Despite the Japanese attacks, the defensive line held; with food, water and ammunition running out, Percival decided on 15 February that counter-attacks would be fruitless. To spare the civilian population of the city further hardship, the decision was made to surrender the Allied garrison. The order to surrender surprised the men; some fled, fearing that the Japanese would not take prisoners and others had to be pressured into laying down their arms. Some, such as Harold Atcherley (an intelligence officer with the division) were ordered off the island, but Atcherley failed to escape. On 15 February, the division ceased to exist and its men entered Japanese captivity. The division was never reconstituted in the United Kingdom. During the next three years, over one-third of the men died in Japanese captivity; Beckwith-Smith succumbed to diphtheria on 11 November 1942.