Research Summary
John Singleton was born on 30th November 1875 in Newcastle on Tyne, Northumberland. He was educated by private instruction in England and at Antwerp School in Belgium. He was fluent in English, French, German, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish and Russian. He was also said to have a “good knowledge of machine construction and designing gained by private study”. On 30th October 1897 he married an Elizabeth Thompson at St. Peter’s RC Church in Scarborough but does not appear to have had any children. He was described as being 5’ 6” with dark brown hair, blue eyes and of a sallow complexion. His occupation was as a Professor of Literature at Ghent University.

Sometime in 1904 John and his wife Elizabeth moved to Antwerp in Belgium. In the same year he joined the Belgian Army Administrative Service remaining in post until the beginning of the First World War. He also founded both the Boy Scout and Sea Scout movements for Northern Belgium spending 5 years as Chief Scout and 1 year Chief Sea Scout. Later, when war was declared, he organized both these movements into auxiliary services for the different ministries including staff officers and hospitals amongst others.

On the outbreak of war John Singleton was still living in Belgium and was granted a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Belgium Army in August 1914. It seems that in October 1914 Elizabeth returned to England after their house at 83 Rue Ballaer was destroyed, most likely by the Germans. John, however, remained and on the On 1st March 1915 he was attached to the Cabinet of the Belgian Minister of War (to whom he was said to hold some influence upon) on a special mission. During this time he reorganized the Field Kitchen Service, organized the sterilization of water supplies and disinfection of clothing at the front as well as improving trench heating and recreation facilities. The cookers, trench heaters and portable disinfectors and sterilizers were said to be of his own design. The special mission was terminated along with his commission on 2nd September 1916.

After this he returned to England joining his wife at 45 Raymead Avenue, Thornton Heath in Croydon. He then enlisted, aged 40 years and 11 months, as Private MT-7229642 in the Army Service Corps on 7th November 1916 ‘for the duration of the war’. However he was discharged at Grove Park on 3rd December 1916 after being granted a temporary commission in the regular army also with the Army Service Corps. After completing a period as an officer cadet he was confirmed as a 2nd Lieutenant on 23rd May 1917.

Following this he was then sent to Mesopotamia on 2nd June 1917 with the 818th Motor Transport Company. On 4th June 1918 he was promoted Lieutenant. He returned to the UK on 25th May 1920 and was demobilized on 30th of the same month passing to the army reserves. Upon discharge his character was stated as “Very Good” and “Thoroughly efficient and reliable”.

By 1923 John Singleton had become the Director and Sales Manager of Imperic Traders Ltd. located at 231-232 Strand, W.C. At this time resided at 18 Philbeach Gardens, Earls Court, S.W.1. Nothing else is known of him after this date.

Enemy Agent and Charges of Corruption?
It appears that John Singleton was discharged from the Belgian army after they thought him to be “an undesirable character…on account of his not inspiring the necessary confidence to be allowed to remain in the zone of the armies”. They also thought him to be a possible enemy agent (of which there was a large dossier compiled by the Belgians containing circumstantial evidence) and that he was selling parcels sent from England to Belgian civilians for his own benefit. He had been the Vice-President of the Belgian Soldiers Fund and had stated that he gave £170,000 to the Belgian Army which was later said to be false. The fund was charged with purchasing and distributing clothing and other necessities to the Army. While supervising this he resided at the Hotel du Nord, Bourbourg in France which was used as a base for the distribution of the articles. Singleton was also in the habit of journeying to London every fortnight with a Miss Carey who was the founder and organizer of this fund. He had been recommended to this position by a Dr. Munro and was appointed by Baron de Brouqueville, the Belgian Minister for War.

Also during his time in Belgium he once took an American lady with him up to the firing. This apparently caused some trouble as she had to be quickly sent away after the Germans suddenly made an attack. After this he was forbidden to go behind the firing line again.

Following his return to England he was put under surveillance by MI5 who after some time concluded, in a memo dated 12th April 1917 sent to the B.E.F. in France, that “There is nothing to corroborate the suggestions of espionage, nor that he sold parcels to civilians and pouched the proceeds as seems to be suggested by the statement in his [Belgian] dossier.” However a confidential memo dated 12th May 1917 sent from MI5 to the War Office requested that “measures may be taken to prevent the above officer [John Singleton] being dispatched to this [France] country, in view of the fact that this Office concurred with the Belgian G.Q.G. that Singleton was an undesirable character…and in the event of an advance into Belgium a difficult situation might be created on Singleton being discovered as a British Officer on Belgian soil”. Singleton was accordingly sent to Mesopotamia.

After the war ended MI5 retained limited interest in John Singleton where, in another memo dated 27th July 1923, they stated that “No military objection was raised to the proposed journey”. This was in response to an application made by Singleton to the Foreign Office and Passport Office in London for permission to proceed to Germany, Antwerp and Holland on ‘urgent’ business. The memo however states “perhaps C.2. would like to notify India [codename?] of this officer’s change of address.” It is likely that MI5 did not consider Singleton a threat to national security but retained a file on him.

Awards
As with other British officers who served in a theatre of war between 1916 and 1918 John Singleton was eligible to claim both the British War Medal 1914-20 and the Victory Medal which he did. According to the Belgian Ministry of Defence Sous-lieutenant Singleton was decorated with the “Croix de Guerre 1940 avec Palme” (Décision du Prince Régent Number 1985, dated 11th Mars 1946) for the following reason:

“For the courage and bravery which he has shown during the glorious battles that have led to the liberation of Belgium”

This was a general citation, not an individual one, for all the soldiers receiving this decoration by the above mentioned decision.

It is unclear exactly why he received this medal but it is likely he moved back to Belgium and was living there when the Germans invaded in 1940. He may, therefore, have done some act which earned him the medal during the German occupation of the country.

He was also entitled to the Belgian Victory Medal 1914-18.