Chin and Karen Warriors of WW2 in Myanmar

Discussion in 'Burma & India' started by vivr08, Jun 24, 2018.

  1. vivr08

    vivr08 vivr08

    Hello All,

    I came across this BBC article that may interest you.

    It's about 90-year-old plus Chin and Karen soldiers that took part in WW2.

    Also, the BBC article refers to:

    1. Alex Bescoby – “is a co-founder of Grammar Productions” [see link to Forgotten Allies etc below]. Check out the website – it has other interesting aspects about the Burmese Royal Family and its mordancy.
    2. Sally McLean “grew up steeped in stories of Burma. Her grandfather had been headmaster of a government school there while it remained a British colony” [ probably A.E.J. McLean – Director of Public Education in 1942 – see snippit below, in which case she doesn’t know he grandfather wasn’t a mere headmaster]
    3. Duncan Gilmour - another of the H4FA team – “he’s following in the footsteps of his grandfather - Lt Col Edgar Peacock.” [See SOE Force 136 – Operation Character]
    4. Peter Mitchell – “journey through Chin State” [I don’t know anything of him]


    Links are:


    Searching for Burma's forgotten World War Two heroes

    Searching for the forgotten heroes of World War Two

    Forgotten Allies: the search for Burma's lost heroes

    Searching for the forgotten heroes of World War Two


    Snippit from Anglo Burmese Library: 1942 c l education

    upload_2018-6-24_14-7-37.png


    Cheers


    Vivian Rodrigues

    Perth, Western Australia
     
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  2. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Hi Vivian,

    Some great links posted there. We have had a member of H4FA on the forum a couple of times in the past months and I know that the Chindit Society and the new 77 Brigade Army Unit are looking to work closely with H4FA going forward.

    Steve
     
  3. vivr08

    vivr08 vivr08

    Hi Steve
    I recommend that you review the following.
    This is a video of Saw Berne. He was a Karen of Force 136 Operation Character under Peacock etc.
    It is rare, very rare indeed, to listen to the experience of a mere rifleman, relating his experience during WW2.
    I am of the opinion that this video is historically significant and should be preserved somehow.



    Cheers
    Vivian Rodrigues
     
    High Wood likes this.
  4. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    A fascinating man, wonderful recollections. I wonder if the relations of Major's Seagrim and Nimmo have listened to this?
     
  5. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

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  6. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

    From an article by Dr. Robert Lyman:
    From: Serving the Empire: The Karen of Burma

    The book was published in December 2023 and the author's bio may help - hence my bold:
    From: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1739440242?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_6RHE6J7C49TNY2Z2K7WS

    Cross-refer the thread on Operation Character: OPERATION CHARACTER, Karen Hills, Burma 1945
     
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