With his customary insouciance, echoed no doubt by the other officers, Paris added: “and after you’ve done that put some soda on the ice”

Meanwhile, Paris, concerned about the missing 27th Brigade, sent patrols to make contact with the Australian force but did not find it. Equally ominous was a report that the trunk road as far as Kranji Road junction (now held by the Japanese) was unprotected. Realising that the enemy was free to move unobstructed down the main road to Bukit Timah, Paris withdrew his brigade and 2/29 Battalion to defend Bukit Panjang Road junction with the 4/19 Hyderbads remaining astride the road and west of the village.

Paris had no authority to withdraw from the KranjiJurong line, but his flank had been endangered by 27th Brigade’s unauthorised retreat the previous night. The lack of strong leadership demonstrated by Percival and Bennett made brigade and battalion commanders decidedly nervous.

By early afternoon, 12th Indian Infantry Brigade had abandoned the Kranji-Jurong line, leaving the special reserve battalion and 44th Brigade farther south uncovered. The Argylls took up position halfway between Bukit Panjang village and Bukit Timah. That day, Percival, accompanied by General Wavell, recently appointed in overall command of American, British, Dutch, Australian (ABDA) Command, visited Bennett’s headquarters.

Honour

When the generals learned they had lost the KranjiJurong line, Wavell ordered a counter-attack to recapture it. The latter had flown to Singapore from Java after receiving a forceful cable from Winston Churchill who urged the defenders of the garrison “that the honour of the British Empire and of the British Army was at stake,” if they failed to repulse the Japanese invaders.

Later that afternoon, Bennett ordered 12th, 15th and 22nd Indian Infantry Brigades to retake the allimportant line, to safeguard the Bukit Timah area. The counter-attack was to be conducted in three stages, starting at 6 pm on the 10th. It was to continue at dawn the next morning with an attack by 12th Indian Infantry Brigade and would finish at 9am with the re-occupation of the Kranji-Jurong line.

But the Japanese forestalled it, as Yamashita had other ideas. With the bulk of his infantry safely across the Strait, the Japanese general planned to seize Bukit Timah by dawn on February 11, as the day was special, known as Kigensetsu, the anniversary of Emperor Timmu’s coronation and the founding of the Japanese empire.

If Yamashita’s forces could take Bukit Timah, it would not only be a gift to his ruler but the defenders would have to abandon Singapore’s reservoir area and the garrison’s fuel, food, and munitions.

The Japanese XXV army’s night attack with bayonets was planned to be two-pronged: their 5th Division advancing east along the Choa Chu Kang Road and the 18th down the Jurong Road. Meanwhile, 12th Indian Infantry Brigade settled in and prepared for its intended counter-attack at dawn the following day.

Password

During the late afternoon, Stewart and Rose went for a walk in the fields on the government Dairy Farm east of the Argyll position on Bukit Timah Road. Stewart suspected the Japanese would break through that night and, if they succeeded, the battalion should rally at this spot where there were good fields of fire. His orders were to remain in position facing outward, desist from firing and use the password of “Argyll.”

Shortly after dusk, the Japanese infantry did attack and dispersed 12th Indian Infantry Brigade’s 4/19 Hyderabads on Choa Chu Kang Road. The Australians staunched the Japanese advance just before a column of between 50 and 75 medium tanks drove down the road. They destroyed three but the remainder broke through the Australians’ defences, and headed towards Bukit Timah.

Standing alone between the Japanese and Bukit Timah depots, the Argylls, using all their vehicles and anti-tank mines at hand, improvised roadblocks. Sometime later, when Paris and Angus were sitting down to eat at Brigade HQ, a Japanese tank appeared out of the darkness and fired at them. The brigadier responded by shooting back with his revolver. As the tank turned round and withdrew, Paris exclaimed: “I expect he’ll be back soon with a few pals.”

Indeed, the Japanese tanks advanced determinedly down Bukit Timah Road. When the leading vehicle reached the first of the Argylls’ hastily erected roadblocks, it was knocked out but the 50-strong column, supported by infantry, broke through the obstacle, forcing the Scots and 12th Indian Infantry Brigade HQ to withdraw to the east of the road and to the Dairy Farm.

Before the tanks broke through, Paris sent Angus to warn other defending companies of the attack. “You go off to Bukit Timah,” he said. “Tell the Aussies what’s happened and get a proper obstacle covered by anti-tank guns fixed up. We’ll hold them here as long as we can.” With his customary insouciance, echoed no doubt by the other officers, including his brigade major, Paris added: “and after you’ve done that put some soda on the ice.”

Angus gained his 15 minutes of fame when, late at night on Tuesday, February 10 1942, he made a historic 2½ mile dash in his tiny Fiat. Pursued by 50 enemy tanks with the leading vehicle firing at him, he rammed his foot down on the accelerator, shot under the railway bridge, past the Ford factory and fire station until he came to a halt 300 yards south of the Bukit Timah Road junction.

Obstacle

Here, he alerted the Australians, whose liaison officer organised a third road block covered by anti-tank guns. Under the fire of the leading Japanese tank, Angus contributed the last vehicle, his baby Fiat, to the roadblock. At around midnight, and in true David and Goliath fashion, his car, as part of the obstacle, knocked out the tank.

This roadblock, supported by two anti-tank guns, held and prevented the Japanese tanks from ploughing into Singapore city. Angus’s drive along Bukit Timah Road was an apt swansong. Not only did he and the Australians save the city from invasion that night but they also denied Yamashita the satisfaction of capturing Bukit Timah for the anniversary of the Japanese empire.

Before dawn on Wednesday, February 11, the brigade withdrew to the Dairy Farm rendezvous. The Argylls’ Battalion HQ departed first, then Paris moved off in the early morning with B and C companies, edging their way down the pipeline that ran from the causeway to the centre of the city. Stewart stayed at the farm edge, waiting for his missing companies. When they arrived at their meeting place by Sime Road golf course, they found transport to return them to Tyersall Park.

More tomorrow