Arthur Percival

Born	26 Dec 1887
Died	31 Jan 1966
Country	United Kingdom
Category	Ground

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

Percival was a veteran of WW1, volunteered in the British Army at the age of 27. As a First Lieutenant, he participated in the Battle of the Somme with the Bedfordshire Regiment, and earned the Military Cross award. At the onset of WW2, he was evacuated from Dunkirk as the commander of the 44th Division. He would be transferred to Asia to command the Commonwealth troops (British, Australian, and Indian) in Malaya. On 15 Feb 1942 he would surrender Singapore to Lt. Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita after his 130,000-strong army were overwhelmed by Yamashita's smaller 30,000-strong force. Percival would be relocated to Manchuria and became a prison of war until end of the war. Emaciated from years of captivity, Percival would be present at the Japanese surrender.

Percival published the book The War in Malaysia in 1949. He passed away on 31 Jan 1966.

Source: The Pacific Campaign, Wikipedia

Arthur Percival Timeline