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 (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

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

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer. Although he is better known for having died during the events that followed the sinking of the Dutch ship '' Rooseboom'' off

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

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 between ...

and the subsequent

fall of Singapore The fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore, took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of Japan captured the British stronghold of Singapore, with fighting lasting from 8 to 15 February 1942. S ...

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 the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea began as a f ...

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

, Portsmouth,''1891 England Census'' the son of Major General Sir Archibald Paris, a

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

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 w ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, 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 Melv ...

. He was descended from Capt.

Philip Melvill Philip Melvill (7 April 1762 – 27 October 1811) was a Scottish philanthropist and patriarch of the Melvill family of Falmouth, Cornwall.Gay, Susan E. ''Old Falmouth''; London, Headley Bros, 1903 p.28-30, portrait of Melvill, facing p. 29. He ...

on his mother's side. Paris passed out of the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

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 September 1909. He married Ruth Norton. Promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in August 1913 and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in March 1916, he served in the

, being made a GSO3 in February 1915, and was awarded the

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

(MC) in June 1917.

Battle of Malaya

In December 1941, Paris was in command of the

12th Indian Infantry Brigade The 12th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade at the outbreak of the Indian Army during World War II. It was sent to Singapore in August 1939 and took part in the Malayan Campaign before going into captivity with the Fall of Sing ...

, 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 The 11th Infantry Division is an infantry Division (military), division of the Indian Army. It was raised as a part of the Indian Army during World War II. It formed part of Indian III Corps in the Malaya Command during the Battle of Malaya. The ...

, 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 British Army officer. He saw service in the First World War and built a successful military career during the interwar period, but is best known for his de ...

sacked Major General

David Murray-Lyon Major General David Murray 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 unti ...

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, he did not survive the shocking 28-day ordeal of drifting 1000 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 (Simplified Chinese, Chinese: 克兰芝阵亡战士公坟; ; ) is located at 9 Woodlands Road, in Kranji in northern Singapore. Dedicated to the men and women from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Sri Lanka, India, Br ...

in Singapore.

References

Bibliography

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