Battle of Bishenpur and Silchar track

Last Saturday ie on 22nd of June 2013, as part of my battle exploration me and my team went to Bishenpur and old Silchar track. The track goes west from Bishenpur( located on Tiddim road). We were able to locate the double decker peak and the wireless hill. Our next exploration will target for water piquet and mortar bluff which lies aroundthat track. I would like to request if anyone has any war record/map of the said battle. Any information will be very helpful in my research. In this battle VC was awarded to Agan Singh Rai of 5th Gurkha.

 

Morning, I am looking at an original military cloth map of this area. Probably the scale is too small for you. It shows Bishenpur and a broken red line indicating a track heading through the hills to Nungba in the direction of Silchar. The first place on the road after B is place called ? Takenporm? not easy to read. This is all south of Imphal. I suspect others have better ,larger scale maps but let me know if you think it sounds useful.
Sylvia

 

Tairenpokpi I believe it could be. Raj and his team of battlefield investigators are going again Saturday to the Silchar Track and will hopefully post a report on here. Last expedition was quite successful locating various sites and recovering amounts of SAA and live grenades.
Lionboxer

 

Dear Sylvia,
Can you upload the picture of the map? It was actually two VC, another one was Netrabhadur, also from the 5th Gurkha.

regards,
Raj

 

Hi Raj, no map for you, but did find this article at https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk. I wish I had more time to help. When I searched the site it indicated there were 128 news articles on Bishenpur in 1944 and 1 for 1946. There are also 40 articles in the 1940-1949 section for Silchar. An official war diary would likely give you the coordinates you seek. Good luck.

 

Imphal, I will take a photo of the area and attempt to upload. I hope to do this later in the week.
Sylvia

 

Imphal, I am attempting to attach the maps. If you can see and use them all well and good. As I said before, the scale is minute. I have included a photo of the map legend which gives the scale. The photos are all taken from the original which was left to me by my father who served in Burma.Good Hunting.

Sylvia

 

Thanks Sylvia, This map and legends will definitely be useful in my future exploration and research.

 

Imphal, I am pleased that they are of use to you. I was concerned re the scale.
Sylvia

 

While researching in the area around Bishenpur and silchar track, we found this amazing tree structure mentioned in the book "Imphal' by Anthony Brett and Sir Geoffrey Evans. This tree is the landmark of the Bde HQ of Col Mackenjei during the battle of Bishenpur and silchar track.

 

Raj,

It suddenly occurred to me that I have been using a series of maps online during my research for a number of years now. I have been viewing the maps of the Chindwin River going east for obvious reasons.

Just in case you have not come across these before, here is the link:http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/jog/india/

Steve

 

I highly recommend obtaining a copy of the book "The Silchar Track" edited by Major T R Molloy MC The Northamptonshire Regiment (Ret'd). It contains a very god account and several maps of the area. 1st Battalion The Northamptonshire Regiment upon joining hostilities were sent to Kyaukchaw to cover the retreat of 17th Indian Division from the Tiddim area before withdrawing themselves to the Silchar Track around hill 5846 and then moving forward to the battle of Imphal.

 

Roger, Is this one on the Bibliography List?
Sylvia

 

Hi Raj

I have a number of maps from records showing the terrain and hills in the Silchar Track area and a few accounts of the battles taken from the War Diaries. If you email me on shazam777@hotmail.co.uk (add a fourth seven to the address - it avoids me getting spam)I will send you jpegs. Some of them are feint as I took them a few years ago with an early digital camera, and some of them are hand drawn sketches. The book 'The Silchar Track' has some maps in it; those I have are from the War Diaries in Kew and the Northamptonshire Regt museum in Northampton.

As you may have seen from my other posts I have researched this part of history extensively as my father-in-law was wounded with the Northamptons on Pt 5846 in April 1944. I have copies of the war diaries including those of the Gurkha battalions involved.

I am so envious of your activities and one of the things I have wanted to do for a while now is to visit the scene of the battles on the Silchar Track and also Kyaukchaw in Burma, but I thought it was difficult to impossible. One day.....

Best wishes

 

Skoyen,
Why not come with me to Imphal next April to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of these battles? Raj will take you to all the places you wish to see. Proud to say that I've been able to help Raj and his team locating various battle-sites around the Plain and have also helped in a small way in the planning of various events to commemorate them. I'm not too sure about the Burma location though.
Lionboxer

 

Sounds interesting and an ideal time to visit. Need to find a new job but if that works I'd be up for it. lets email.

Skoyen89

 

I also have a photocopy of an account by Denis A Short: To Burma "I Was Not to Reason Why". I have done an extensive search and it does not appear to have been published anywhere other than a few photocopies for 1st Battalion Northamptonshire veterans. It was found amongst my father's papers after he died. This covers a great deal of the travails and trials of the those men.

 

Dear Roger,
I got a copy of the book "The Silchar track" recently from a friend. The book is full of personal accounts and reading that book is really informative. Can you somehow share Denis's account.

regards,
Raj.

 

Hello Raj,

It is an excellent book, I have a photocopy of the manuscript of it too. As for Denis Short's memoir, I think I should try and contact his family for permission first. I know it was written about 1999 and I am not sure if he is still alive. I will do my best to find out. It is 270 pages of A4 so would take quite a while to scan.

I have contacted Burma Star HQ in order to find out if Denis Short is still alive, or if they have at Headquarters in London some contact details for his family in order that I can request their permission to copy it for you. It may take a few days to get an aswer from HQ, and if there are no contact details I will have to take it that there may be no family still living. This may cause a problem but I will investgate.

A will get back to you as soon as I can.

Regards

Roger

 

Hi Roger and Raj

I think Denis Short is dead although his wife may still be alive. I think they lived somewhere like Maidstone in Kent. I learnt from a veteran called Bob Cummings (from Glasgow)that he, Denis Short and my father-in-law shared the same trench on the summit of Point 5846!

I have copies of the book taken from a copy lodged with the 1st Northamptons Regimental Museum in Northampton. Some of the photos are not so sharp (an old digital camera as it was copied ten years ago). I'd planned to bring copies with me to Imphal in April for Raj.

All the best
Tony