Varley was seconded to the
Second Australian Imperial Force in 1940 and placed in command of
2/18th Battalion, part of
22nd Brigade and destined for
Malaya. Much of his command was drawn from the
Armidale region. His son, Jack, was also present in Malaya as part of
2/19th Battalion. Once stationed in
Mersing, the brigade engaged in training more suitable to the jungle environment than it had experienced to date. Following the invasion of Malaya by the
Empire of Japan, the 22nd Brigade was forced into fighting a series of rear guard actions against the advancing Japanese. Varley's command did not engage the Japanese until 26 January 1942, when it implemented an ambush near
Jemaluang. While successful, the effectiveness of the ambush had been compromised by the Japanese advancing more quickly than expected. The action was cut short when the brigade's commander, Brigadier
Harold Burfield Taylor, ordered Varley to withdraw to Jameluang. Nearly 100 of Varley's men were killed or captured. The brigade later withdrew to
Singapore Island, taking up positions on the north western coast of the island. Varley's battalion was located between the Sarimbum and Murai Rivers, with a machine-gun platoon in support. On 8 February, the Japanese commenced an artillery bombardment of 22nd Brigade's sector but even though Varley later noted that it was heavier than what he had undergone in the First World War, casualties in his battalion were light. That night the Japanese launched landings on the sector held by Varley's battalion and were able to outflank and put pressure on his positions. Varley eventually ordered a withdrawal to the village of Ama Keng, to the rear of the battalion's sector. The battalion was now down to half strength and was ordered further back to Bulim. By 12 February, the Japanese were well established on Singapore Island and advancing on all fronts. Brigadier Taylor had become extremely fatigued and asked Varley, whose battalion had been in reserve sine the previous day, to take over temporary command of 22nd Brigade. The following day, the divisional commander, Major General
Gordon Bennett, promoted Varley to brigadier and made him the permanent commander of the brigade; the command lasted only a few more days before the surrender of Singapore on 15 February.
Prisoner of war After the surrender, Varley, and the majority of his fellow AIF captives were imprisoned at Selarang Barracks near
Changi Prison. When the first major contingent of Australian prisoners, totalling around 3,000 men and designated
A Force departed Changi in May 1942, Varley was placed in command.
A Force was shipped in cramped conditions to
Burma where it was engaged in the construction of airfields. Initially, conditions were good and men were paid for their work (although the Japanese deducted expenses) which allowed them to buy rations. Consequently, the prisoner's general condition improved from what it was in Changi. To capitalise on this, Varley endeavoured to keep as many men as possible working. Eventually, the airfield work was completed, and in September 1942,
A Force was shipped to
Thanbyuzayat to start work on the northern start line for the
Burma-Thailand Railway. At Thanbyuzayat, other groups of prisoners were gradually brought into the camp, and these came under Varley's jurisdiction such that he was eventually responsible for 9,000 men in total. To manage
A Force, which was spread out across a series of camp to the southeast, he had a small headquarters, with departments responsible for food, medical care and so forth. During his time in Burma, Varley constantly agitated to improve conditions as much as possible for the men under his command. He also tried to keep as many men as possible working. This meant that a possibly more cordial relationship existed with the Japanese at Thanbyuzayat than elsewhere, to the benefit of the welfare of the men under his charge. Although corrupt and prone to stealing the Australian's supplies, the Japanese commander also seemed to be more lenient than other commandants in charge of prison camps in the region. In June 1943, the camp at Thanbyuzayat, adjacent a railway yard, was bombed by
Allied aircraft during which Varley was slightly wounded. The camp was evacuated the next day and the prisoners moved to a more remote site. Despite his best efforts, the quality of food began to decline and this impacted on the health of the men, and the death rate. By early 1944, and the railway now completed, most prisoners had been moved to Thailand. At this stage, the death rate of
A Force was a little over 13%, a much lower rate than in other prisoner of war parties. Much of this is attributed to Varley's efforts on behalf of his men. It had been intended that the surviving prisoners of
A Force be transported to Japan. However, the Japanese were experiencing difficulty in getting shipping to Japan and so it was decided to initially return the prisoners, including Varley, to Singapore. In September, after a few months in Singapore, Varley was placed in command of a party of 2,300 prisoners to be transported to Japan from Singapore. However, on 12 September his transport, the
Rakuyo Maru, carrying around 1,250 prisoners, was amongst those torpedoed off
Hainan by the United States
submarine USS Sealion. The prisoners all successfully abandoned ship but the escorting destroyers only recovered the Japanese crew of the sunken ship. The prisoners were left to their own devices although they were able to board eleven abandoned life boats. The life boats split into two groups, one sailing to the west and the other to east. The easterly party, Varley amongst them, were not seen again. When the westerly party were picked up by passing Japanese shipping, they reported hearing gunfire coming from the east. It was assumed that
Japanese navy vessels destroyed the lifeboats of the easterly party, killing all on board. ==Legacy==