Can anyone inform me if there were any Australian units involve in Burma Campaign. I have seen graves of RAAF airmen in Imphal war cemetery. I am doing research on Manipur area of Burma Campaign.
Hello New Chap. Can you help re location of Manipur. I have maps of Burma from the Campaign but can't locate it. I know my father who served with the Shiny 9th Royal Sussex in Burma spoke about the Australian troops and how good they were but I have no written refs to them yet. Sylvia
To the best of my knowledge no Aussie units were involved in the Burma campaign(s). There would have been RAAF aircrew (& groundcrew?) serving with RAF or RIAF squadrons. Aussie soldiers (& sailors & airmen) would have also died in Burma following becoming POWs (mainly taken prisoner in the fall of Malaya, Singapore or Java). Always happy to be proven wrong though. Cheers and good luck Dave
Except Mission 204 and some RAN ships there weren't any Australian unit in Burma. More details about Australians in RAF in Burma you can find in PDF on this link http://airpower.airforce.gov.au/publications/Details/429/141-The-RAAF-in-the-Burma-Campaign.aspx
Just to add to Sols mention of Misson 204 and Tulip force, here is a link thread courtesy of Spider.http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/30869-tulip-force-and-the-8th-australian-division/
Imphal - Manipur State and River "Imphal Campaign" [oops - New Chap...] care to offer a bit more about your specific interest...?
Hebridean Chindit , i make documentary movies on battles of WW2 in manipur. The battles of Imphal has always been my passion. I do research on Battlefields and excavate the same. Recently during my research, i came across Australian airmen in Imphal WW2 cemetery, but never heard of any Australian unit. So i was wondering how they land up in that cemetery. thanks sol,wtid45 and bamboo43 for the link. Shiny 9th manipur is located on the north eastern corner of India, bordering Burma( now Myanmar). its the place where critical battles of imphal took place. Some of the greatest stories of WW2 did happen there, though much forgotten. some of the important battles are Battle of Sangshak, battle of Kanglatonbi, battle of Nungshigun and battle of Bishenpur.
Really? I don't suppose that their names are known. Are we talking about Aussies in the Australian army attached to a British unit, or Aussies who joined the British forces?? I remember a recent thread covering Aussie soldiers who took commissions into British units in 1944 / 45
Hi DaveB, Australian's who joined British forces, as far as I know. On Longcloth, the most famous was Lieutenant Duncan Campbell Menzies, who has been discussed on the forum before. Here is his story from my website: http://www.chinditslongcloth1943.com/duncan-campbell-menzies.html
You can also check out the relevant chapter from the official Australian history at http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/records/awmohww2/air/vol2/awmohww2-air-vol2-ch16.pdf. Mark
We will be in Imphal next week. If you are still there, we might run into each other. I will look for Oz graves in Kohima as well. Maddogkincaid As always amazed by the knowledge available on this site.
Fascinating... could you post any links or clips of footage... not my specific field of interest but there's plenty of people that do...
Hebridean Chindit , Some of my activity are highlighted in the below given links. , http://www.facebook.com/pages/Imphal-Campaign/107071002687155 http://www.facebook.com/imphalbattle70years I have not upload my documentary film. I can send a CD copy of my film " Battle of Sangshak" to any interested person if they provide me their postal address. Another film " Battle of kanglatonbi" is due to release on next battle day.
Some nice items on your pages - I love that Dakota picture... good luck with your project and keep us up to date with how it is going please...