REGINALD THOMAS FIDDAMAN
Photographs and information courtesy of the Fiddaman family.
Born: 2nd May 1912, Ipswich.
Died: 13th February 1942; age: 29; KiA against Japanese – Braddell Road, Singapore.
Residence: 369, Bramford Lane, Ipswich.
Occupation: Trolley Bus Conductor – Ipswich Council.
Rank: Private; Service Number: 5833690.
Regiment: Cambridgeshire Regiment, 1st Battalion.
Grave Reference:
7.B.17.
Kranji,
Singapore.
Relatives Notified & Address: Husband of Doris Annie Maud Fiddaman, of Ipswich.
Father: Walter Edmund Fiddaman, born 1870, Orford, Suffolk – died October 1927, Ipswich.
Mother: Jane Jemima Fiddaman (nee Page), born June 1874, Hadleigh, Suffolk.
1933 The wedding of Leslie Hubert Fiddaman (Reginald’s brother – Reginald was the best man) to Gladys Saunders.
standing: Mr Saunders (father of the bride) , Leslie , Reginald
seated: Jane J. Fiddaman (Reginald’s mother), Phillis Saunders (brides maid), Gladys (bride), Mrs Saunders (mother of the Bride)
In 1936, Cosford, Suffolk, Reginald married Doris Annie Maud Sexton, born January 1915,
Cosford, Suffolk.
Doris and her sons.
Reginald and Doris had 3 children, two sons and one daughter.
Walter, Michael and Daphne.
1939 IDENTITY CARD REGISTER for England & Wales. 369, Bramford Lane, Ipswich.
Reginald was a Trolley Bus Conductor, he was married to Doris, with two young children.
Cambridgeshire Regiment, 1st Battalion
The Battalion was attached to the 18th East Anglian Division.( including 4/5th Battalion the Suffolk Regiment)
15 February 1942: After the fall of Singapore, approximately 620 of the Battalions were taken POW and later mostly died on the Burma-Thailand Railway.
The picture is believed to be Reginald’s platoon taken in the UK, to which none survived the war.
13th February 1942 Braddell Road Kranji, Singapore Reginald was shot by a Japanese sniper. His water bottle (with bullet holes) and a cross marked where he fell.
Fierce fighting along the road held back the Japanese attack on the city, many units running out of supplies and ammunition. The City finally surrendered after its water supply was cut off and the fear of civilian casualties.
Photos were taken of the spot where he fell, as well as the house the sniper had taken up position in.
Reginald was later moved to Kranji West Cemetery(original wooded cross)
Walter (named after Reginald’s brother who died in WW1)
Reginald’s only surviving son Walter visited his grave in Singapore for the first time in 2017.
Reginald’s medals, Cambridge, Suffolk regiment badges and red and yellow Minden Flash.
Reginald’s military Will.
Reginald’s older brother, Walter Edmund Fiddaman, died of wounds at the Battle of the Somme, 18th August 1916, aged 19. Walter was ranked a Private, of The Suffolk Regiment, 4th Battalion. He was laid to rest at Serre Road Cemetery No.2. Somme, France.
The Adam Park Project
Cambridgeshire Regiment, 1st Battalion
SUFFOLK REGIMENT MUSEUM
Friends of The Suffolk Regiment
Reginald is also remembered on the war memorial at the Town Hall, Ipswich.St Mary at Stoke Church memorial, Ipswich.
3 Comments
Thank you so much for all you hard work. It is extremely moving to finally see pictures of my family, and even my great grandmother Jane Jemima. My father is David Fiddaman, his father was William, Reginald’s brother.
What a lovely read.
My son James fiddaman is the great-grandson of leslie Fiddaman, he was only a couple of weeks ago doing his family tree for a school project. We have seen alot of these photos but never the photos of where he was shot and the house where the snipper was. So sad but still very important to hear all these stories.
Claire fiddaman
Wonderful to read the history of our family. Thank you Wally and all those that contributed to this.
Daphne Southgate (nee Fiddaman).