1st Bn The King's Regiment, (Liverpool), Chindits.

No worries, an accurate figure would make this too easy. I have started imputing my notes onto a spread sheet this morning and have decided to list the known casualties in date order and have a separate section for those known to have served alphabetically.as I won't have service numbers for a lot of them.

By the way, on the glider lists that you sent I am not familiar of the concept of a BM Number. I am sure it will be something obvious but can you enlighten me please?

Thank you.

 

Yes, that has had me pondering. We briefly discussed this a few years back on the forum, it only appears on the nominal rolls for the missing, so we came up with Believed Missing, British Missing and Burma Missing.

In terms of the Gliders code, the P stands for Piccadilly and the B for Broadway. As you probably know, these were the two landing locations for Wingate's aerial invasion of Burma in March 1944. Piccadilly became compromised at the last minute and landings there were abandoned in favour of Broadway.

 

Steve,

A Believed Missing case number makes sense as in the Action column the word 'located' implies that the case is now resolved. RP as in Reported Missing makes more sense to me though.

Simon.

 

A quick update, I now have 336 names on the list and the vast majority have service numbers attached. I suspect that these are the easy fruit and that the remaining 450 names that made up Columns 81 and 82 will be much harder to gather. If any one has any details of any 1st King's Regiment (Liverpool) personnel that served as Chindits please send me a message. If I already have the name I will let you know what I have, if I haven't I will add the name to the database.

Many thanks to the Hebridean Chindit and Bamboo 43 for their generous help in getting this project started. I have also found Jack Lindo's From Dingle to Delhi very useful.

 

Simon,

I was going to suggest Jack's book. I'll go away and have a think and a ponder.

 

Have you tried searching through the obituaries in the Dekho? By no means definitive but may throw up some more men.
Lionboxer.

 

I have checked to see if various names appear in the obituaries if I know the date that the individual passed away but I have not checked all my copies of Dekho! systematically yet. The BMD search on Ancestry has helped to find the Christian names of many of the individuals that I only have the initials for. It also helps that many of the men came from the West Derby registration area of Liverpool. In other cases where I only have a surname it is more difficult unless the surname is out of the ordinary. I need a Christian name for a Pte Dobie for example and have at least 15 candidates born between 1912 and 1925 in the West Derby, Bootle and Liverpool areas alone.

Jack Lindo also mentions a Pte Avery being accidentally killed at Mogaung but I can find no mention of him in the CWGC registers. Jack may not have used 'Avery's' real name in the book but he describes him as 'a young lad of 20, again I did not know his first name'.

I do wonder if he meant Avis as in 5625741 Pte Charles Avis who was killed in action on the 20th June 1944, age 24.

 

Simon,

Have you a copy of WO172/4436, that being 77 Brigade HQ diary for 1944. It is a monster of a document with many many pages and difficult to work through. But occasionally it throws up the odd gem, such as the page attached here. The officer mentioned a couple of times on the page, Lt. VK. Astafiev was with the King's, working back at rear base in 1944, one for the list I would say. There are some casualties listed from 81/82 Col. and some wounded too, which might be of interest.

 

Would that be :

Vladimar Krjesinsky Astafiev

Born 1921 London
Married 1951 Chelsea
Died 2007 Aylesbury

TD

 

Hi TD,

I think we could safely say that is the man!!

 

Hope its useful/helpful :wink:

TD

 

I don't yet have a copy of WO 172/4436 but as you say it seems to have some gems. I particularly liked the comment, 'You have earned 2 months with Rosalind Russell and a bedside beer fountain'.

Astafiev's name is on the December 1942 War Diary appendix, 'nominal roll of officers on strength'. It is quite a long roll and I am working my way through it to see how many of the names were still with the 1st King's in 1944.

 

TD, yes very helpful. Thank you.

Simon.

 

I have now completed my search of my back numbers of Dekho! for 1/King's obituary notices and it has added quite a few more names. As I do not have a complete run of Dekho!s there is much more to do. I do not have the following editions 1-96, 99, 117, 122, 143, 149, 153, 155, 159, 168 or any after 177, I am at a bit of a dead end regarding this particular resource. If anyone has any of the above editions and could spare the time to check the obituary lists for men of the 1/King's Regiment (Liverpool), I would be very grateful. If anyone knows where I can get back numbers from I would be delighted.

Simon.

 

122 no obits. 149 nothing. 153 RN Campion, AW Hodge. 155 KW Richards, J Upton (13 Kings).
Still looking!

 

LB. thank you for taking the time to look these up for me, it is appreciated. Can you please confirm a location for A W Hodge and K W Richards?

I have found the following:

Robert Norman Campion, death registered Knowsley, Merseyside, May 2006.
Albert Wesley Hodge, death registered Hitchin & Stevenage, May 2006.
Kenneth Walter Richards, death registered Plymouth, March 2007.

Simon.

 

Campion Hodge in summer 2006. Hodge in Herts branch. Richards Spring 2007 Plymouth branch.
Now trawling through my other copies starting at 53 but not complete. Got about 14 names so far.

Issue 117 T.Owens, F.Trickett

 

180 WDL Bett 13 Kings, H. Ridgeway.

 

Thank you. I have found Thomas Owens, death registered Liverpool, May 1995. He appears to have had medals issued for service with the Merchant Navy.

I cannot find F Trickett in the death registers for 1994, '95 or '96 but have found 14 F Tricketts in the birth registers between 1911 and 1923.

 

One of my lovely boys.

http://www.chinditslongcloth1943.com/company-quartermaster-sergeant-duncan-bett.html