Written question asked by Lord Mann (Labour) on Friday, 5 January 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 9 January 2007. It was answered by Derek Twigg (Labour) on Thursday, 18 January 2007 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Number 1 Independent Infantry Company

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what records have been kept by his Department in relation to the Number 1 Independent Infantry Company based in Malaya during the second world war.

Answer: The principal unit records from the second world war were unit war diaries. They are no longer held by MOD, but have been transferred to The National Archives. I can advise that The National Archives holds two files that relate to 1 Independent Infantry Company, under the references WO 172/208 entitled ““1 Independent Infantry Company April-September 1941, November 1941-January 1942””; and CAB 106/36 entitled ““Account of the Formation, Role, and Operations of No. 1 Independent Infantry Company in Malaya 1941-1942””.The Department continues to hold personnel records of soldiers who served in the second world war and some are likely to cover individuals who served in 1 Independent Infantry Company. Such records are not indexed on a unit basis and it is therefore not possible to identify soldiers from the unit without incurring disproportionate cost.

Secondary information