MANUFACTURING HISTORY – A look back in time

MISSION X (Part 1) It is January 1942, and the Japanese are racing towards Singapore, whose fall is imminent. A precious horde of precision machine tools, located in Singapore must not fall into the enemy’s hands. Sir Laurence volunteers to make the dangerous journey north to rescue them.

TThe letter in my wallet was quite had not yet started. And in Singapore was could not be held. I began to think more explicit. It said I could spend the answer to our most serious machineand more seriously about the Royal £500,000 of Australian Government tool problems. No machine-tools means no Navy's beautiful workshops at Seletar in money how I liked, and if I wanted munitions. From Australia's war production Singapore. Australia had been sending more, all I had to do was cable for it. I could point of view, the loss of those machines to supplies there - items such as hexagon make any commitments, enter into any the enemy would be as great a disaster as brass, steel plates and rods and one such deals, and no questions would be asked. the fall of Singapore itself. consignment had been assembled and I had bags of gold and silver coins, thick I had felt for weeks that Singapore was was even then awaiting transport. How bundles of U.S. dollars, Dutch guilders, doomed. I knew it first when I met Airutterly stupid it was! With the Japanese Portuguese escudos. Marshal Brooke-Popham, the tall, gaunt on the doorstep we were still sending raw No private citizen had ever left Australia G.O.C. of British forces in Malaya, who paid materials to Singapore. armed with such complete authority over us a flying visit just after the Japanese had I suggested to my Minister Norman Makin such a large amount of the nation's cash. invaded Malaya. The man was obviously that instead of us sending raw materials But then, to my knowledge, no private depressed. He walked around my office, his to Seletar, we should be trying to get the citizen had ever gone off on a mission for manner distant and distraught. "Look, we're machinery out. I begged the Government to Australia that was quite so desperate – and in a pretty poor plight," he said. "We must do everything possible to save the precious quite such an obvious gamble – as this get more arms and equipment. What have machine-tools. For a week I awaited an one. you got that we could have?" I suggested answer. The frustration was almost killing It was late January 1942, and the Japanese the best thing we could send was a supply me. Daily the Japanese came closer and were racing down the Malay Peninsula, of two-inch and threeinch trench mortars. closer to Singapore; hourly, our chances of sweeping everything before them. They But he didn't seem very interested. He rescuing the equipment became slimmer. were heading for Singapore, and so was didn't rate his chances high even then. We Finally I was summoned to a meeting with I. I was flying north in a R.A.A.F. flyingagreed to arrange the shipment of a supply the War Cabinet, in Victoria Barracks, boat, at a time when every other private of mortars, with ammunition, on top priority. St.Kilda Rd. Melbourne. I outlined my plan citizen with any sense was heading away He left my office, still in his distant, worried to load the machine-tools on to the Royal from Singapore. My mission was to get to state. The poor fellow was up against it and Navy floating dock and tow the lot home to Singapore before the Japanese, and beat he knew it. Australia. "Would you do it?" I was asked. them to the richest war-industry plum in Then I began to get copies of cables sent "I'd like to have a go at it," I replied. "I used South-East Asia: the magnificent collection urgently by General Gordon Bennett, to live in Singapore. I speak Malay”. “All of precision machine-tools, worth at least commanding the Australian Eighth Division right" they said. "When would you go?" £5 million, in the Royal Navy workshops at in Malaya. He was pleading for arms of any "There's no time to lose" I said. "I could go Seletar, on Singapore Island. How I would kind. As the situation in Malaya worsened, right now”. get such a huge amount of machinery out it seemed quite obvious that Singapore To be continued… of Singapore ahead of the Japanese, I had only a vague idea. But money can work miracles, and I had plenty of that. There was a halfformed scheme in my mind to commandeer the huge floating dock, load the stuff on it, and, somehow or other, tow it south to Australia and safety. What a crazy scheme it was! But, in those times, the maddest plans sometimes came off. This one simply had to be attempted. As Director of Ordnance Production, one of my biggest handicaps was the lack of precision machine tools. LendLease, upon which we were to rely heavily before the war ended,

Japan invaded and captured the British stronghold of Singapore on 15 February 1942. It was considered the largest British surrender in history.