Broadway - The Initial Glider Landings, 5 March 1944

Not much to add to Col's excellent narrative on 15P, other than images of Captains Faulkner and Pringle:

 

Great photos Steve! Thanks for sharing them here!

 

Glider 9-B



Unfortunately, this was one of two gliders that crashed at Broadway resulting in a relatively high number of casualties. As yet, there is no known surviving manifest for this glider, so, we can only build-up a partial picture based on casualty reports.

Pilot: T1230 F/O William Charles Ritzinger (1920-1944); killed on impact.


Plane Commander: could this have been CSM Wattlewoth or possibly 132419 Lt. Frederick William Jary, South Lancs Regt attd 1/Kings?

Also aboard that night:

4757868 Cpl. Richard Blackwell, RCS; died on impact.
1605929 Sgt. William Charles Chesney, RA; died on impact.
3770598 Cpl. James Collins, 1/Kings; died on impact.
1901946 Cpl. Arthur William Crawford, RE; died on impact.
1872086 Dvr. John Gorman, RE; died on impact.
3771077 Cpl. G Hutcheson, 1/Kings,
1892840 L/Cpl. James Percy Olney, RE; died on impact.
11050322 Pte. Frederick Prankard, 1/Kings; died on impact.
2079522 Spr. Albert Charles Small, RE; died on impact.
14230908 Pte. Edward Thomas Trafford, 1/Kings; died on impact.
3770435 CSM Henry Francis Wattleworth, 1/Kings; awarded an MBE in 1964,
Spr. A J White, RE,

Another issue that requires clarification is whether 2039216 Sgt. Leonard Westley Leworthy, 1/Kings, who died of wounds sustained on impact, was also aboard this glider. If so, this might have been the glider's full complement that night but we cannot yet be sure.

A post that produces more questions than answers!

Regards,
Col

 

A few items in relation to the men aboard 9B:

Newspaper announcement of James Collins' death with photograph and an image of his grave plaque at Taukkyan War Cemetery.

Image of Arthur Crawford's medal entitlement, complete with box of issue and condolence slip. Source: eBay auction February 2019.

 

Many thanks for these Steve! It's quite something to see a photo of Cpl. Collins - it still continues to surprise me to see what gems remain hidden in old newspapers! Six years was a long stint away from home and I am guessing that he was very close to some form of PYTHON or LIAP leave. The gravestone is a sobering reminder and particularly apposite at this time of year.

 

Glider 19-B

There are a few surviving accounts of the fate of this glider. It is worth noting that this would have been a rather cramped few hours for those aboard - aside from the Pilot and Co-Pilot, the normal complement of a glider was 15 men but, after trials, the Chindits increased this to 17, so 19 fully equipped men and a cargo of extra ammunition would have been a tight fit!

The glider in this photo is being loaded for the combat glider mission of 29 February 1944 to deliver boats to the Chindwin to support the crossing of the river by 16 Brigade.




Pilot: T60765 F/O Martin John McTigue (1910-1944); taken POW on 13 March and likely killed during or shortly after capture as his details did not enter the Japanese POW bureaucracy.


Plane Commander: The Rev. Capt. David Alexander Patterson, attached 1/Kings, 82 Column; sat in the Co-Pilot’s seat and was killed on impact. Pre-war, he was the Principal of All Saints SPG Boys’ High School and Mission in Schwebo. A veteran of the 1942 retreat from Rangoon. In the weeks before D-Day, he had asked the Bishop of Rangoon to act as his next-of-kin as he had set aside a modest legacy to the diocese but he hoped to benefit the Church in Burma with many years of service rather than with a gift of money.

Also aboard were:

14316441 Pte. Raymond William Blundell, 1/Kings, 82 Column, Mortar Det; taken POW on 13 March 1944, died of beri-beri in Rangoon Jail on 5 August 1944.
3386974 Pte. Samuel Booth, Padre’s Batman; taken POW on 13 March 1944, died in Rangoon Jail on 1 April 1944.
3771134 Cpl. James Durkin, 1/Kings, 82 Column, Mortar Det.
3778233 Pte. William J Fairfield, 1/Kings, 82 Column, Mortar Det; taken POW on 13 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail until liberated on 2 May 1945.
3713438 Pte. William Griffiths, 1/Kings, 82 Column, Recce Platoon; sustained GSW to the back during skirmish with Japanese patrol on 13 March 1944.
3718798 Pte. Arthur House, 1/Kings, 82 Column, Recce Platoon; later Signals Sergeant.
3772953 Sgt. George Victor King, 1/Kings, 82 Column, Mortar Det; taken POW on 13 March 1944, died of beri-beri in Rangoon Jail on 30 October 1944.
3768651 Sgt. Hugh McGee, 1/Kings, 82 Column, Recce Platoon; killed when on a SD flight aboard C-47 “Phyllis Hi-C” which crashed killing all eight men aboard on 28 June 1944.
3608622 Pte. Matthew Millburn, Medical Orderly, 1/Kings, 82 Column, Recce Platoon.
3777372 Pte. Francis Moffat, 1/Kings, 82 Column, Recce Platoon.
3606831 Pte. John Mullin, 1/Kings, 82 Column, Recce Platoon; brother of W J Mullin.
3772109 L/Cpl. William Joseph Mullin, 1/Kings, C Coy, Recce Platoon; brother of J Mullin.
3531905 Pte. William Albert Paxford, 1/Kings, 82 Column, Recce Platoon.
3608629 Pte. Wilfred Paxton, 1/Kings, 82 Column, Recce Platoon.
3775198 L/Cpl. Albert Peers, 1/Kings, 82 Column, Mortar Det.
14217982 Pte. John Thomas Potter, 1/Kings, 82 Column, Mortar Det; broke jaw on impact.
3608672 Pte. Robert Desmond Thompson, 1/Kings, 82 Column, Recce Platoon.
(19)

Having crossed the Chindwin, the glider, in tow with 20-B, was cut loose by its tug plane. Losing height quickly, the Pilot was forced to make a hard crash landing just west of Pinlebu, Burma. Contrary to Standing Orders, the Pilot ordered that the glider not be burnt. The body of the Rev. Capt. Patterson was buried and the survivors, under the command of Sgt. McGee, trekked west and initially travelled by night until a close call in a swamp decided them upon travelling during the hours of daylight instead.

Contact with a Japanese patrol near Myene on 13 March caused the group to disperse but five men, including the Pilot, failed to reappear. Now 13 strong, the main party reached the Chindwin, a few miles north of Thaungdut, on 16 March. McGee and Millburn swam across that night while the others crossed by commandeered boats the following afternoon. Trekking, without any food, for five days, they encountered a British patrol near Mintha who delivered them to a forward outpost near Tamu the following afternoon (19 March 1944) and from where they were later transported to Rear Bde HQ at Imphal.

Regards,
Col

 

As Col states, there are a few first-hand accounts of the trials and tribulations of Glider 19B and the men who were aboard and some of these can be found on the forum. Here are photographs of some of the men mentioned on the manifest list in post 146, including:

John and William Mullin
Arthur House
William Paxford
Matthew Milburn

 

Excellent additions, as always, Steve! You are putting some real flesh onto those bland chalk number bones!! Thank you! Pte. Milburn looks too young to be anywhere near a battlefield!

 

Glider 21-P

In tow with glider 22-P, this glider obviously lost its tow after crossing the Chindwin and was forced to crash land some miles east of Naungkan, Burma.




Pilot: T121188 F/O Leroy Carl Shimulunas (1923-1944); killed during a skirmish with a Japanese patrol sometime between 11 and 15 March 1944.


Co-Pilot: 18098757 Cpl. Fred Morton Pugh (1923-2006), taken POW on 13 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail, liberated near Pegu on 30 April 1945. He is pictured kneeling in the centre of the below photo which was taken shortly after liberation and an issue of food, cigarettes and fresh clothing. Interestingly, standing behind him are S/Sgt Bicknell, Co-Pilot of Glider 3-B, and F/O Hall of glider 22-P. To the right - a photo of Pugh in better times!


Plane Commander: 3768880 CSM Edward Courtliff, 1/Kings, B Coy, 81 Column; taken POW on 13 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail until liberated near Pegu on 30 April 1945.

Also aboard were:

1431793 Pte. Bertie Bartlett, taken POW on 13 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail until liberated on 2 May 1945.
14313275 Pte. Samuel Bennett, taken POW on 13 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail, liberated near Pegu on 30 April 1945.
3718886 Pte. James Butterworth, taken POW on 13 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail, liberated near Pegu on 30 April 1945.
3779611 Pte. Daniel Coleman, taken POW on 11 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail, liberated near Pegu on 30 April 1945.
3777312 Cpl. Thomas Cuerden, taken POW on 13 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail, liberated near Pegu on 30 April 1945.
3390236 Pte. George Davies East Lancs Regt, taken POW on 13 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail, liberated near Pegu on 30 April 1945.
3775124 L/Cpl. Tom Higginbottom, East Lancs Regt, taken POW on 13 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail, liberated near Pegu on 30 April 1945.
3776923 Pte. Stanley Frederick Hughes, taken POW on 15 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail until liberated on 2 May 1945.
14330212 Pte. Arthur S Mann, taken POW on 15 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail until liberated on 2 May 1945.
3719027 Pte. Arthur Richards, taken POW on 13 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail, liberated near Pegu on 30 April 1945.
3388112 Pte. John Thomas Smith, killed on impact.
14369343 Pte. Glyn Windsor Thomas, taken POW on 15 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail until liberated on 2 May 1945.
14513496 Pte. Tudor Thomas, killed on impact.
3777028 Pte. Sidney James Tye, taken POW on 16 March, held in Rangoon Jail, liberated near Pegu on 30 April 1945.
3776347 Pte. Jack Waring, taken POW on 15 March, held in Rangoon Jail, liberated near Pegu on 30 April 1945.
5188960 Pte. Thomas William Waring, taken POW on x, held in Rangoon Jail, died of beri-beri on 30 March 1945.
(19)

The survivors of this glider landing decided to travel due east towards Indaw, some 35 miles away. Although it is impossible to be sure, I suspect that they then intended to veer north-east to the comparative safety of Broadway which lay 55 miles from there. From this point, accounts and Japanese military bureaucracy differ. About three days into their trek, the party had stopped to rest when they were surprised by a Japanese patrol; the Pilot being the only fatal casualty of the ensuing skirmish. The rest of the party seem to have been taken captive between 11 and 16 March 1944 but these dates are taken from their Japanese POW records which, like any records, are dependent on the veracity of the record keeper. Unless someone comes forward with a personal diary or discovers an uncatalogued POW de-brief, we will not know whether the party were captured en masse during the encounter at the rest point or whether some men managed to escape and evade capture for days afterwards.

Regards,
Col

 

Glider 22-P

In tow with glider 21-P, this glider also lost its tow after crossing the Chindwin and was forced to crash land some miles east of Naungkan, Burma.


Pilot: T121422 F/O Robert Charles Hall (1921-1984); taken POW on 25 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail from 10 April 1944, liberated near Pegu on 30 April 1945.


Plane Commander: 129828 Lt. Thomas Alban Lloyd Banks (1914-1985), RE attached 1/Kings, taken POW on 25 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail (with foray to Kuala Lumpur for questioning by the Kempeitai), regained his liberty when his captors abandoned his party of prisoners near Pegu on 30 April 1945.

Also aboard were:

14232741 Spr. Cyril Albert Edward Barnard Atkins, RE, taken POW on 25 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail, liberated near Pegu on 30 April 1945.
4131343 Pte. Dennis Victor Bennett, taken POW on 24 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail, liberated near Pegu on 30 April 1945.
4350962 Pte. William Eric Burke, taken POW on 15 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail, liberated near Pegu on 30 April 1945.
5190131 Gnr. Leslie Robert Davis, taken POW on 25 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail until liberated on 2 May 1945; suffering from beri-beri, he was too weak to join the “walk-out” party.
5192574 Gnr. Arthur Dyson, taken POW on 25 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail until liberated on 2 May 1945, repatriated 28 June 1945.
5781576 Pte. William Garrard, taken POW on 25 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail until liberated near Pegu on 30 April 1945.
3772565 Pte. John Hible taken POW on 15 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail until liberated near Pegu on 30 April 1945.
11422553 Gnr. Henry James Leonard, taken POW on 25 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail until liberated on 2 May 1945, repatriated on 17 June 1945.
5570092 L/Bdr. Cyril Kenneth Perks, taken POW on 13 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail until liberated near Pegu on 30 April 1945.
3774328 L/Cpl. Charles Riley, taken POW on 25 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail until liberated near Pegu on 30 April 1945.
3663252 Pte. Arthur Ryder South Lancs Regt, taken POW on 25 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail until liberated near Pegu on 30 April 1945.
7895156 Pte. George Edward Shaw, taken POW on 25 March 1944, died in Rangoon Jail on 13 October 1944.
3770154 Sgt. Hugh Wood taken POW on 25 March 1944, held in Rangoon Jail, regained his liberty when his captors abandoned his party of prisoners near Pegu on 30 April 1945. MID in recognition of gallant and distinguished services whilst a POW.
Also a BIC NCO – possibly L/Bdr. A N Anthony, BIC? He seems to be the only BIC NCO that went missing on D-Day.
(16)

The survivors of this crash-landed glider decided to try and return to India and struck westwards towards the Chindwin River, some 50 miles away. For 20 days, the men trekked through the enemy-held jungle towards India. Stopping at a Burmese village, the inhabitants promised them food and aid and said that they would give them a boat with which to continue their onward journey. However, when they had rested, they found that the villagers had betrayed them to the Japanese and they were taken captive.

Similar confusion exists here as with the fate of the men of glider 21-P – the dates of capture seem to vary between 13 and 25 March 1944. Does this mean that some men were captured ten to twelve days before the others or were they, for some reason, logged into the Japanese POW bureaucracy very differently? More questions!!

Regards,
Col

 

Some bits and pieces for 21P. Including a manifest listing for the glider from WO361/444 at TNA.
POW index cards for Thomas Waring and CSM Courtliff.
Photographs of Bert Bartlett and Thomas Cuerden.

 

Many thanks for these additions Steve!

Do you know whether the officer who signed-off the manifest, Capt. P C D Horsley, flew into Broadway that night? The reason I ask is because I feel sure that I have seen that form of words used before and the officer went on to say that when he landed (aboard another glider) he went to re-check the glider whose loading he had supervised only to find it had not landed.

Thanks again,
Col

 

Hi Col,

I cannot say that I do I'm afraid. Peter Cecil Dampier Horsley was by early 1945, battalion Adjutant. I have always thought from my reading of things that he was part of the admin team at Lalaghat, recording manifests etc. He counter signed a few of the missing reports in WO361/443 too. Just my thoughts really.

 

Some documents in relation to 22P. POW cards for Leslie Davis and Lt. Banks, missing report for Shaw and Riley, manifest signed off by Captain Horsley and a newspaper photograph of Gunner Leslie Davis (who also recounted his glider experience in Gloucestershire Echo 20 June 1945:

 

Thanks Steve - much appreciated!

 

Some more great additions there Steve!! Does the interview with Gnr. Davis give any insight as to whether his party was captured all at once or whether men has been lost at earlier points in their journey?
Many thanks,
Col

 

Sadly not Col, it is focussed on his time as a POW more than anything. Here is a transcription made I believe by forum member High Wood back in November 2020:

Prisoner of Japs returns.

Pte, Leslie Robert Davis, The King’s Regiment, whose home is at Charlton Kings, has just returned home after 15 months as a prisoner of the Japanese. He is the first Cheltenham soldier to return from Japanese captivity.

Sick with Beri Beri, and septic sores, and without any medical assistance, the prisoners in Rangoon Gaol, he said, experienced the worst of hardships under their Japanese captors.

Taking part in Gen. Wingate’s “Chindit” operations in 1944, the glider in which Pte. Davis was flying, crash landed before it reached the landing strip, and for 20 days the men marched until they came to a Burmese village. The Burmese promised them food and aid and said that they would give them a boat to continue the journey. However, when they had rested, they found that the villagers had sold them to the Japanese, and they were taken prisoner.

No medicine.

The treatment they received from these soldiers was as good as could be expected under the conditions, but, said Pte. Davis, “when we reached Rangoon Gaol things were different and a bit rougher”.

Medical treatment was unheard of except from the British doctor, who was also a prisoner, and for the monthly examinations held by the Japanese Medical Officer. There were no medicines.

“Every meal I had for 15 months”, he said, “consisted of boiled rice, and more boiled rice”. “We were put on every sort of labouring imaginable. We had to mend roads, tear down walls and put others up. In fact, before I was taken prisoner, some of the captured men were made to dig up unexploded bombs”.

“We had to bow to every Japanese, every time we saw one, and any mistake we made was followed by a slap with a bamboo stick”, he said.

Language Problem.

“The language was the greatest problem. The guards used to babble at us, and if we didn’t understand, they used to get angry and hit us”.

Pte Davis said that this hitting was not extraordinary, for the way discipline is kept in the Japanese army is by striking a man instead of giving him C.B., as in the British army.

“They definitely had it in for American airmen who were captured”, he said. “Some of them were kept in solitary confinement for 18 months at a stretch”.

Speaking of the mentality of the Japanese soldier, Pte. Davis said that they were not over educated, and the believed every last bit of propaganda which was fed to them.

Left behind.

Asked how he was released, Pte Davis said, “I was sick with Beri Beri at the time. About 50 of us, who were ill were left behind when the Japanese left. They took 400 “fit” men with them. These were later set free at Pegu. The civilian Japanese were left in charge of us, and after three or four days they left in the night. We immediately set up the Union Jack that we had previously used for burials, and wrote on the roof that the Japanese had left, and that we were British. The Air Force spotted the flag and the message but ignored it, thinking it was a Japanese trick. Soon, however, the Navy, which was lying in the bay, sent a launch up the river, and we were released. The prisoners were removed to a hospital ship, and taken to Calcutta. From Calcutta they left for England”.

All nationalities.

Among the prisoners in the gaol were Chinese, Indians, Australians and Americans. The captors tried to make the Indians join the India National Army, which had been instituted to fight in India, but the majority would have nothing to do with it. The confinement to which the prisoners were subjected was in a small cell, nine feet by six feet, and into which were cast three men at a time. Pte Davis himself had been in these conditions for 38 days.

The last communication which his parents received before he was released was a letter in March 1944.

Aged 30, Pte Davis lives with his parents, Mr and Mrs W.R. Davis, at “Barry”, Croft Road, Charlton Kings. Before joining the army in 1940, he was for 11 years at the Lower High Street branch of the Co-operative Society.

Gloucestershire Echo. 20th June 1945.

 

Thank you Steve. What a remarkably understated interview. We have read many accounts of life in Rangoon Jail and other Japanese camps and to hear him say things were "a bit rougher" speaks volumes of the man! I appreciate that the war was ongoing and with so many men still held captive by the Japanese there needed to be an element of stoicism shown for the home audience but it's still quite remarkable. I hope he went on to live a happy life!

 

As mentioned in the newspaper article, Leslie worked as a Grocer's assistant in the local Co-op. He remained in the Gloucestershire area until his sad passing in 1996 aged 81.

 

Gliders 14-B and 13-B

OK, I appreciate that neither of these gliders landed at Broadway on D-Day or even made it as far as the Burmese border but, for the sake of completeness, I thought I should include them here.



14-B

Pilot: T60840 F/O Eugene Louis Ruiz (1923-1951). Post-war, he joined the Kentucky Air National Guard and was re-called to active duty for the Korean War. He served as a 1/Lt. in the 45th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron and was killed in action on 2 July 1951 when his F-51 was shot down during a combat mission west of Chorwon-up.


Plane Commander: 251627 Capt. James Coulthard, 1/Kings; killed in action around Broadway on 28 March 1944.


Also aboard:

3783456 Pte. W Davies, 1/Kings
3529256 Pte. A Elliott, 1/Kings
7893368 Pte. Henry Joseph Freeman, 1/Kings; killed in action around Broadway on 28 March 1944.
3719155 Pte. Josiah Glover, 1/Kings, A Coy
14325114 Pte. P Gregory, 1/Kings
14371286 Pte. Dennis Jones, 1/Kings; killed on 20 May 1944.
5782270 Pte. Alan Thomas Lack, 1/Kings; killed on 20 May 1944.
3770781 Sgt. George William Mahon, 1/Kings
T/87082 Pte. Alan Isherwood Maylor, 1/Kings
3776963 Pte. Matthew Moneypenny, 1/Kings
3779570 Pte. James Phelan, 1/Kings; killed on 16 June 1944.
3777122 Pte. Frederick Skillicorn, 1/Kings
5126677 Pte. Raymond Reeves, 1/Kings
14402751 Pte. Charles Raymond Robinson, 1/Kings; wounded in action on 18 June 1944.
3776994 Pte. Hector Rowe, 1/Kings
6343644 Pte. J Webley, 1/Kings
3782664 Pte. Vincent Richard Worrall, 1/Kings. Interestingly, the IWM holds an account written by Worrall describing his glider flight into Broadway!
(18)


13-B

Pilot: I have this narrowed down to three men and will update when/if new information allows a positive identification.

Plane Commander: 300798 Lt. James David Thomas, RWK attached 1/Kings; killed in action on 15 July 1944.

Also aboard:

14519728 Pte. John Gilman Alexander, 1/Kings; died on 20 June 1944.
14217434 Pte. Philip Thomas Allcock, 1/Kings
3775112 Pte. William James Aspinall, 1/Kings; wounded in action around Broadway on 28 March 1944.
1732825 Pte. Ronald Percy Cackett
Pte. Caton
4131924 Pte. John Deakin, 1/Kings; KIA around Broadway on 28 March 1944.
14204047 Pte. Ronald C Deegan1/Kings: died of wounds but date not recorded.
3770920 Cpl. Thomas Dillon, 1/Kings; self-inflicted wound on 6 July, casevac on 9 July 1944.
14365792 Pte. Thomas Charles Dolphin, 1/Kings
Pte. William Fallon
14318376 Pte. A Harris
3780538 Pte. S Hopkin
6346121 Pte. Robert John Horstead
3778152 Sgt. John Alfred Kneale, 1/Kings; KIA around Broadway on 28 March 1944.
6088008 Pte. Victor James Frederick Maytum
3778128 Sgt. R Plukett
14291564 Pte. R Scott
(19)

This pair of gliders were cut loose not long after take-off when their tug plane developed electrical problems which made a successful return flight to Broadway unlikely. Losing height gradually, the pilots were both able to make good landings near Lalaghat.

Regards,
Col