Arthur Ronald Dickerson was born in 1914 and was the son of Arthur and Eliza who lived at Pear Tree Cottages on Station Road, Melton. Arthur senior had served with the Royal Engineers during the First World War.

Arthur enlisted into the 4^th Suffolks on 4^th October 1938 and when War was declared the battalion was mobilised on home defence duties and training. In October 1941 the 4^th and 5^th (Territorial) Battalions of the Suffolk Regiment were posted to Egypt where they were to carry on with their training before being deployed to the front line.

On 29^th October 1941, Arthur and his colleagues boarded the SS Andes in Liverpool and from here they headed across the Atlantic to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Here, the 4^th and 5^th Suffolks transhipped to the USS Wakefield to continue on their journey to Egypt. Before being requisitioned for war, the USS Wakefield had been the luxury liner SS Manhattan and owned by the United States Line.

Their next port of call was Port of Spain in Trinidad and then on to Cape Town where they were given shore leave. On 13^th December they left Cape Town arriving in Bombay (Mumbai) on the 27^th. The two battalions were to remain in camp for two weeks to help regain their fitness after their long sea journey.

On 19^th January 1942, Arthur and the two battalions boarded the USS Wakefield once more and it was not until they were underway that the news that they were now bound for Singapore and not Egypt was released. Ten days later, on 29^th January, the USS Wakefield led the convoy into the docks at Keppel Harbour, Singapore.

Arthur’s battalion disembarked and were taken to a tented camp on the Tempines Road. At this time the Japanese Army was pushing down through the main land towards Singapore island and the Allied troops were ordered to withdraw to the island to make a final stand. By the 31^st January the 4^th and 5^th Suffolks had taken up positions on the northeast of the island facing the mainland across a narrow strait. Their orders were to defend the beaches at all costs and to prevent the Japanese forces landing on the island. On the 5^th February, Arthur and the battalions came under fire for the first time. Over the following days, the Japanese force managed to land on the northwest coast of the island and advanced across toward the town of Singapore. The 4^th Suffolks received orders in the early hours of the 11^th February to move from the beaches to a position in the middle of the island near the Peirce and MacRitchie Reservoirs to help defend against the Japanese advance.

On 14^th February at 18:00, the Japanese began a heavy artillery and mortar attack on the 4^th Suffolk’s front following this up by putting tanks across the nearby golf course. Having suffered heavy casualties, the 4^th Suffolks were forced to retreat closely followed by the Japanese infantry. The Battalion consolidated its position amongst the houses and gardens. The fighting continued through the night and again the 4^th Suffolks sustained casualties.

At 11:00 am on the 15^th February, orders were received that said firing was to cease on the road the 4^th Suffolks were defending to allow a party bearing a white flag to pass through to the Japanese lines – the Allied Forces, in an impossible situation trapped on the island, had surrendered.

It was during the fighting on the 14^th and 15^th February, that Arthur Dickerson was killed. He was one of one hundred and forty-three men from the Battalion who lost their lives between landing in Singapore and the surrender.