Hello all, I have recxently got some original pics of what I believe to be Chindits. Can anyone help confirm this and any info on who these blokes are, unit etc.... On the group of three I know the one with the hat is called 'Sid'. Thanks for your help, any Chindits experts out there.... Regards Danny
Hi Danny, Nice photos, but very difficult to hazard a guess as to being Chindits. The group photo would be easier to identify I would say, do you have any more information about where these images came from? Steve.
Hi Danny, I had a quick look through some of my images for Chindits in 1944. I found a picture of the 2nd battalion Queens Royal West Surreys from 16th Brigade in 1944. I think it is of a group of officers? If you look closely, one or two of the men featured look very similar to men in your group photo. Or is it my imagination? See what you think? Steve.
Hello steve. Its the chap on the bottom left on your picture that looks the same I think. The pictures are down south at my barracks. I will check on monday and get back to you. Thanks for taking the time looking. Regards Danny
Steve I think you are right I got two brass plates with all this kit for the Queens Regt. I will take a closer look Thoe. Cheers
Hi Danny, Difficult with the photos being so grainy, but I think your man in the 3 man photo, on the left as we look, might be the same as my photo, back row holding his right hand over his left? Also, and this is very difficult to see on my photo, but the man back row centre with his arms folded, has a pipe in his mouth. But then again, so does the man on the far right as we look with the heavy full beard. I have names for these men, but only surnames I'm afraid. They are all officers of the QRWS, Chindit column 22, 16th Infantry Brigade. Steve.
Yes I think you might be right. The one bottom left on your photo looks like the chap on the group photo holding the Jap flag, what do you think? If I could get there names that would be good! Regards Danny
Danny, Here are the names I have for the photo, these run from left to right as we look: Back Row: Lieut. Johnston, Lt. Wilkinson, Lt. Asprey (RE), Lt. Page, Lieut. Col. Close, Lt. Fox, Capt. Blackburne, Major Jones, Capt. Flint, Capt. Pritt. Front Row: Capt. Sykes, Lt. Damery, Capt. Miller, Capt. Paul, Lt. Hughes, Capt. Baker, Capt. Chet Khin (Burma Rifles). It isn't particularly easy to work out the running order, watch out for the almost hidden man kneeling behind the the man first in line on the front row. Steve.
Thanks Steve. It has to be this mob with the brass plates I have and other pics and info. I shall do some more digging and let you know of any progress. Thanks for your time on this. My sincere best Danny
Great to see such images ... I can't help but would like to add that my Great Uncle was a Chindit and is still living - I have more precise details of his service on another hard drive but I do recall him telling me he was in the 3rd Column and was previously associated with the Beds & Herts regiment before being amalgamated with the Chindits in India. My grandfather was with the Royal Sussex also in Burma and I am currently researching his service. Best, Simon.
Great to see such images ... I can't help but would like to add that my Great Uncle was a Chindit and is still living - I have more precise details of his service on another hard drive but I do recall him telling me he was in the 3rd Column and was previously associated with the Beds & Herts regiment before being amalgamated with the Chindits in India. My grandfather was with the Royal Sussex also in Burma and I am currently researching his service. Best, Simon. Hi Simon, It would be great to have both their service details here, I'm sure the folk on the forum would be able to help and add to your research. There were two Chindit operations in WW2. My Grandfather was part of the 1943 operation called 'Longcloth', here the column numbers were 1 through 8, with no column 6 as this was broken up due to ill health and poor fitness. Operation 'Thursday' in 1944 was a far more expansive affair and involved ten times as many servicemen. The men of the Beds&Herts were part of 14th Brigade and formed columns 16 and 61. If your Uncle was part of the 1943 operation I would be very interested in his memories, as I am collating as much information on that expedition as I can find. Steve.
G'day Steve, I'll dig out the details, for now I can recall that my Uncle stated that before joining up with the Chindits he was serving with the Beds & Herts - they did their training in India and he mentioned that they went in with the Gliders. He mentioned being at the Irrawady and that he was behind lines with the Chindits for about two years so I think he was definitely in the 3rd Column in the very early days. He also mentioned to me that they ( The Chindits ) were the ones that trained Merrils. I have tried to get information from my Great Uncle but he is a very happy fellow who doesn't want to think about his time in the war ... I think he was very deeply affected by his experiences after the war and it took him years to get over it all. When I have asked for further details he defers to books and file footage and says you can read about it. It is a real shame since he is a living member of this special group of men ... but I think it is too painful to go back. If anybody needs details or has access to service records I can provide his name or the name of my Grandfather. Best, Simon.
Simon, He was right about Merril's Marauders, they were originally trained with the Chindits and under Wingate's control (code name Galahad force). Politics came into the situation and the Marauders were given over to Stilwell. Column 3 in 1943 was commanded by Mike Calvert who was Wingate's right hand man and some say natural successor. Column 3 had an amazing adventure in 1943, blowing up the Japanese held railway and other important targets. If your Uncle was in that column then he was led by a wonderful soldier in Calvert, who managed to get the majority of his men back home to India in one piece. My Grandad was in column 5 and to be frank was not so lucky. It was the 1944 operation that used Gliders to fly in the first wave of Chindits deep into enemy held territory. Please do give his name, it would be of great interest to me. Thanks. Steve.
Steve, You've nailed it mate ... the details from my Uncle were specifically that he spent 2 years behind Japanese lines blowing up the railways so it has to be Calvert. I asked him if he knew Wingate and he confirmed to me that he had indeed met him on several occasions. He told me that his trade within the Army was a driver and mechanical instructor ... he mentioned having his Sten gun clipped up on the inside of his truck and something about going in with Bren Gun carriers during the riots in India at some stage. He was definitely Column three and his name is Edward East. I don't know what rank he came out with but I have to assume he was a private, perhaps not though if he was an mechanical instructor. This pretty much describes what I was told .... Calvert's Number 3 Column was ordered to destroy two railway bridges at Nankan used to supply the Japanese 33rd Army facing the American General Stilwell's Chinese forces in the north. Calvert blew both bridges without a single casualty to his column. He then led it a hundred miles east and across the Irrawaddy, ambushing the enemy and leaving many dead. My Grandfathers name was James White ... I have currently sent for a marriage certificate for my Grandparents so I can get after his Army service records. All I know was that he was in Burma and Rangoon with the Royal Sussex Regiment. I am very keen to get to his war records and see what he was doing and where. He survived the war and my father tells the story that he and his mate both threw their medals into the sea on the transport troop ship on the way back to England. If you have anything to share on either count I'd love to hear it. Best, Simon.
Simon, That's great mate. Edward is a new name to my lists, but that is what I am looking for, new personnel. Column 3 was a mainly Gurkha unit for infantry, but the rest of the personnel would have been made up from all sorts of other British and Commonwealth soldiers. Books for you regarding Chindits would be: "March or Die', by Phil Chinnery. 'Across the Threshold of Battle' by Harold James (3 column). Then Calvert has written a few books, none specifically about 1943, but: "Prisoners of Hope', 1944 operation. 'Fighting Mad', which is a general biography of his time in WW2. i understand that Edward does not want to rake up his past, but if you do ever get more detail, names, places, units etc. I would be glad of the new information. I sent off an email enquiry to the Gurkha Museum in Winchester this week, looking to book an appointment with them to explore the 1943 Chindit columns 1,2,3 and 4. These as I said before were 70% Gurkha in their make up. If I track Edward down at some point, I'll be sure to get back to you. In regards to your Grandfather the Army Service records are the key, the problem is they take so long to come back from Glasgow. However, there are some very well informed members here on the forum and they may be able to help with the Royal Sussex exploits. Keep in touch. Steve.
Great info Steve, thank you again. I wanted to get hold of the book on the Shiny 9th at some point as well but that seems a rather tricky and rare little tome to unearth these days with limited printings. I am going to try and make a last push for information from my Uncle Eddie and should be back in the U.K this year. Hopefully I might get him to talk about the happier memories and see what that brings. I have been told that in the case of ordering service records from the UK that it can take up to 12 months! That's outrageous really, I can't imagine what takes them so long and why they would drag their heels on something so simple. I could go up there in a day and get the records myself ... boggles the mind. I guess it is just a process that I'm going to have to live with ... I hate waiting though. If you do get any info on my Uncle please let me know mate ... hugely appreciated. Best regards, Simon.
The Shiny 9th is a very hard book to track down, you are not the first person I have come across trying to find that particular volume. Army Service records are a pain to wait for, I can only assume that with all the interest of late in Family history etc. this has overloaded their staff. But, to be honest it could be a real money spinner for the MOD if they got their act together. I should of mentioned earlier I was in Burma in 2008 and met a member of 1943 column 3. He was Denis Gudgeon, who was a very young Gurkha officer back then, a 2nd Lieutenant in charge of the mule transport. He was taken prisoner whilst trying to escape back to India. He, unlike my Grandad survived Rangoon Jail to come home. Sadly Denis passed away last November. Another member of column 3 I have contacted was Lieutenant Alec Gibson. Another survivor of Rangoon Jail from 1943. Attached are their photos from back then. Calvert, Gibson and Gudgeon. Cheers
Very interesting thread. My great uncle was a 2nd Chindit with Yorks and Lancs. He died in August 1944, sadly. I have always wanted to find out more about what the 2 columns of Y&L's did. I shall have to try and persuade my mum to write in for the records, she is the eldest of what would have been his nieces, as he was unmarried and everyone else has passed on now. I can understand partly the frustration of the amount of time it takes to get the records, but this is a lot to do with the sheer numbers of people writing in. Since most people who write in have done without the information so far in their lives, and this could be 20, 30, 40 or 50 or more years, I think a little bit more waiting should not be too hard. You can't just go up there is a day and get the records anyway as far as I know, because they are confidential and you can't just go and look at them like you can with older pre 1923 records at Kew, bit of a shame but then its supposedly to protect confidentiality because some of these people they hold records for are still alive. Regards Matt
Hi Matt, You are totally correct about the confidentiality of the service records. The 2nd Yorks&Lancs were also in 14th British Infantry Brigade along with the Beds&Herts. They came into theatre in early April and acted as floating columns, striking at the Japanese rear and then dispersing quickly into the cover of the jungle. They suffered greatly from fatigue and disease and by late May, early June were tramping knee deep along jungle tracks near Indawgyi Lake. Always difficult to second guess a soldiers demise in these conditions, but it would be likely that your Great Uncle would have died in a rear area, possibly a medical centre or casualty station? Steve.
