Number 1 Independent Infantry Company

John Mann
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.

Derek Twigg
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.