Second World War Medal Group – Private Bernard Yeowell, 5th Bn. Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment) – KIA Fall of Singapore 1942
1939-45 Star – unnamed as issued
Pacific Star – unnamed as issued
War Medal – unnamed as issued
With box of issue addressed: MRS. R. YEAWELL, 40 CALDEN STREET, CAMBERWELL, LONDON SE5. (note: address has an ‘a’ instead of an ‘o’ in surname and street as ‘Calden’ instead of ‘Caldew’)
Bernard Yeowell was born on 16 October 1913 in Camberwell, London, the son of Charles Frederick Yeowell and Rose Lillian Yeowell (née Ginger). He was raised at 40 Caldew Street, Camberwell, and by 1939 was living there still, working as a textile warehouseman. His father had died in 1938, leaving Bernard at home with his mother.
He enlisted into the British Army at the outbreak of the Second World War, serving as Private 4756274 in the 1/5th Battalion, Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment), a Territorial battalion.
The battalion was mobilised in 1939 and sent to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force, landing in October 1939. During the 1940 campaign it served in a lines of communication role before being withdrawn during the evacuation from France. After returning to Britain, the battalion became part of the 18th Infantry Division, preparing for overseas service.
In late 1941, the 1/5th Sherwood Foresters sailed from Britain as part of a major reinforcement convoy originally intended for the Middle East. However, following Japan’s entry into the war, the convoy was diverted to the Far East. After a long voyage, the battalion arrived in Singapore on 29 January 1942, just weeks before the final Japanese assault.
The men of the 18th Division were effectively committed to a battle that was already turning against the Allies. During the fighting for Singapore in February 1942, the Sherwood Foresters were heavily engaged against advancing Japanese forces as the defensive perimeter collapsed. The campaign was marked by confusion, exhaustion, and overwhelming enemy pressure.
Bernard Yeowell was killed in action on 15 February 1942, aged 29, on the final day of the Battle of Singapore, the same day that British forces surrendered the island. He was initially reported missing, as recorded on casualty lists, before his death was later officially confirmed.
He is commemorated at the Kranji War Cemetery, Singapore, where many of those who fell in the Malayan campaign and the defence of Singapore are buried or remembered.
His campaign medals — 1939–45 Star, Pacific Star, and War Medal — were later issued to his family in their original box of issue addressed to MRS. R. YEOWELL, 40 CALDEW STREET, CAMBERWELL, LONDON SE5.
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AJMS Medals