Samuel (Sammie) Ambrose Blaydes 1905-1967

 Samuel Ambrose Blaydes 1905-1967  

Born in 1905, father Frederic Ambrose Wilford Blaydes (Page-Turner)  1882 –  1936 and his Malaysian Mother probably born in Simanggang where his father was posted at the time.

Samuel  (Sammie) Ambrose Blaydes 1905-1967 seated 2nd from left  

first son of FAW P-T Sarawak , 

School Photograph Taken in Singapore where Samuel was educated

Interned at Batu Lintang camp in early 1942 following the Japanese invasion and occupation of Sarawak (also known as Lintang Barracks and Kuching POW camp) at Kuching, Sarawak on the island of Borneo was a Japanese-run internment camp during the Second World War. It was unusual in that it housed both Allied prisoners of war (POWs) and civilian internees. The camp, which operated from March 1942 until the liberation of the camp in September 1945, was housed in buildings that were originally British Indian Army barracks. The original area was extended by the Japanese, until it covered about 50 acres (20 hectares).  The camp population fluctuated, due to the movement of prisoners between camps in Borneo, and as a result of the deaths of the prisoners. It had a maximum population of some 3,000 prisoners. 

Life in the camp was harsh, with POWs and internees alike forced to endure food shortages, disease and sickness for which scant medicine was made available, forced labour, brutal treatment, and lack of adequate clothing and living quarters. Of the approximately 2,000 British POWs held there, over two-thirds died during or as a result of their captivity. The construction and operation of a secret radio receiver for over 2½ years, from February 1943 until the liberation of the camp, was a morale booster and allowed the prisoners to follow the progress of the war. Discovery would have resulted in certain deaths for those involved.

Kuching lies some 35 kilometres (22 mi) up the Sarawak River from the sea;the camp was situated some 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to the southeast of Kuching. The barracks were built by the Sarawak Government in early 1941, when Britain, in agreement with the Rajah of Sarawak, sent the 2nd Battalion, 15th Punjab Regiment of the British Indian Army (2/15th Punjab Regiment) to defend Sarawak in case of attack by the Japanese. The camp, known from its inception as Batu Lintang, was near completion for occupation by May 1941.

At some point, Samuel Blaydes escaped with two other civilian prisoners and swam across the Sarawak River, with two of his companions tragically drowning. Samuel managed to avoid recapture for the duration of the war until liberation.

He entered into the Sarawak Civil Service.

Chart showing the Children of Samuel Blaydes

William "Billy" Blaydes, first son of Sammy Blaydes 

brother of Roselyn, Lorna, Henry James & Freddie   

Sammy Blaydes on his visit to England in the late 1950s   

Picture Taken in Cornwall with an unidentified Companion.

The Sarawak Civil Service provided an allowance to retired civil servants with Eurosian ancestry to visit their parent's country of origin after they retired. Sadly, Samuel was unable to establish contact with his family on his visit.