At this time of Remembrance, we pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of people of the Armed Forces who have lost their lives in war. From the First World War to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, The Royal Signals Museum holds stories of soldiers who have fought and died in the defence of democratic freedoms.
Sergeant John Eric Aberdein is one name among the many tales of loss. The card above shows a drawing of a cross, featuring his name and service number, along with lines from the First World War poem ‘The Soldier’ by Rupert Brooke. Inside it is signed by the officers and men of the 18th Division Signals, with whom Eric served.
Eric Aberdein was captured in Singapore in 1942 and was initially held in Changi prison. He was then put to work on the Thai-Burma railway and transferred to No.4 Prisoner of War Camp in Thailand. He died there from malaria in July 1943, aged 26. Eric’s wife Mona only learned of his death two years later when she received notification from the Royal Signals record office. An accompanying letter stated, “There is little I can say to comfort you in your bereavement but on the behalf of the Royal Signals I would like to express to you my sympathy in the sad loss you have sustained.”
Eric and Mona had married in August 1940 and according to a Christmas card he sent her that year, only spent nine days together before he left for his military service. She discovered information about his last days from a fellow prisoner, Bill Woodcock when he wrote to her in 1946.
‘He was exhausted through working on the railway. Also he was undernourished like us all, but he did not seem to suffer. He was just very tired. To explain everything to you now seems so hard, but to us at the time Eric was one of the lucky ones insomuch as he did not suffer like so many did. So please don’t let this upset you, I have only just plucked up the courage to tell you. As always I am yours in sympathy and friendship.’
The family also discovered in 1946 that Eric had been moved from a temporary grave to Kanchanaburi Military Cemetery, northeast of Bangkok. A letter from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission reveals that the words ‘Ever in our Thoughts’ had been chosen to appear on his headstone.
Like thousands of other British and Commonwealth troops between 1939 and 1945, Eric Aberdein’s life had been cut short. In 1940 he had been a newlywed and a recent graduate of King’s College London where he had gained a Batchelor of Science degree. His future had been denied but in the midst of grief, his father remembered his son’s character and conduct with deep pride. In a 1951 letter to King’s College, John Aberdein said:
"That while his son was in Singapore pending dispersal, the visionaries there founded a college and his son was appointed a lecturer which reflected credit on the teaching at Kings College. For his pupils he had high ranking Officers down to Privates. He proved to be most effective and was highly commended by everybody for his happy style and courtesy which he extended to all.”
Mona lived to 101 and passed away in 2020. Bill told the Museum that his mum ‘would have approved’ of Eric’s story being highlighted and that ‘Eric was denied the happiness with her that my father had.’
Eric Abderdein was one of 4,362 Royal Corps of Signals soldiers who lost their lives during the Second World War.
