WW2 Group 3 to Andreasen Suffolk Reg Died Japanese POW.

A WW2 1939 star, Pacific star, and 1939/45 war medal in named and addressed box of issue with named medal issue condolence slip all awarded to 5828161 Private Eric Julins Andreasen 4th battalion Suffolk Regiment.
Eric was born in Elmswell Suffolk in 1919, his father Julius Christian Andersen was chief clerk with the Co Op Bury St Edmunds. Eric was probably already serving with the 4th Territorial battalion when war broke out in 1939. The 4th Suffolks was assigned to the 54th Infantry Brigade part of the 18th Infantry Division. The division spent the early years of the war in the defence of England and guarding against a possible German invasion after the bulk of the British Army was evacuated at Dunkirk. In late 1941 the 18th Division, the 4th and 5th Suffolks included, were originally to be sent to Egypt but instead were sent to Singapore to help strengthen the garrison there after Japan entered the war in December 1941.
In early 1942, the 4th battalion fought briefly in the defence of Singapore against the Japanese, with the 18th Division, before British Commonwealth forces on the island surrendered on 15th February 1942 under the orders of Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival. Men from the division suffered great hardship as POWs and were forced to participate in the construction of the Burma Railway.
The Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway or Thai-Burma Railway, was a rail link of over 250 miles between Thailand and Burma using forced labour. Built by over 60,000 Allied prisoners of war and hundreds of thousands of Asian labourers, the railway was created to supply Japanese troops in Burma, but the brutal conditions, disease, and malnutrition led to a massive loss of life, with tens of thousands dying during its construction from July 1942 to October 1943. Sadly, Eric Andreasen died while in captivity on 5th April 1943 aged 23. He is now remembered with honour at the Kranji War Cemetery.
The Kranji area was previously a military camp. At the time of the Japanese invasion of Malaya, the area was in use as an ammunition magazine. After the fall of Singapore, the Japanese established a prisoner-of-war camp at Kranji and a hospital nearby at Woodlands. After the war, in 1946, it was decided that Kranji would be designated as Singapore's war cemetery so the small cemetery at Kranji was developed into a permanent war cemetery and subsequently war graves from Buona Vista, Changi, and other cemeteries were removed and re-interred at Kranji.
We cannot now imagine the horrors and depravation Eric endured while in captivity and more research is needed to honour this man.
His medals look as if they have never been out of the box and come with their original ribbons. The box is addressed to his father Mr J Andreasen of Elmswell Suffolk with original condolence slip named to Pte E. J. Andreasen. His medals come with various copied paperwork including Commonwealth War Graves certificate, census records etc.

Code: 30965