The Burma Star Association

Re my comment in post#4 please go to the new website of the Burma Campaign Society http://theburmacampaignsociety.org/about-us

Lionboxer

 

Thanks for posting the link Lionboxer, I shall be having a good look through the site tonight when I get home from work.

Steve

 

Ditto...

 

To Bamboo43

Many thanks for your kind remark about the Chinthe. It was good to see it in it's rightful place at last in August. I'm writing a short (ish) account of how I came to be asked (or was it co-erced) to take the project on. Another good thing to come out of it is that I have now gained a new skill in woodcarving, something I didn't have before I started it (that's why it took so long to carve it - over 3,500 hours). Boy, did I need a rest afterwards.

Hope everyone here is well and coping with the awful weather just now.

 

Hi Roger,

After our email conversation earlier last year I did place a short piece about the carving and the unveiling ceremony on my website. I now am wondering whether or not I contacted you to tell you it was up on line?

Apologies if I did not Roger.

Best wishes.

Steve

Here is the link, the information can be found by scrolling down the page.

http://www.chinditslongcloth1943.com/memorials-and-cemeteries.html

 

Wow! What an incredible piece of work. The Chinthe looks fantastic.

I am interested in joining a Burma Star legacy organisation, whatever name it eventually takes.

 

I would be interested in joining . Do we know what the agenda of the new group would be ,would it be similar to the Burma star Ass.
Lion boxer have looked at the link and it seemed to be more about the Japanese and building bridges with them.i think any new group should be a memorial of memory for all those who took part in the Burma Campaign . I think all we need to do is take all the posts and threads from the regular members on here who are researching the Burma campaign and put it all together on its own site, . Then we would have a very educational, informative well researched site. The web site for said new Ass should be a welcoming easy to navigate site. It should be a place ( very much similar to this site) where relatives can go to learn more of all aspects of the Burma Campaign . Elsie

 

Bamboo43, thank you for your very kind comments on your website. You seem to be building quite a resource there.

Force 136 Rich, Thank you too for your comments about the Chinthe, and take a look at our Facebook page www.facebook.com/BurmaStarBrum to see a lengthy post about a follow on association.

Hello our Bill, (down here we say "our kid"). Just kidding. The agenda of the new group is to carry on the act of remembrance of the "Forgotten" campaign of WWII. There are several families of veterans who have expressed a wish for something like this to be started. Those of us in Birmingham Branch of BSA feel that we should endeavour to raise funds which would help to take care of the various local memorials to our Burma veterans around the country. Also to start putting together a resource pack and website that can be accessed by students who study this theatre of war as part of their secondary and higher education. Currently veterans are invited to attend schools and other centres to be interviewed by students, when the veterans can no longer do this we feel that unless we take the trouble they will once again be forgotten. "Not on my watch". I like the idea of combining all the threads here into one totally dedicated website, there is a terrific amount of extremely well researched knowledge here. I am currently in touch with someone in Imphal who is involved in the 70th anniversary of the twin battles of Imphal and Kohima commemorations in Manipur, he has agreed to send me as many photos as he can of their remembrance services. He is also taking photos that were taken during the conflict and finding the exact spots that they were taken and doing a "then and now" series of photos. So far they have been very interesting. I have shared them on our FB page.

The Kohima Museum in York are interested in joining forces with us as they are in the process of expanding their exhibition to cover the whole of the Burma Campaign.

As for a name: the veterans I have spoken to so far favour "Burma Veterans Remembrance Association", Kohima Museum would prefer "Friends of the Burma Campaign Museum". I have to say I prefer the former as it is the veterans we are paying tribute to. Any thoughts from members here would be welcomed, and yes, it would be an international organisation as I have already had enquiries from Australia, Canada and India, after all it was a multi-national, multi-faith force. Over to all of you here for your thoughts.

All the best to everyone

Roger

 

I have just had a thought, Those of us that are able, could get together at the National Memorial Arboretum and talk to more veterans after the Burma Star Association AGM and service of remembrance including special mention of the 70th anniversary of the battles of Imphal, Kohima and Bishenpur which is being held on Wednesday 21st; May, 2014. The BSA meeting usually starts at 12:00 and the service takes place at 14:00. we could get together for light refreshment afterwards. I shall be there in my honorary post of Standard Bearer for Birmingham Branch.

Any thoughts anyone?

Roger

 

I see from reading the latest issue of Dekho magazine that the Burma Star Association are investing in a scholarship scheme in conjunction with University College London. Seems a very worthy initiative.

More here:

Scholarships and funding

 

I had a look at the Burma Star Association Website today and notice that they have decided to close the organisation down next year after celebrations to commemorate VJ Day. A sad, but inevitable moment.

 

I was under the impression that although the number of Burma Star recipients was dwindling the association had quite a lot of support from relatives of those men and associated supporters.

My information could well be out of date...

One wonders whether it might be reborn as a more general remembrance and research group, like, for instance the Monte Casino Society.

 

Charley, I recall that when this idea was mooted a couple of years ago, the BSA refused to let the words "Burma Star" be used by any legacy organisation. So that rather squashed the idea... The article on their website said that their overheads now exceeded income, so presumably donations must have fallen below a level at which they could be considered a going concern.

 

That sounds like a sad--but as you say almost inevitable--ending.

It's their business and I have no right or interest in criticising them, but one wonders why they feel the need to be intransigent with regard to the use of the name. Do they have a legal obligation to defend the name in order to retain copyrights over publications or somesuch?

I should have thought that they'd welcome the idea of the spirit carrying on.

 

I think this was always an inevitable situation and is probably why they did not replace Viscount John Slim with a new President, after his sad death earlier this year. So, only a few more Dekho magazines left to be published, I'll miss receiving those.

Apt though, to close after the 75th Anniversary of VJ Day.

 

Another update in the latest edition of Dekho magazine, states that there will soon be a new website which will have available on its pages, all the 56,000 BSA membership records from over the years and digitised copies of every Dekho magazine. The collation of this material involved Find My Past personnel, but I understand that there will be no restriction or charge to view this archive. This will be a useful digital archive for several members on this great forum, including myself.

 

That is an amazing effort by the Burma Star Association. I congratulate them on their generosity and thoughtfulness in making all this information available online at no cost. A fitting memorial. I wonder who will maintain the Web page?

 

What a useful site that will be when it arrives. It should open up many research avenues for students of the Burma Campaign. I also look forward to the day when the MOD releases the 1939-45 service records as they did for the Great War. In theory they should be available under the 75 year rule but I am not aware of any plans to digitise and release them to the public domain.

 

I must admit to being slightly and presently surprised by the announcement. I look forward to reading through the Dekho issues I do not already possess and possibly seeking out potential Chindits from the membership records.

 

Earlier this year the project was looking for a volunteer, to input the information from the old membership application forms quickly and accurately onto a computer.They state " There is office space available at the headquarters of the Association in London, where the forms are kept, for this to be undertaken.The Memorial Fund would consider paying for this service if a suitable volunteer cannot be found. If you are interested in helping with this project, please contact the office of the Fund on 020 7823 4273 or email burmastar@btconnect.com."

I discovered this from their web page. No idea if a volunteer has been found. I suspect the launch date will be August 2020.