The Man Behind The Fall of Singapore — Who Was General Percival?

Lt General Arthur Percival was a British Army officer whose career became forever defined by the Fall of Singapore in February 1942, the worst defeat in British military history and the British armies biggest surrender ever. Percival had a distinguished earlier career on the Western Front during WW1 being awarded a Military Cross, DSO and other awards. Percival was involved at the Battle of the Somme and would later serve in Cork during the Irish War of Independence (Irish Rebellion). Commanding British forces in Malaya and Singapore during the outbreak of war with the Japanese Empire, Percival was outwitted by Japanese General Tomoyuki Yamashita and was forced to surrender his combined army of British, Australian, Malay and Indian Forces. He would later be invited by General Douglas MacArthur to stand behind him at the signing of the Japanese surrender at the USS Missouri. We film much of this video in Singapore and Malaysia. Including Fort Canning and The Battlebox. Sources: The Chief (Ronald Lewin), Guerrilla Days In Ireland (Tom Barry), IWM, More Military Blunders (Geoffrey Regan), Singapore Battlebox Museum