"Blackpool" and the 111th Indian Infantry Brigade

Forgot to tell you the name etc of my husband's grandfather who may or may not be the author of the Road to Pinlebu poem I posted. (I have tried Googling but no results yet!)

We remember No 5681927 Rifleman George Daniel Alfred Jenner who belonged to the Somerset Light Infantry, then the Wiltshire Regiment, then the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, and finally the 1st Cameronians from May 1943.

Why so many changes? According to family members who knew him, he was known for his skill with managing animals as he was a farmhand before the war. So he was sent to Burma (via India) to help manage mules.

We don't know much else about his experiences as he never spoke of them and passed away in 2014. We have become interested as we are researching our family tree and teaching our child about remembrance.

We think it unlikely that George wrote the poem himself. He struggled with writing, having left school early to work on the farm. Also it doesn't sound like his words (at least not as we knew him).

We are not sure if he knew the men mentioned in the poem, or if he himself had any of the experiences that are referenced.

We're actually still trying to understand all the references. Are the people mentioned all famous or just people he might have served him with? I know Mike Calvert wrote a book but haven't read it (yet).

Grateful for any insight you can share!

 

Hi,

Firstly, thanks for posting the poem. Most of the men mentioned were officers of the 1st Cameronians on Operation Thursday. Please see the officers roll below. Sgt J. Donald was awarded his Distinguished Conduct Medal for his efforts on the Pinlebu Road as recorded here:Corporal (Acting Sergeant) J. Donald DCM

The Pinlebu - Pinbon Road was an important transport link in the area west of the Mu River. The map below shows a section of the road, which is coloured red on the map.

The book that covers the story of the Blackpool stronghold best, is The Road Past Mandalay, written by John Masters, who was 111 Brigade's (which included the 1st Cams columns) commander at the time. The story is covered in the second half of his book.

 

I found this photograph of Lt. John Leck (mentioned in the poem) in my files. He was awarded an OBE in 1984 for his service in the legal profession.

 

Steve,

Would this be the same Lt Leck? On a 90 Col manifest.

 

I think it is John. Nice spot there.

 

Wow thank you John and Steve, really interesting to put a face to the name Leck. He looks so young! I am sorry to say that I had never heard of The Chindits before finding this poem, and I had previously thought my WW2 knowledge was pretty good! I'm enjoying this rabbit hole immensely.

I'm still investigating the poem's provenance. Did Rifleman Jenner actually write it do we think? Was he actually involved in the situations the poem is recounting?

I am attaching a photo of some more of his records which show a brief service history and details of a couple of hospital stays. I am not sure whether this corroborates the theory that he was in Column 90, or debunks it - because to me it reads like he wasn't with the Cameronians on the "18th day of April..."?

I can't find details of the hospitals listed to know where they were located - but am probably looking in the wrong places.

Interested to know your thought.s.

Thanks again!

Bex

 

Also I found this permit - does this mean he came into India on this day or left it on this day? Or was just hanging out in the harbour?

Apologies for all the questions!

Bex

 

D'oh just realised the poem says 18 Day of April 44! And he was with the Cams from 43 - silly me! As you were!

The only evidence I have that suggests he didn't write it is that his daughter (my MIL) says that he was never much good at reading and writing, as he left school at 14 to work on the farm.

I guess we might never know for sure but I'd love to be able to attribute it to its author <3

 

I've found George's WW2 medal card details on Ancestry which he filled out by hand. To my eye, some of the letters used on that card are similar to those on the poem. The letter G for instance. I'm no handwriting expert however!

Sadly, I cannot download the actual card from Fold3, so it is hard to pick letters clearly out from the image I have below:

 

Oh thank you. I've actually just been rooting through the things we were given and have found the original . Will post other docs when I have a chance. I agree the handwriting looks similar. I wonder whether George's writing and reading as a we knew it were affected by illness or trauma or something. I'm not sure what the long term effects of Malaria are without googling but I know he had recurring bouts of it throughout his life. Xx

 

Here's a clearer copy from FWR.

 

Found Capt Boden's manifest too.

 

Thanks John. That will be helpful to Bex in comparing the hand writing.

 

Thank you. I found some more handwriting in a couple of letters. I'm thinking the writing is definitely his though will never know if he made the poem up himself.

 

I think your'e probably right Bex.