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

Here is a copy of the brief account your father gave regarding Pte Freeman. It begins at the bottom of the first page.

 

Thank you for replying to my post and for the above information. It was quite emotional reading that about poor Pte Freeman.I will sort out some details for you and send but as I don't know how much info you want will send all I have!
Kind regards
Pat

 

Got to say every excerpt you post is riveting, fascinating stuff, and horrific. This incident of the column being ‘bumped’ as they crossed the road outside Broadway seems to have been pretty significant. I’ve just read about that episode in Jack Lindo’s book. The above extracts also give an insight into how the missing/wounded/killed lists were compiled from survivors accounts and the challenge of accounting for what happened to who and where and when.

From your research Simon is it possible to put a percentage on the proportion of the missing, or dead for which there is no account of when, where or how they met their end and therefore remains a mystery?

For those people is it feasible that the answer is still hidden somewhere in the documents at Kew or have those been gone through already many times over?

 

When the WO361 series was released, it certainly opened up the research area for many of us. To answer your question Richard, for Operation Longcloth for instance, I believe I've looked through everything that is obviously related to that expedition at Kew. But every now and then small snippets of info do turn up in other and sometimes unexpected places, so I guess there is always hope.

 

My ability to upload extracts from the various Kew files is solely down to the generosity of other forum members such as the two Steves (Rothy and Bamboo 43) and Kenny, the vegetarian, bass playing, Hebridean Chindit, generously sharing them with me. Luckily, they are so deeply involved in their own projects that they haven't had the time to knock the 1st King's Burma files into shape and left me to get on with it. Even now, they can still pull rabbits out of their various hats when I hit a brick wall. For their help I am eternally grateful.

They extracts from this particular file do not indicate how the casualty lists were compiled, as these would have been done from daily returns. Rather, they are to establish the fate of those reported missing. My understanding is that you had to have been missing for over one year, a year and a day, if I remember correctly, before you could be declared to be officially dead. Previously reported missing now believed to have been killed in action, is I believe, the correct terminology. Of course, if your body is found and identified, you will be officially dead. These reports tend to be for the missing and never recovered. There are very few official reports of the final moments of the majority of those killed and often several soldiers gave their accounts of the same soldier. Other accounts appear anecdotally in various privately written accounts.

My database includes the resting place or place of commemoration of all the 1st King's Regiment dead for both Burma and India so it would be possible to say how many have no known grave.

 

Hi Steve
Here as promised some info re Leonard George Price.
Born 1919 in Bristol and enlisted oct 42 . He was previously in a reserved occ as ship repairer
Sailed to Bombay in Aug 43 and transferred to 1st Kings Nov 43 and went to Jhansi for training.
Went to concessional area in Jan 44 (Hailakandi)
March 44 to Broadway
29 March was appointed Lance Corporal
1 Jul 44 admitted to CMH Panitola
15 Jul 44 returned to conc area
17 Jul back to unit
15 Aug 44 admitted to 119IGH
28 Aug 44 back to unit
28 Dec 44 admitted CCS Malthone
27 Feb 45 discharged from BMH Jhansi
1 March 45 posted to 15th para
After that little info except again in hospital in Rawalpindi from 11 Apr to 3 May 45
He also spent some time at Murree Hill Station in a residential club
He stayed on in India with AAC until Jan 47 when returned to UK. He remained in army in Aldershot until 1949 and then reserves until 1954.
He died in Mar 1987 in Weymouth
Sorry if it is too much or not enough! I have only vague recollections of what he told me. Most of it was concerning conditions in the jungle and his bouts of malaria/jaundice. I am sure he told me he had been shot in the calf at some point but I can find nothing on casualty lists. Maybe not serios enough to be hospitalised. A lot of time seems to have been spent in hospital. I can find no trace of where 119IGH might be but if 77 brigade were posted to Dehra Dun during Jul and Aug maybe in that region somewhere. It would be wonderful to see medical records! Will keep ferreting away! Only photo I have is attached and has no date or names on the back!
Do you know if it is possible to tell which column he may have been in?

 

Patsy,

thank you for posting your father's details and the photograph. The two hospital admissions are around the time that Operation Thursday was coming to an end, he seems to have been admitted to the CMH, Panitola on the 1st July 1944 before being returned to the concessional area two weeks later. He then appears to have spent two months in hospital from the end of December 1944. He was probably seriously under weight, worn out and suffering from malaria after nearly four months in Burma. It probably took several months of exercise, good food and rest before he was fit enough to join the King's Parachute Battalion.

The photograph appears to have been taken after the war has ended as they are all wearing their full entitlement of medal ribbons. They also appear to be wearing a formation sign above their rank chevrons. It has a dark horizontal band at the bottom and it may be the ALFSEA formation sign as illustrated below.

Simon.

 

Many thanks for reply and I amazed at how you could see a sign above the chevrons on the photo. I am sure you are right as that would tie up with info on his records: S.O.S India Command to ALFSEA on 17 Sep 45.
I had no idea what this meant!
I am still very new to all this and I am very grateful for your help and knowledge.
Best wishes
Pat

 

ALFSEA stands for Allied Land Forces South East Asia. The two soldiers on the right appear to be wearing the ALFSEA formation sign. I have just looked at the photograph again and I can just make out the Indian Pegasus worn on the left shoulder of the soldier top left, This denotes service with the Indian Airborne Division.

 

Wow you are amazing! How do you pick out these emblems?
Soldier top left is my father. I am even more confused now! Will have a closer look at the records again. Can I ask, what is the formation sign?
Thank you so much for all your help.
Pat

 

The ALFSEA formation sign, I think that the soldier at the front left is also wearing it on his right sleeve.

 

Pat,
Great to see the photograph of your father and three of his mates. Thanks for posting.

 

... But somewhat in the footsteps of Me Ol' China, Mr B43, you've taken it several furlongs further than what you started with... and no, I'm still not going this far with the 111th...

 

Hello
Whilst seeking out where 119thIGH might be I saw there was a thread from several years ago about this. Today I stumbled across this info and not sure if you still want to know or may already have found it. It seems to be Ranchi and I believe a lot of soldiers with malaria were sent there or to Rangoon. I seem unable to upload it as apparently too large! If you are interested I could email it.
Regards
Pat

 

Thanks Pat, I never did find out the location. This was my thread from 2017:

Where was the 119 Indian General Hospital in 1944?

 

I found the info on www.ncbi.nih.gov - the evolution of field neurosurgery (page 9). Couldn't upload as I took a photo of the screen and it is over 5mb!
Should I put the info on the thread?

 

Yes definitely put it up on the thread. Many thanks.

 

Thanks Pat, hope you found my blog useful and glad you found the forum from it!

 

Hi Paul, I certainly did find your blog extremely useful and it pointed me in the right direction on a lot of my research. I actually found it on facebook and then you messaged me re the 1KLR list so thanks again. I am still searching for a lot of info and for now have more questions than answers! I shall at some stage be asking for help from the incredibly knowledgable people on here and on the facebook site!
I was looking at your blog again and at your comments on here. The photo of Jim with some of regiment I studied very carefully as the guy to the right on the photo looked a bit like my father. I don't think it is however as same guy seems to appear on back row of the Dehra Dun HQ photo. Could be wrong. I wondered about using a facial recognition app!
Kind regards, Pat