I am trying to find out the circumstances of the capture of Signaller (L/Cpl in some documents) VG Talbot 2331838. He was a Chindit on Operation Longcloth and part of 77 Infantry Brigade Signals Section. He was captured by the Japanese and died in Rangoon Jail on 4 Sept 1943. There is no POW documentation (eg Japanese Index Card) I can find on-line (using FindMyPast etc) as is normal - is this a one off or common for those taken prisoner in 1943 as Chindits? However the Casualty Lists has him 'Missing' as of 22 April 1943. Although he is on the lists of the Missing from the Campaign in the Missing Personnel for the Royal Signals file at Kew there is no detail and it is noted he died whilst a POW. Steve Fogden mentions him in his website on Operation Longcloth as he was one of the Royal Sigs who joined Longcloth late after serving on Mission 204 in China. 22 April 1943 (if this is correct) was late in Longcloth and as the dispersal order had been given at the end of March it is likely that he was captured/went missing on the return trip to India. I can't find any references to actions on that date but on interrogating the CWGC site most of the casualties that day are from 3/2 Gurkha Rifles who made up the Southern Group of Columns 1 and 2. They were at the Chindwin at that time and the casualties could have been incurred in crossing the river. Any information or suggestions to follow up much appreciated!
UK, Commonwealth War Graves, 1914-1921 and 1939-1947 Name: Vernon Graham Talbot Gender: Male Age: 25 Birth Date: abt 1918 Death Date: 4 Sep 1943 Cemetery: Rangoon War Cemetery Burial Country: Burma Regimental Number: 2331838 Region or Memorial: Burma Father: Moses Talbot Mother: Elise Talbot UK, Army Roll of Honour, 1939-1945 Name: Vernon Talbot Given Initials: V G Rank: Signalman Death Date: 4 Sep 1943 Number: 2331838 Birth Place: Monmouthshire Residence: Monmouthshire Branch at Enlistment: Royal Corps of Signals Theatre of War: Burma Regiment at Death: Royal Corps of Signals Branch at Death: Royal Corps of Signals Global, Find a Grave Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current Name: Sgnlmn Vernon Graham Talbot Gender: Male Death Date: 4 Sep 1943 Cemetery: Rangoon War Cemetery Burial or Cremation Place: Rangoon, East Yangon District, Yangon Region, Myanmar Has Bio?: Y Sgnlmn Vernon Graham Talbot (unknown-1943) - Find... 1939 England and Wales Register Name: Vernon Graham Talbot Gender: Male Marital Status: Single Birth Date: 14 Apr 1918 Residence Date: 1939 Address: 12 Residence Place: Abertillery, Monmouthshire, Wales Occupation: Furniture Salesman & Collector Line Number: 6 Schedule Number: 321 Sub Schedule Number: 3 Enumeration District: XOCF Borough: Abertillery Registration district: 585/1 Inferred Father: Moses Talbot Inferred Mother: Elsie Talbot There are 5 family trees that include but no finite details - most say: Death 27 Apr 1943 • Burma Burial Rangoon War Cemetery, Myanmar Occupation Signalman Indian Infantry -Wingate's Raiders
Thanks TD. I had found most of this plus some newspaper articles but no detail on what happened to him or a photo. In Aug 1943 they heard he was missing but only heard he was a POW in 1945, a few months before they were told he had died in Sept 1943.
The normal avenues I have found dont normally turn up the sort of detail you are after. Survivors or personal accounts may well provide details but finding those as you know are like finding hens teeth Example - one I found was in the book China Dragons even though they spelt his name incorrectly Have you tried the Royal School of Signals ?? - those that made it back may have written reports Just for general info from Bamboo43 website: Signalman Arthur Nicholls and the RCOS Draft from China Signalman 2331838 Vernon Graham Talbot was the son of Moses and Elsie Talbot and the husband of Gwenlyn Talbot from Seaford in Sussex. Vernon was a member of the draft of men who served on the 204 Military Mission to China in 1942. On Operation Longcloth he was captured by the Japanese and sadly died as a prisoner of war inside Rangoon Jail on the 4th September 1943. He died as a result of contracting beri-beri at the prison and was one of the first Chindits to perish from this condition during their incarceration at Rangoon.
Hi Gents, Apart from the info on my website, little else is known about Talbot and his capture. If my memory serves, there are quite a number of Longcloth men who became POWs and who have no Index card against their name. Because the men held at Rangoon Jail did not pass through the Changi Camp during 1942/43, they tended to be lost to the recording process. The majority of Rangoon index cards have the date, 15th March 1944 in the top left hand corner under Camp. I believe this was the date that the personnel present in the jail were first collated by the Changi office. If you see what I mean. So men lost beforehand and especially those from Chindit 1 were never recorded by Changi before they had sadly died. There are listings of deaths for Rangoon Jail. When I get home from work I will dig these out and see if Talbot is recorded on these. He is listed alongside many of the RCOS who came on to Longcloth post 204 Mission, but he is not actually listed on the 204 Rolls. So there is an assumption there, but no actual provenance.
Attached is the part list for Allied deaths in Block 6 of Rangoon Jail showing an entry for Talbot. His POW number in the jail was 414, date of death matches his CWGC details. He was originally buried with the other casualties from the jail at the old Cantonment Cemetery located in the eastern sector of the city near the Royal Lakes. He does not have a concentration report amongst his CWGC details, otherwise I could tell you on what day his remains were transferred to Rangoon War Cemetery. The information about his death from beri beri was recalled in an IWM audio interview with another Chindit, Pte. Leon Frank. The only discrepancy in Leon's testimony is that he states Talbot was only 19 years old, which was of course incorrect. However, there were 45 intervening years between the event and Leon's audio. Looking through my files, there are 90 men from Chindit 1 who became POWs, but who possess no Japanese index card, or are incorrectly recorded on cards with surnames misspelled or other inaccuracies. I was once in communication with the group which ran the Far East POW experience centre at the National Arboretum and hoped to rectify this omission on their Roll of Honour. However, they were very protective of their own records and although sympathetic did not feel that the men held at Rangoon counted as bona fide prisoners of the Japanese. As you might expect, this was rather strange to me and not a little irritating. It was almost as though they were saying that if you did not surrender at Singapore and were processed at Changi, you did not count as a FEPOW. Skoyen89, I would love to see the newspaper articles mentioning Talbot if this is no trouble for you. Many thanks
Thanks B43. Let me work on the newspaper articles as I think they are in pdfs. I agree the attitude towards the Rangoon Jail FEPOWs is strange to say the least!! All the best S89
Bamboo43 The newspaper articles as requested. There are a couple of others where he is mentioned but they do not add anything.
Thanks S89. I will update Vernon's paragraph on the website to include these pieces of information. It looks as though he was captured after crossing the Shweli River which doesn't really narrow down a column placement.
Another newspaper article has come to light which adds a bit more information. Not a great copy but ........
Thanks for the new information S89. There were several attempts at the Shweli River by various columns, so it is hard to pinpoint when Talbot was lost. The closest story I know to the newspaper narrative is linked below, but there seem to be too many men involved to match exactly with the newspaper article: Eric Allen and the Lost Boat on the Shweli
I noticed that his CWGC details included this: Secondary Unit, Regiment attd. 77 Indian Inf. Bde. Sig. Sec. Indian Signal Corps Dont know if that helps in narrowing down his approximate location of capture
The real problem TD, is that Signals personnel were attached to all columns within 77 Brigade. S89 posted that the casualty lists have him recorded as missing on the 22nd April. He may well have been separated from his unit before this point, as described in the newspaper article, but captured much later. It is a shame that the article does not name the men who survived their time as POWs and who gave information about Vernon after their liberation. If I knew just one of these mens identities, I could probably unlock Vernon's story. Very frustrating.
Thanks to S89, I have been able to add a little something to Vernon Talbot's story on my website. Scroll down the page alphabetically if you would like to take a look: Signalman Arthur Nicholls and the RCOS Draft from China
Thanks HC. When I read stories like Vernon Talbot's, it makes me wonder if my Nan received any contact from returning soldiers that had served with my grandfather. Moses Talbot obviously tried very hard to gather information about his son and his untimely demise at Rangoon.
