Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

Archibald Charles Melvill Paris, (28 May 1890 – 3 March 1942) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer. Although he is better known for having died during the events that followed the sinking of the Dutch ship '' Rooseboom'' off Sumatra in 1942, he was also one of the few British commanders that put up a good fight against the Japanese during the

Battle of Malaya The Malayan campaign, referred to by Japanese sources as the , was a military campaign fought by Allied and Axis forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 15 February 1942 during the Second World War. It was dominated by land battles betwee ...

and the subsequent

fall of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire o ...

Early life and career

Archibald Paris was born in 1890 in

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea is not a separate town as all of Portsea Island's s ...

Portsea Island Portsea Island is a flat and low-lying natural island in area, just off the southern coast of Hampshire in England. Portsea Island contains the majority of the city of Portsmouth. Portsea Island has the third-largest population of all th ...

, Portsmouth,''1891 England Census'' the son of Major General Sir Archibald Paris, a Royal Marines officer who commanded the

Royal Naval Division The 63rd (Royal Naval) Division was a United Kingdom infantry division of the First World War. It was originally formed as the Royal Naval Division at the outbreak of the war, from Royal Navy and Royal Marine reservists and volunteers, who wer ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and of Lillian Jane (''née'' Melvill), daughter of Gen. Henry Melvill and granddaughter of Rev. Canon

Henry Melvill Rev. Henry Melvill (14 September 1798 – 9 February 1871) was a British priest in the Church of England, and principal of the East India Company College from 1844 to 1858. He afterwards served as Canon of St Paul's Cathedral. Early years Mel ...

. He was descended from Capt. Philip Melvill on his mother's side. Paris passed out of the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...

and was commissioned into the

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence of th ...

in 1909. He married Ruth Norton. He served in the

, and was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

(MC) in 1917.

Battle of Malaya

In December 1941, Paris was in command of the

12th Indian Infantry Brigade 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

, part of the Singapore Garrison. When the battle started in northern Malaya, Paris's 12th Brigade was sent to protect the retreat of the Indian 11th Infantry Division, which it did successfully, to the extent that it surprised the Japanese, inflicting high casualties on some of their more overconfident units. When Lieutenant General

Arthur Percival Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival, (26 December 1887 – 31 January 1966) was a senior British Army officer. He saw service in the First World War and built a successful military career during the interwar period but is most noted fo ...

sacked Major General

David Murray-Lyon Major General David Murrey Murray-Lyon, (14 August 1890 – 4 February 1975) was an officer in the British Indian Army. His final appointment was as the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 11th Indian Infantry Division in Malaya until h ...

from command of the 11th Indian Division, Paris was given temporary command, until the disastrous

Battle of Slim River The Battle of Slim River occurred during the Malayan campaign in January 1942 between the Imperial Japanese Army and the British Indian Army on the west coast of Malaya. Background Japanese forces had invaded north-west Malaya from southern Th ...

, when Major General Billy Key took over and Paris resumed command of the 12th Brigade. Paris commanded the 12th Brigade throughout the retreat down Malaya and the subsequent battles on Singapore.

''Rooseboom''

With Singapore about to surrender in February 1942, Percival attempted to save personnel who were successful at fighting the Japanese and Paris was one of the chosen. His wife had left Singapore a few weeks earlier aboard the SS ''Lyemoon'' which was part of a civilian evacuation. He escaped aboard the Dutch ship ''Rooseboom'', which was sunk off Sumatra. Although he survived the sinking along with about 80 other passengers in one

lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen ...

, he did not survive the shocking 28-day ordeal of drifting 100 miles. There were only five survivors. This account of the struggle for survival after the sinking of the ''Rooseboom'' was based on survivor and Argyll and Sutherland Highlander Walter Gibson's book ''The Boat'': Paris is commemorated on the

Kranji War Memorial The Kranji War Memorial ( Chinese: 克兰芝阵亡战士公坟; ms, Tanah Perkuburan Perang Kranji; ta, கிராஞ்சி போர் நினைவு) is located at 9 Woodlands Road, in Kranji in northern Singapore. Dedicated to the ...

in Singapore.

References

External links

*
Rooseboom Sinking
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paris, Archibald 1890 births 1942 deaths British Army brigadiers of World War II British Plymouth Brethren English evangelicals British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Military Cross Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry officers Military of Singapore under British rule British Army personnel killed in World War II Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Melvill family Military personnel from Portsmouth People from Portsea, Portsmouth