UK 18th Infantry Division

The 'windmill sails' badge denoted the association of the Division with East Anglia. The Division was a Second Line Territorial Division formed from men from Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. It was a duplicate of 54th East Anglian Division. 18th Division was sent to India in at the end of 1941 but was diverted en-route to Singapore. One of the Division's constituent Brigades, the 53rd, arrived ahead of the main Division and was transferred to Johore the day after disembarkation on 13 January 1942. Under Malaya Command it took part in the fighting until the withdrawal to Singapore Island on 31 January before reverting to Divisional command for the final battles on the Island itself. The remainder of the Division landed at Singapore on 29 January 1942 and after participating in the defence of the island, surrendered with the rest of the fortress garrison on 15 February 1942.