Kenneth Desmond George Petheram – Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Leading Aircraftman Kenneth Desmond George Petheram – Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve

Birth and Family Background

Kenneth Desmond George Petheram was born in 1921 at Swansea. He was the son of George Petheram and Annie Coleman, who were married in 1907 at Westbury, Wiltshire.

1921 Census

At the time of the 1921 Census, the Petheram family were residing at 5 Ysgol Street, St Thomas, Swansea. George Petheram (37), born in Somerset, was employed as a berthing master with the Great Western Railway, while his Wiltshire-born wife Annie (37) undertook household duties. Their children were Winifred Edith Nancy (12) and Philip James Cecil (10), both attending school, and Kenneth Desmond George, aged three months.

Also present in the household were two boarders: Albert Edward Turner (25), a locomotive fireman, and Edward Webb (45), a locomotive controller, both employed by the Great Western Railway.

1939 Register

By the time of the 1939 Register, the family had moved to “Mongrieft”, Dunns Lane, Mumbles. George Petheram remained employed as a berthing master with the GWR, while Annie continued with household duties. Their children included Kenneth D. G. Petheram, employed as a footwear shop assistant, Philip J. C. Petheram, a dock coal hoist retarder with the GWR, and Annie B. Petheram, who also undertook household duties.

Military Service and Captivity

Kenneth enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and served as a Leading Aircraftman. He was based at Seletar, Singapore, during the early stages of the Second World War in the Far East.

Following the rapid Japanese advance, Kenneth was taken prisoner on 8^th March 1942, during the collapse of Allied resistance after the fall of Java. He was subsequently transferred as a prisoner of war to Sandakan, in north Borneo, one of the most notorious POW camp systems operated by the Japanese.

Herald of Wales

In April 1945, the Herald of Wales reported that Kenneth Petheram was last known to be a prisoner of war, reflecting the uncertainty faced by families of men held in Japanese captivity as the war in the Far East neared its end.

Sandakan Prisoner of War Camps

The Sandakan POW camps were among the most brutal camps of the Pacific War. Allied prisoners—mainly British and Australian servicemen captured after the fall of Singapore—were subjected to severe malnutrition, forced labour, systematic physical abuse, and the near-total absence of medical care. Disease was widespread, particularly malaria, dysentery, and beri-beri, and prisoners were often required to work despite extreme weakness.

As Japanese forces began to withdraw in 1945, conditions deteriorated further. Prisoners were starved and neglected, and many were forced on exhausting jungle marches toward Ranau, later known as the Sandakan Death Marches. Those unable to continue were frequently beaten or killed. Of approximately 2,400 Allied prisoners held at Sandakan, only six survived, all of whom escaped.

Death

Within this context of extreme deprivation and brutality, Leading Aircraftman Kenneth Desmond George Petheram died on 20^th March 1945 from malaria while still imprisoned at Sandakan. His death occurred only months before the end of the war in the Far East and reflects the fate of thousands of Allied servicemen who perished in captivity.

Commemoration

Kenneth Desmond George Petheram
Singapore Memorial, Singapore
credit - findagrave

Kenneth has no known grave, and his name is commemorated on the Singapore Memorial, which honours Commonwealth servicemen who died in the Far East during the Second World War and whose place of burial is unknown