Hello firstly thank you for letting me join this site. Secondly the amazing information and work you people do is very appreciated. I'm trying to find some information regarding my grandfather now he didn't talk much about the war. Apart from when I used to ask grandad what did you do in the war he would state he poisoned the Japanese with his team from his naffi wagon. What I do know. Name. Robert whitworth Unit. 1st Lancashire fusiliers Served in burma under slim Was a srgt left army a wo1 Served at white city he did once talk about the glider assault and how his glider had the side ripped off.
Welcome Kevin. You need forum member Bamboo. He has done an awful lot of research and has a wonderful website. Have you applied for Roberts service record yet?
If you have his date of birth and death, this will be all you require and £30 and a bit of patience waiting on it. Used to wait months for them but I think it's a matter of weeks these days. Get a copy of military service records - GOV.UK
OK thank you I've also been in touch with Lancashire fusiliers museum in Bury as I know his medals was donated to them after his death.
Keep an eye on whether they still have his medal. Museums are really up against it budget wise these days and sometimes sell them to raise funds or they struggle for storage/display space. If they still have it, ensure they have good contact details for you as next of kin so you can at least have the option to have it returned should the museum's circumstances change in the future. You got a year of birth/death for Robert? Did he have any middle names? Can't see him on the Casualty Lists at findmypast so appears not to have been injured etc. There are entries for an R. R. Whitworth.
Hi Kevin, Welcome to the forum. I think that amberdog45 has given you the best of advice, by suggesting you attempt to obtain your grandfather's service records. This will ensure that you do not waste any time chasing in the wrong direction. In regards general information about the 1 LF's in Burma. Have you read Mike Calvert's book, Prisoners of Hope. This tells the story of 77th Indian Infantry Brigade in 1944, which included the two columns (20 and 50) of LF's. The mention of the glider assault. This is almost certainly in relation to the original glider landings on the 5th March 1944, at the landing site, codenamed Broadway. We have a very knowledgeable forum member, zahonado, whose father was an officer with the 1 LF's on Operation Thursday. Hopefully, they may be able to tell you much more. For interests sake, there are war diaries for the 1 LF's at the National Archives in London. These cannot be read on line unfortunately. Here are the references in case you ever want to visit the Archives: WO172/871 for 1942 WO172/2524 for 1943 WO172/4891 for 1944 WO172/7644 for 1945 If you use the forum search tool, (top right hand side of the page) you can search for information on White City, Broadway and other key phrases to do with the Chindits in 1944. As I say, best try and get the service records first. Good luck going forward. Steve
Hello ,only just seen this as I haven't been on for a while. Have checked to see whether your grandfathers name is mentioned in my Dads diary, but not I'm afraid. My father Ray stopped writing before his part of 20 column reached White City but there is plenty written about White cIty itself elsewhere. What he does describe is the training in Jhansi, the journey East in India to fly in to Burma, the flight in and the first days in the jungle. His part of the column went to the Irawaddy while the other part went to White City directly. In the book " Before the Show" I researched what happened after the White City battle and the Taking of Mogaung. Nb the first part of the book relates to Rays time in India before this.