Lance Bombardier
Harold Guest
16 May 1920 ~ 29 November 1943
The front of the card (except English sections)
Camp - the three vertical lined characters - JAVA (1942 (17th year of the the emperors reign) August 15th)
Nationality given as British/English
Place of capture - JAVA, and another character,
PoW number: The box marked No. is the PoW number a man had. I think the crossing out denotes when the PoW was transferred (for the SM men) to the Moluccas.
So I think originally at Java Base, then [moved to] Java Camp III (3). Camp (3) beling Ambon.
The two red vertical stamps on either side of the main box have been translated as ‘Supplement’ and ‘Telegraphed’ - relates to the ‘processing' of the deaths, sending (via telegram)
The red diagonal line across the whole front of the page is a rather callous way to indicate the person was deceased.
Image (c) TNA WO345
Reverse of the index card
Top line: Other Informations
noted that a stamp was made for the first section of red text, and a smaller (4-character) stamp for the end of the same line; the Japanese text translated-
2nd line: The ship was on its way to deliver the prisoners when it was hit by a thunderstorm. [4 characters after small gap] Suez Maru
3rd line: When the attack happened. [date - 18th year of emperor's reign, 11th month, 29th of the month: 1943, November 29th] 18.11.29 [time of sinking] 09:20 [KA text here - unclear what this refers to]
4th line: [first text, then coordinates] Where the attack happened S 6 20' E 116 30’ [description of location of sinking] North of Bali Island near Kangayan [Kangean] Island.
Some reverses have additional information, but for the vast majority (of Suez Maru men), their card reverses are identical
Image (c) TNA WO345
Harold's Far East PoW Japanese Index Card
Biography
Harold Guest - by Debra Galasso
Lance Bombardier in Royal Artillery, 239 Bty, 77 H.A.A Regt Service number 1591190. Harold Guest was born 16 May 1920, in Miles Platting, Manchester to John Harold and Miranda Guest. He had two younger siblings, John and Mary. Upon leaving school, Harold began working as a property repairer. He met Elizabeth (Betty) when he was 18 years old as she walked to work and he gave her 'the eye’. They married two years later and lived in a little terraced house on Clara Street whilst his family lived across the road.
Harold and Betty were married on 12th July 1940, and just six days later, he left his young bride to go off to war as a Lance Bombardier in the Royal Artillery. Harold returned home in September 1941 on leave and told Betty that he was being sent 'somewhere hot as they've been given a tropical kit,' and in December 1941 he wrote a letter to home explaining how it was extremely hot, and he felt it was very strange to be sweating so close to Christmas. This was the last letter that the family would receive. Betty sent numerous letters during 1942, which were all returned by the War Office, unopened. During this time, Betty had found out she was pregnant. Their daughter, Ann, was born on 30th June 1942. Harold was never to know that he had become a father.
Newspaper clipping for Harold Guest
© Galasso Family
It wasn't until July 1943 that the family was made aware that Harold was alive and was a Japanese Prisoner of War,
when they received a postcard from Java, which of course was censored prior to sending, stating;
"Dearest Betty,
How are you keeping? I am constantly thinking of you.
It will be wonderful when we meet again.
My health is excellent.
The Japanese treat us well so don't worry about me and never feel uneasy.
Give my love to all.
I will always trust and love you.
Cheerio love,
Harold"
All further letters continued to be returned unopened, until Betty received notice in January 1944 to state that Harold had died on the Suez Maru on the 29th November 1943.
I write this as Harold's eldest grandchild. I was never told about my grandad until I was in my early thirties, as Ann died at 29 years old leaving me and my four siblings in the care of the local authorities. Therefore, because of this, I do not know a lot about him and his life prior to being captured. Since learning about Harold, and being fostered into a large military family, I know it's of the upmost importance to keep his memory alive.
My eldest daughter walked in the Remembrance Parade in London in 2004 aged 13 years old and I made sure she took a cross to place at Westminster Abbey, although she wasn't aware at the time who he was. Again, due to family circumstances, my daughters learnt about Harold in 2013 and since then, we have delved into his past.
We visited the National Arboretum on 29th November 2018 and visited the Far East memorial section in the hopes to find a little information about Harold, which we did. And to our surprise, we found out there is a Suez Maru memorial and a little gathering was taking place to mark the anniversary. This date changed our family as we met a new section of our family; the Suez Maru family. Since meeting everyone, we feel that Harold is more alive than ever in our family as we've learnt so much about him and myself, and my daughters, will continue to honour his memory for the rest of our lives. Debra Galasso, (proud granddaughter)
