One if the casualties from with links to the town of Battle, Sussex was Lionel Fulford. In researching him, I have the following information. My question is regarding the circumstances of his death, which seems to have been in the vicinity of Mandalay, where he was initially buried, before being interred in Taukkyan with some of his comrades. Can anyone provide more details, please? I'm working on expanding the WW2 Roll of Honour. FULFORD, LIONEL. Rank: Major. Regiment: Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby Reg’t) Secondary Regiment: Northamptonshire Regiment, attached to 1st Bn. Date of Death: 26/02/1945. Service No: 149439. Grave/Memorial Reference: Coll. grave 27. H. 1-17. Cemetery: Taukkyan War Cemetery. Additional information: Son of John Bartholomew Fulford and Millicent May Fulford, of Battle. 36th Infantry Division: Early in July 1944, the division started to fly in to Myitkyina airfield in North Burma, with 72nd Brigade being the first formation to land. On 1 September 1944, shortly after the division had started advancing down the "Railway valley" from Mogaung towards Indaw on the right flank of NCAC, the division was redesignated as the British 36th Division. On 14 December, a third brigade was added to the division; confusingly, this was the first Indian formation that the division commanded (the 26th Indian Infantry Brigade, of one British and two Indian battalions). The division was distinguished for being the only British division to rely entirely on air supply, mainly by the United States' Tenth Air Force, for an extended period. The United States Army Air Force also provided the division with 12 light aircraft equipped for casualty evacuation and a US Army engineer company to construct its airstrips. Initially, the division was without its own divisional artillery and instead relied on a Chinese artillery group under US command. The Indian 32nd Mountain Regiment eventually joined the division after carrying its guns by mule for over 400 miles. The division, having linked up with the main body of British Fourteenth Army, crossed the Irrawaddy River and advanced independently down the eastern side of the river. Units from the division suffered losses forcing the crossing the 300 yard wide Shweli River, but the division continued to advance until the fall of Mandalay in March 1945. After the heaviest air and land bombardment in this sector of the Burma front, British and Indian troops of the 36th Division forced a crossing in assault craft over the Shweli river to Myitson. The Shweli was the last river barrier to the 36th Division's advance into central Burma, and the Japanese opposed the ferry crossing fanatically. He was initially buried in Mandalay War Cemetery along with many men from 1st Northants, the battalion he had been assigned to. He is in a large Collective Grave of 17 men, who died several days apart in Mandalay, but on exhumation to Taukkyan, presumably could not be better identified. BARRATT, HAROLD BRISTOW. Rank: Private. Service No: 14410520. Death: 25/02/1945. Age: 20. Regiment/Service: Northamptonshire Regiment 1st Bn. Grave Reference: Coll. grave 27. H. 1-17. Cemetery: TAUKKYAN WAR CEMETERY. Additional Information: Son of Thomas Harold and Mary Barratt, of Portobello, Willenhall, Staffordshire. FLETCHER, THOMAS. Rank: Private. Service No: 14409850. Death: 17/02/1945. Age: 21. Regiment/Service: Northamptonshire Regiment 1st Bn. Grave Reference: Coll. grave 27. H. 1-17. Cemetery: TAUKKYAN WAR CEMETERY. Additional Information: Son of Frederick Thomas Fletcher and Selina Fletcher, of Leeds, Yorkshire. FORSTER, GEORGE. Rank: Private. Service No: 4983556. Date of Death: 17/02/1945. Age: 28. Regiment/Service: Northamptonshire Regiment 1st Bn. Grave Reference: Coll. grave 27. H. 1-17. Cemetery: TAUKKYAN WAR CEMETERY. GOOCH, ROBERT ARTHUR. Rank: Private. Service No: 14643410. Death: 25/02/1945. Age: 20. Regiment/Service: Northamptonshire Regiment 1st Bn. Grave Reference: Coll. grave 27. H. 1-17. Cemetery: TAUKKYAN WAR CEMETERY. Additional Information: Son of Arthur Harcourt & Gladys Florence Gooch, of Bacton, Norfolk. LOWE, STANLEY. Rank: Private. Service No: 14631682. Date of Death: 25/02/1945. Age: 27. Regiment/Service: Northamptonshire Regiment 1st Bn. Grave Reference: Coll. grave 27. H. 1-17. Cemetery: TAUKKYAN WAR CEMETERY. Additional Information: Son of Ellen Beatrice Lowe, of Norwich. MILLAR, JOHN. Rank: Captain. Service No: 85663. Date of Death: 18/02/1945. Age: 25. Regiment/Service: Northamptonshire Regiment 1st Bn. Grave Reference: Coll. grave 27. H. 1-17. Cemetery: TAUKKYAN WAR CEMETERY. Additional Information: Son of Walter Millar, and of Isabel Millar (nee Beattie), of Ruiru, Kenya. His brother Walter also died on service. MORLEY, ALAN ARTHUR. Rank: Private. Service No: 5047430. Death: 28/02/1945. Age: 31. Regiment/Service: Northamptonshire Regiment 1st Bn. Grave Reference: Coll. grave 27. H. 1-17. Cemetery: TAUKKYAN WAR CEMETERY. Additional Information: Son of Arthur Lynford Morley and Eliza Ann Morley; husband of Norah Agnes Morley, of Clipstone, Nottinghamshire. MOSS, HARRY. Rank: Private. Service No: 1763792. Date of Death: 01/03/1945. Age: 20. Regiment/Service: Northamptonshire Regiment 1st Bn. Grave Reference: Coll. grave 27. H. 1-17. Cemetery: TAUKKYAN WAR CEMETERY. Additional Information: Son of Annie Moss, of Whitechapel, London. MOULDS, LESLIE ERNEST. Rank: Private. Service No: 4984288. Death: 04/03/1945. Age: 29. Regiment/Service: Northamptonshire Regiment 1st Bn. Grave Reference: Coll. grave 27. H. 1-17. Cemetery: TAUKKYAN WAR CEMETERY. Additional Information: Son of Ernest and Mabel Moulds, of Eye, Northamptonshire. PERKINS, EDWARD KENNETH. Rank: Captain. Service No: 308934. Death: 01/03/1945. Age: 22. Regiment/Service: Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry attd. Northamptonshire Regiment Grave Reference: Coll. grave 27. H. 1-17. Cemetery: TAUKKYAN WAR CEMETERY. Additional Information: Son of Reginald James Perkins and Ada Florence Perkins, of Slough, Buckinghamshire. ROWLSON, CYRIL. Rank: Private. Service No: 5117336. Date of Death: 17/02/1945. Age: 30. Regiment/Service: Northamptonshire Regiment 1st Bn. Grave Reference: Coll. grave 27. H. 1-17. Cemetery: TAUKKYAN WAR CEMETERY. SCOTT, LESLIE EDWARD. Rank: Private. Service No: 7937988. Death: 01/03/1945. Age: 24. Regiment/Service: Northamptonshire Regiment 1st Bn. Grave Reference: Coll. grave 27. H. 1-17. Cemetery: TAUKKYAN WAR CEMETERY. STARKEY, HORACE CECIL. Rank: Private. Service No: 1495768. Death: 14/02/1945. Age: 26. Regiment/Service: Northamptonshire Regiment 1st Bn. Grave Reference: Coll. grave 27. H. 1-17. Cemetery: TAUKKYAN WAR CEMETERY/ Additional Information: Son of George and Ellen Starkey; husband of Gladys Starkey, of Fazeley, Staffordshire. WALKDEN, JAMES PATRICK. Rank: Lieutenant. Service No: 327223. Death: 15/02/1945. Age: 21. Regiment/Service: Northamptonshire Regiment 1st Bn. Grave Reference: Coll. grave 27. H. 1-17. Cemetery: TAUKKYAN WAR CEMETERY. Additional Information: Son of Henry Clifford Walkden and Phyllys Ena Walkden, of Burton Joyce, Nottinghamshire. WELLS, ALBERT. Rank: Private. Service No: 14643012. Date of Death: 17/02/1945. Age: 34. Regiment/Service: Northamptonshire Regiment 1st Bn. Grave Reference: Coll. grave 27. H. 1-17. Cemetery: TAUKKYAN WAR CEMETERY. WOOD, DOUGLAS ARTHUR. Rank: Corporal. Service No: 5051796. Death: 22/02/1945. Age: 27. Regiment/Service: Northamptonshire Regiment 1st Bn. Grave Reference: Coll. grave 27. H. 1-17. Cemetery: TAUKKYAN WAR CEMETERY. Additional Information: Son of Albert and Charlotte Wood; husband of Kate Wood, of Burbage, Leicestershire. The spread of dates seems to suggest a temporary cemetery adjacent to a Field Hospital or similar, 17 men on different dates, is there any more plausible explanation? Thanks in advance
Hi First I think you have fallen for the same trap I did when I started researching the Northamptonshire Regiment in Burma. Like you I came up with references for them in 36th British Division but this was only very, very late in the campaign and for all of the significant events from 1942 to 1945 they were in 20th Indian Division. On the date Fulford died they were holding a bridgehead at Kyigon that they had taken in an assault crossing of the Irrawady River on the night of 12th/13th February 1945. After crossing they had to hold the bridgehead for a period of days and during this period they took casualties, mainly from shelling but also from patrolling. The war diary says that No 1 Coy left on a sweep to Mayagon and they found three bunkers occupied by Japanese on raised ground, It seems they attacked it (although it doesn't actually say that directly) and at 1215 a radio message came in to say that Major Fulford had been killed, No further details in the War Diary but I can look in some other sources I have at the weekend.
You beat me to this-my late father (pictured) was a member of 1st Northamptons, actually part of 20th Indian Division and took part in the diversionary Irrawaddy crossing described in Post 2. There is a very full description in the Regimental History. I do have copies of the relevant sections but annoyingly not to hand.
Thank you both for correcting my mistake! Happy to wait for any more details, as and when available. I'm also contacting CWGC as it seems an unusual amount of men for a Collective grave, leading to my supposition that there must have been a small temporary cemetery with these casualties at different dates, before being moved to Taukkyan.
I think you are right that they were buried in a battlefield cemetery, then concentrated at Mandalay Cemetery before again being moved to their current location. They were in the bridgehead for a couple of weeks and Mandalay was a distance away so it unlikely the bodies were taken there immediately. It seems getting supplies etc down to the near bank before the assault crossing was challenging, let alone shipping bodies back across the river and then on to Mandalay.
Thank you very much! The difficulty now is establishing how he was put forward for the (now defunct) RBL Battle Branch War Memorial. Hopefully I'll be able to find the connection in the fullness of time.
Have checked in Jervois' History of the 1st Bn Northamptonshire Regt in Burma and he adds nothing at all to the account in the War Diary. he is mentioned as being involved in the Battle of Budalin on 5th January 1945 and Battle of Monywa on 20th January 1945, in both cases leading No 1 Company.
Kevin, I had a quick look at the new documents up on line on the CWGC website and this reminded me about a pair of Chindit 1 casualties buried very close to Major Fulford at Mandalay. They had been hurriedly buried were they fell in April 1943 and as you have already suspected, the condition of their remains meant that they could not be formally identified after the war and so were buried collectively, firstly at Mandalay and eventually at Taukkyan. I have attached a copy of a letter to the family of one of the men. It wouldn't be too difficult for anyone to identify him, but for the sake of the family, I have removed his details from the note. The rest of the letter may be useful to you at least in terms of dates for when Mandalay Cemetery was still in use. I hope you gain something from these images. Steve
Well, the simple issue is that "Battle" in WW2 times was comprised of Battle Town and Battle Rural District which covers many of the surrounding villages. I was involved with the Battle RBL and more concerned with those from "Battle", whether it be Town or Rural District, but I'm also helping a researcher who is focussing solely on those with known addresses in Battle Town. So, whilst I'm happy with "Battle" either RDC or Town, the address is of relevance to my colleague. I'm relatively new to the area so I have no way of knowing whether someone in the "Rural District" villages came in to Battle "Town" to work or run a business there, whereas my colleague, being a long time local, looks for supporting records for links to the Town, as they may not have come in to Town very frequently, or at all. I find 'em, he checks them out! For the depth of his research I recommend "The Brave Remembered - Battle at War 1914-1919" copies available from Battle & District Historical Society email neilATclephane-cameron.com Price £12:50 plus P&P Often, in WW1, although they may have lived outside Battle, Births, Marriages etc were registered there, but otherwise they may have had no other contact to the town, staying within their own village confines. Less common by WW2, but as his father was a golf professionals by end of WW2 he may have been a club secretary at a course in/near Battle. We're now onto the WW2 volume and he's working through my lists. That's the only reason regarding the address requirement.
