • The majority of labourers collected their pay chits and money due to them while others , being frightened of Japanese bombing, had run away to the jungle. • Mr. Hinchcliffe said he was present when an amount of unclaimed wages was paid over by the Company to two officials of the labour organization at the Batu Arang Police Station. • The names of these officials were Mr. Yap Saik and Mr Woo Pin, and when the money was paid, the labourers were duly notified. Those who demanded their dues on the spot were immediately paid. • European and clerical staffs were also paid off when the company ceased to operate.

The Straits Times, 6 January 1942, Page 2 The Straits Times, 8 January 1942, Page 2 PUBLIC NOTICE. NOTICE. Messrs. J.A. RUSSELL & CO., LTD, Messrs. MALAYAN COLLIERIES, LIMITED of Kuala Lumpur beg to announce that they have established subsidiary offices at Singapore. Temporary Address:- c/o Messrs. Babcock & Wilcox Ltd., No. B-2, First Floor, Hongkong Bank Chambers, Singapore. Phone No. 6261.

The Japanese reached Kuala Lumpur on 11 January 1942

The Straits Times, 15 January 1942, Page 2 & The Straits Times, 16 January 1942, Page 2 & The Straits Times, 17 January 1942, Page 2 NOTICE J. A. Russell & Coy. Ltd. of Kuala Lumpur, F.M.S. Malayan Collieries Limited of Kuala Lumpur, F.M.S. Boh Plantations Limited of Kuala Lumpur, F.M.S. New temporary address:- Post Box No. 632 General Post office, Singapore will all parties indebted to the above please make payment to this address.

Don Russell recorded that the last communication was a cable dated 19/1/42 from H. H. Robbins at Singapore stating that all Malayan Collieries property and Russell Company assets lost to enemy.

The British retreated to Singapore on 31 January

Civilians were evacuated from Singapore in February, while suffering bombing from the air. Singapore fell by 15 February.

There are various personal records from WW2: On leaving Singapore: Rita Drysdale and Vic Davidson's description of departure. On being interred: John Drysdale's two page diary from 42 and 43. Don Russell on Stanley Camp and Gordon Reiss diary on line. On going back to work for the Japanese at Batu Arang: Thiel Marstrand.

Japanese producing coal at Batu Arang in Feb 1942 : 467 tons.

H.H. Robbins died in April 1942 about the same time as Aitkin-Berry. "Robbie was with us until the 20th April, but as you probably know by now, he died on that day of heart failure as the result of weakness following an attack of dysentery. We did everything we could for him, but he hadn’t enough strength to come through." Drysdale letter Palembang Sumatra 19th June 1942

From John Drysdale's letter to Gordon Reiss' widow, dated 4 Dec. 1945 Extract: " Captured by Japanese off Sumatra “A brief history of our internment may be of interest to you. We were interned at Muntok on 16th Feb 42, after capture at sea by the Japs, in the Banka Straits. We remained in a Quarantine camp there for one month & were transferred to Pladjoe the site of the Oil refinery near Palembang. We remained there for one month & worked as dock labourers. Then we were taken to Palembang jail where we remained for from mid April 42 until Jan 43. We were next taken to an attap camp about two miles outside Palembang where we remained until Sept 43. Then we were taken back to Muntok and occupied the jail there until March 45 when we were transported to Belaloe camp near Lahat in Sumatra where we remained until released at the end of September.”

THE KING FAMILY [Articles] The Straits Times, 17 July 1949, Page 7  THE KING FAMILY. THE Sunday Times has received several letters in response to last week's story headed "PHOTOS SEEK THE KING FAMILY." They reveal that Mr. James King was employed by the Malayan Collieries Ltd., Batu Arang, before the war, was interned in Changi and Sime Road and did not return to Malaya after being repatriated. He now lives at Newtongrange, Midlothian, Scotland. The photographs will be sent to him there.

Booklet on the Collieries called MALAYAN COLLIERIES, LTD. (Incorporated in the Federation of Malaya) A DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPERTY, OPERATIONS AND SOCIAL ORGANISATION AT BATU ARANG COLLIERY. Printed by Charles Grenier & Son, Ltd., Kuala Lumpur. Dated October 1950. Extract: "JAPANESE OCCUPATION: With the advance of the Japanese late in 1941 the Company's stock of explosives and most of the mobile equipment, including tractors and bulldozers, were taken over by the Military. Principal items of plant were immobilized and the Power Station, sub-stations and main pumping units were destroyed to deny them to the enemy. Most of the European staff were members of one or other of the Defence services. Eventually twelve were interned and three lost their lives in attempting to escape. Of the Head Office staff of nine, eight were interned or became prisoners of war four of whom died— including the Chairman of Directors. When the British Military Administration took control late in 1945 the whole of the vital reserves of coal and much of that which could be easily extracted, had disappeared. It was therefore difficult to meet the needs of essential services. The worst feature was the neglected state of the plant and equipment and of all the housing of staff and labourers. The greater part of the water-born sewerage systems in the labourers' lines was out of action and no alternatives had been provided. New European staff began arriving before the end of 1945 and subsequently the Company took over full control of its property from the British Military Administration on July 1st, 1946."

The Straits Times, 10 March 1946, Page 2 MALAYA DIGS FOR COAL AGAIN (Extract) The Story of rehabilitation. By J.W.Elliot " At the time of the Japanese invasion, in accordance with the defence policy, much of the plant, and particularly the power producing plant, was destroyed by the company officials on instructions of the military authorities. On the destruction of the power plant the pumps ceased to work and as a result many of the mines were quickly flooded. The Occupation The Japanese appreciated the necessity of producing coal and in February, 1942, they produced 467 tons. But they failed to upkeep the machinery and the scarcity of lubricating oils and spare parts made it impossible to dispose of the shale which had to be stripped to exploit the coal seam. The result was that the shale was dumped all round the opencast pits, on top of the coal. The output of coal was diminishing quickly, and it is doubtful whether more that 400 or 500 tons of coal per day could have been produced by them by the end of 1945. In 1942 the planning authorities in the United Kingdom realized that a supply of coal would be necessary for the support of the forces to liberate Malaya. The Company was asked by the War Office to prepare a scheme to produce coal as soon as possible. A small team of technical men was recruited, and plant was ordered on the assumption that the mine and its machinery would be totally destroyed. The new equipment was of a design that could be easily handled in beach landings.

"Even during the Japanese occupation of Malaya, there was an intention from the Malayan Planning Unit in England that priority should be given to restarting Malayan Collieries as quickly as possible after the war ended" Michael Russell on his father Don Russell's life.

W.R.Loxley & Co. London, (Don Russell's Company) was still a going concern on a small scale, with Pam Russell being appointed as one of the directors in January 1943.

"Mr. R. C. Russell having lost his money in retirement came to England in 1943 to get a job"

J. A. RUSSELL & CO. LTD. and MALAYAN COLLIERS LTD. Don Russell's notes :Malayan Collieries Ltd. registered in England 30/9/44 with business address at 4 Queen Victoria Street, E.C.4. Directors given as A. J. Kelman A. Beattie alternate for A. M. Delamore G. M. Dalgety alternate for F.Cunningham R. C. Russell A. M. Delamore F. Cunningham J. Drysdale

During the latter part of the war Andrew Beattie reappeared on the scene in London and was approached initially by the Malayan Planning Unit concerning the reopening of MCL. The only other director of MCL who had both escaped capture and returned to England was Mr. A. J. Kelman and he heard that the Malayan Planning Unit had been in touch with Andrew Beattie, so he advised WRL & Co. London of this. Protracted discussions took place between WRL & Co. and Andrew Beattie as to which of the two companies was the appointed agent for helping to restart MCL with all the equipment required. This culminated for the time being with a letter headed as Malayan Collieries Ltd. and signed by R.C.Russell as Secretary, stating that Andrew Beattie & Co. (London) Ltd. was the London agents for MCL. Since WRL (London) had been appointed as agents for MCL originally, and as it had a quantity of export goods unsold in England and also a large amount of cargo diverted to Australia since the start of the Japanese occupation, a huge row ensued between Don and Bob after Don’s release from Stanley camp.Michael Russell on his father Don Russell's life.

From letter dated 1st November, 1944:

At an interview in May 1944 with Mr. Beattie, it was learned that coal was to be first priority when Malaya was liberated and the Government were anxious to organise for the reopening of the mine. At this interview, Mr. Baker (Mr Baker: A. J. Baker manage of Loxley and Co from 1942 ) pointed out to Mr. Beattie that Loxley & Co. (London) Ltd. were the Buying Agents for Malayan Collieries Ltd. and any purchases of machinery should be made through them. Mr. Beattie in his turn stated that he had done a lot of work in connection with the preliminaries and was not agreeable to handing the whole of the buying to Loxley & Co. and eventually a compromise was arrived at by which buying commission was to be shared. As however the whole affair was very much in the air, it was decided that further interviews should take place when concrete matters could be discussed. Mr. Beattie also at this interview undertook to notify Loxley & Co. of any developments which might take place in connection with Malayan Collieries Ltd. Later Loxley & Co., still having a quantity of frustrated exports unsold in England and also a large quantity of diverted cargoes in Australia, submitted the details of these to A. Beattie & Co. (London) Ltd. for them to submit to the engineers with a view to their being incorporated in the specification of machinery required for reopening mine. In reply to this a letter was received on paper headed Malayan Collieries Ltd., signed by R. C. Russell as Secretary. This letter heading showed the name of Andrew Beattie & Co. (London) Ltd. as London Agents, and made no reference at all to W. R. Loxley & Co. (London) Ltd. This omission is considered very important as far as W. R. Loxley & Co. (London) Ltd. is concerned and can have far reaching results in view of the fact that Mr. D. O. Russell owns the shares of W. R. Loxley & Co. (London) Ltd. Furthermore, he is interested in J. A. Russell & Co., Ltd. who, up to the fall of Malaya, had acted as General Managers and Secretaries for Malayan Collieries. It was then discovered a Board of Directors for Malayan Collieries Ltd. had been formed in this country and that they are endeavouring to resuscitate the Company in England for which purpose they have registered an office at 4, Queen Victoria Street. The Directors now registered are Andrew Beattie, alternate for F. Cunningham; G. M. Dalgety, for A. M. Delamore; R. C. Russell, A. J. Kelman and J. Drysdale. The previous Board of Directors consisted of H. H. Robbins, J. Drysdale, F. Cunningham, A. J. Kelman and A. M. Delamore. Of these Directors, two only could be considered working Directors, viz. Messrs. Robbins and Drysdale who were also Directors of J. A. Russell & Co., Ltd. Unfortunately both these Directors were captured by the Japanese. Mr. Robbins has since died in internment and Mr. Drysdale is till interned. Also at this juncture it is pointed out that Mr. D. O. Russell, referred to previously, was also captured by the Japanese and is interned in Hongkong. The active members on the reconstituted Board are Mr. Andrew Beattie and Mr. R. C. Russell, the others being just names or unable to act. The two gentlemen mentioned have grudges against Mr. D. O. Russell. Mr. A. Beattie by reason of the fact that he was virtually discharged from W. R. Loxley & Co. (London) Ltd., Mr. R. C. Russell who was a principal of J. A. Russell & Co., to the end of 1937, by reason of the fact that he also was asked to resign. In this latter instance Mr. Robbins was responsible for the resignation, but would have obtained the agreement of Mr. D. O. Russell. Mr. R. C. Russell having lost his money in retirement came to England in 1943 to get a job and has since linked up with Mr. Beattie in the reorganisation of Malayan Collieries Ltd. On receipt of the letter dated 25/4/44 Loxley & Co., knowing the self-interest of these two gentlemen and with a view to protecting the interests of Mr. D. O. Russell (who of course, being interned, is unable to take action himself), decided that the question of their London representation of Malayan Collieries Ltd. should be brought into the open and wrote a letter to the Board of Malayan Collieries Ltd. with a copy to each of the known Directors (copy attached). A reply was received in a letter (copy of which is attached) which in a lengthy manner stated that W. R. Loxley & Co. (London) Ltd. were no longer to be considered the London Agents of Malayan Collieries Ltd. This letter is a distortion of the facts as the attached comments on the letter dated 21/9/44 show and cannot be accepted as the real reason for altering the status quo.

On 15 August 1945 Japanese surrender.

On 30th August 1945 the British forces took back control of HongKong, and Don Russell left Stanley Camp. "Don soon went back to England for a couple of months to recuperate and gain strength and weight, and then returned to HongKong and China to try and rejuvenate the businesses."

Japanese forces in Malaya surrendered to the Allies firstly at Penang on 4 September 1945 aboard HMS Nelson then, after the Singapore surrender, at Kuala Lumpur on 13 September 1945.

The Straits Times, 10 March 1946, Page 2 MALAYA DIGS FOR COAL AGAIN (Extract) The Surrender (1945)The surrender of the Japanese forces in Malaya occurred before much of this machinery was ready for dispatch from England. But intelligence reports which reached us, indicated that the mine was being worked by the Japanese. In view of this information one of the first duties of the B.M.A. on landing was to send a representative to take control of all operations at the mine. Conditions at the mine were deplorable but about 500 tons of coal per day was obtained. On Oct. 12 the labourers at the mine struck work, including the safety men and artisans, who maintain the pumps, the functioning of which is essential in working opencast pits. When all the pumps ceased operation, rapid flooding occurred. A platoon of electrical and mechanical Royal Indian Engineers were rushed to the mine and they made valiant attempts to re-start the pumps. Their efforts failed due to constant breakdowns in the electrical supply system. It soon became obvious that our only hope was to recover as many pumps as possible before they were lost under the rapidly rising water. At the same time 874 M.E. Company, R.E., took over the mine to produce some coal by mechanical means, and so maintain essential services while the strike continued. Staff Flown Out In early October, in response to a cable from SEAC, four members * of the European colliery staff were flown from England and arrived at the mine on Oct. 16. As there was no labour available, other than military personnel, the technical staff were used to advise the Royal Engineers. Fortunately, a small amount of coal at a higher level than the rest of the mine, had been stripped by the Japanese. A plan to dig this coal by Diesel-driven mechanical excavators loading into skips and operated by R.E. labour, was quickly devised. On Oct. 24, 100 tons of coal was produced. Through hard work and improvisation the output obtained by the Royal Engineers steadily increased and reached a total of 400 tons per day by the middle of November. The strike terminated on Nov. 20 and labour was engaged as quickly as useful work could be found. The general policy was to employ as many labourers as possible. All work with the exception of the operation of the R.E. machines was undertaken by the normal labour force. New Castings The Chinese and Indian artisans, many of whom had worked for the Company since its inception, made wonderful efforts under the direction of the Chief Engineer. It was necessary to make new castings, which had to be machined and fitted. The pumps were also rapidly repaired. The essential parts of the electrical supply system were quickly overhauled. Thus a continuous production of coal was assured by using machines of the Royal Engineers. The result is that the output by the joint efforts of the Royal Engineers and Company labour has risen to 800 tons per day. But it is difficult for the railway to transport this amount of coal to the consumers. It is hoped that problem will soon be overcome and the Malayan coal will be used in Singapore, making it unnecessary to import coal for use in power stations. This will also relieve the acute shortage of coal in East Asia. De-Watering Mines In addition to producing coal from the two opencast pits, the repair of the pumps has proceeded so well that a start has been made to de-water the underground mines.

The Straits Times, 17 October 1945 Batu Arang Strike The coalminers at the Batu Arang coalfields in Selangor have gone on strike flowing a demand for higher wages, but no disturbances are reported. Deadlock exists at present because it is felt that the wage increases sought by the miners are too high.

The Straits Times, 20 November 1945 End of Batu Arang Strike The termination of the month-old strike in Batu Arang tin and coal mines is announced in a communiqué issued by the British Military Administration in Kuala Lumpur. At a meeting of representatives of Mine’s Employees and the Selangor People’s Committee, held in the Senior Civil Affairs Officer’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Colonel MacFadzean, Deputy Controller of Finance and Accounts, explained that by the end of November a comprehensive survey to introduce wage increases throughout the peninsula would be completed. But, he added, in view of the deteriorated condition of the mines at Batu Arang as a result of the strike, employment of labour would only be progressive. He said there would be an increase of wages with retrospective effect but they would not apply in the case of the striking miners.

The Straits Times, 1 June 1946, Page 5 (extract) " statement by Mr. A. D. Storke, advisor to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, portions of whose report were recently quoted in the Straits Times. • Mr. Storke stated: “ The present output of coal in Malaya is small, and although plans have been formulated for increased production, it will be necessary to import coal in 1946 and 1947 to meet Malayan requirements’ Mr. Storke’s visit last November.

UK Government records at Kew:

• Rehabilitation of Industry: Malayan collieries  Colonial Office: Economic General Department and predecessors: Registered Files. Eastern. Rehabilitation of Industry: Malayan collieries. Collection: Records of the Colonial Office, Commonwealth and Foreign and Commonwealth Offices, Empire Marketing Board, and related bodies Date range: 01 January 1943 - 31 December 1944 Reference: CO 852/669/9 Subjects: Coal, International, Mining and quarrying

•Rehabilitation of Malayan Collieries Ltd  Treasury: Imperial and Foreign Division: Registered Files (IF series). MALAYA. Rehabilitation of Malayan Collieries Ltd. Collection: Records created or inherited by HM Treasury Date range: 01 January 1944 - 31 December 1950 Reference: T 220/133 Subjects: Coal, Mining and quarrying

No newspapers are available from the Singapore archives until 7 September 1945

* four members of the European colliery staff : Mr. Elliot, the General Manager of Malayan Collieries, & a Chief Engineer and possibly Bob Russell as managing director?