I haven't found a great deal about these men but thought I'd start a thread to see what is known, not just for my own sphere of interest (although it is there) but for all the battalions involved... I am aware of three Padre's present at "Blackpool": Capt. The Rev. MacKay (26 Column, 1st Cameronians), Capt. The Rev. Hawthorn, MC (90 Column, 1st Cameronians) and Capt. The Rev. Miller (2nd KORR); there must have been others... There is a nice article that can be found on the Burma Star site reprinted from The Covenanter and also in DEKHO!, written by the Rev. MacKay, full of quirky little errors but still very insightful - the link follows... Padre I have still got to pick up a copy of the booklet available from the Kings Own site that relates to the Rev. Miller and his thoughts on the events of 1944... Regarding Rev. Hawthorn, also known as "The Fighting Padre", there is the citation by Major Bill Henning but not much else I can find... Major William Henning's citation for Rev. Hawthorn... On the 17th April 1944 South of THINGANDA No. 13 Platoon was accompanied by the Column Chaplain, Capt. The Reverend T. HAWTHORN, C.F., who has always been insistent in his requests to be allowed to accompany fighting troops into action and render immediate succour to the wounded. The platoon was attacked by what was clearly seen to be a greatly superior force and for two hours they held their position under heavy fire, only attempting a withdrawal when the enemy was closing in on three sides for the final assault. Throughout this action the Revd. Hawthorn not only performed his duties with exemplary devotion but he eventually organised and was personally responsible for the successful evacuation of the wounded under heavy fire. During the greater part of the action he remained in an exposed position, observing the effects of the Platoon's M.M.G. and directing it by wireless. His coolness in emergency and selfless devotion to duty were of inestimable value and worthy of the highest commendation... My father was close by "The Fighting Padre", when he carried out the actions that led to the Reverend being awarded the MC (also Lt. Chambers during the same engagement) and made the following comments in his memoirs... Kenny Stewart, Rifleman, 13 Platoon, 90 Column... … Shortly after rejoining our Column, our Platoon got itself surrounded; lots of bullets were flying around and I was sheltering behind a tree with an RAF Sergeant-Signaller. He said something, and I turned round and saw him holding his hat in his hand, with his finger through a hole in the side where a bullet had passed through. He was quite calm about it and I remarked it would be something special to show his grandchildren if he survived; I never saw the man again so I do not know if he did. On this occasion we had the Padre with us and he appeared to be having a great time of it. He had come to us via North Africa, where he had been decorated and had gained a nickname as “The Fighting Padre”. He was ignoring the numerous bullets flying about and making liberal use of a Sten-Gun, which as usual, jammed; he cursed, and from then on took charge of a walkie-talkie. Eventually we extracted ourselves from this situation with the loss of only one man, killed by a dum-dum bullet through the chest… There must be more out there about these and other men of the cloth who trod the same paths as the rank and file during both the Chindit conflicts...
There's a couple of threads on the forum somewhere on Padre's etc. One contains mainly pictures and the other I'm sure is just citations for bravery. Here's the picture focused one: http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/general/17030-lord-he-moves-mysterious-ways.html
Funny enough I was sent a type written copy of MacKay's article just this week. It was part of a group of papers from a daughter of a Burma veteran who thought I might like them. The papers were sent originally from a man called Alexander Bain from Edinburgh. This thread made me re-realise (because it had passed through my mind once before) that there has never been anything written, as far as I can see about a Padre with the men in 1943. I think the Burma Rifles had this base covered, or at least the mainly Christian Karen tribesmen did, but not the British element.
Andy... do you have Borg-like implants with direct network links over one eye socket by any chance... I did a search prior to posting this but nothing specific came up - probably the wrong question used... nothing from Burma I could find in that one, Andy, so no surprise there... If there is an existing info thread I'm happy to merge this into it then lose this one if nothing much comes up from this post... Steve... Hebrideans... all Pagan up there... rather curiously, I checked the reprint with the original article and it even has the same typos - things like "Sutherland" flying boat and an alternate name...
Andy... do you have Borg-like implants with direct network links over one eye socket by any chance... I did a search prior to posting this but nothing specific came up - probably the wrong question used... nothing from Burma I could find in that one, Andy, so no surprise there... If there is an existing info thread I'm happy to merge this into it then lose this one if nothing much comes up from this post... Steve... Hebrideans... all Pagan up there... rather curiously, I checked the reprint with the original article and it even has the same typos - things like "Sutherland" flying boat and an alternate name... That would be 'Maggie' I'm guessing here!
Indeed... I suspect he didn't invite the rest of the Column to the first bit of this quote either... From the Rev. MacKay's article... ... After a hot, dreary, dusty seven-day train journey across India, we had two or three pleasant days in a tea garden at Silchar, where we were hospitality entertained by a Scottish tea planter. Then we had a nightmarish trek over the hills by the Bishenpur track to the village of Bishenpur, soon to become the scene of cruel and desperate fighting. In five days we had to cross several north-south mountain ranges, some of them over 3,000’ high. The weather was wet and cold, the rations extremely poor, the track hard and difficult, and we were more than thankful to breast the final ridge and see the lovely plateau of Imphal lying before us, surrounded by the hills... There is also a lovely little Scottish expression that was used to describe Wingate that was explained/translated for me by Stanley Rothney... "Henspeckle", which should have read "ken-speckle", which means "well-known face..." makes more sense when you know that, mon...
Here is a fourth Padre with the Chindits of 1944: Captain D.A. Patterson, who was Padre with the 1st Kings in 1944. He was a Minister in Burma before the war and like many of his colleagues was well liked by the men he served. Captain Patterson died when Glider 19B crash landed in the jungle after failing to make the runway at Broadway. He was buried by the surviving crew at the crash site. Here are his CWGC details: CWGC :: Casualty Details I believe his Date of Death should read 05/03/44.
Ta Steve, I'll check up on him - ordered a bunch of stuff from the KORR museum (excellent service - got a response post going off-line here last night!) and am awaiting their Padre's booklet to drop through the letterbox, along with the regimental history CDROM and an awards booklet...
From the war diary of the 1 Lancashire Fusiliers in 1944: Capt. Reverend AJ. Cockle Capt. Reverend P. Mulrooney.
More goodies Steve... I noted it elsewhere but thought I'd mention it here but Rev Miller's "pamphlet" book (A4 format) makes a worthy addition to the mix with some fine comments - opening with a detailed account of the events, extracts from his personal letters back home, brief notes from the 2nd KORR war diaries and a list of the officers present at "Blackpool" - 50 pages and around 24,000 words...
Other than the officer returns and some other attachments the diary was devoid of any real information. I'm guessing the majority of the campaign details were given over to the 77IIB diary we already have. Sounds like Mulrooney was often right in the thick of things.
Hi HC, Is this one cheating? Reverend RG. Chaffey-Moore, the RAF Chaplain at Agartala rear base. Be honest now.
The late Rev Thomas Hawthorn is my Father in Law. Over the years, I "bullied" him into writing some notes on his experiences as a Chindit. He did this with reluctance, being a truly modest man. His MC was always a mystery to him as it "came up with the rations" (his expression) with only a reference number. No citations were issued to individuals with awards in WW2, they came later if you asked. In 1980, I was posted as a Deputy Assistant Military Secretary to the Military Secretary's Office in MOD and part of his Empire was Honours and Awards. I abused my position and got Dad's citation from the lovely old girls who worked in that department. Normally, there was a three year waiting list. Only on reading it did Dad actually know for which action it had been awarded; there being days, weeks, months on end of incessant action, any of which might have generated an award. He went to South Africa after the War and was Padre to the Witwartesland Rifles. He came home in the early sixties having been virtually booted out for his opposition to Apartheid. It was my pleasure to have such a gallant gentleman as my Pa in Law. You may not know this, but he began the War in the ranks, though a Minister of an Ayrshire Parish; there being no vacancies for chaplains. He was commissioned eventually into the Yorks and Lancs, but finally returned to his calling and his posting India. The rest, as they say, is history.
Hi Tango, That is a lovely first post and what an incredibly brave man your father-in-law was. He was one of three Chaplains serving at the Chindit stronghold named 'Blackpool' in 1944. Along with Revds. WH Miller and Donald MacKay, he had to deal with the needs of the men there and of course and sadly, preside over the burials of the dead. From the book 'War in the Wilderness' by Tony Redding. "Jack Masters (Brigade C/O) called his Chaplains together. Miller, MacKay and Hawthorn were told that the early casualties had been heavy and that the dead should be buried as soon as possible. A suitable cemetery plot was found, away from the main positions. Miller later wrote: "By dint of much persuasion, I was able to get relays of working parties to dig the graves. Very slowly we carried the dead from the improvised mortuary, opposite the main dressing station. The corpses were normally covered with a blanket, but unidentifiable parts of bodies were put in sacks and buried alongside their comrades in the communal grave. Later, as casualties increased, we had to use shell holes and disused slit trenches as graves."
... Over the years, I "bullied" him into writing some notes on his experiences as a Chindit... You have my full attention, TCB, and welcome... please pass our respects to his family... he saw a glimpse of "Hell" whilst surviving "Blackpool"... he certainly had my father's respect and presumably having read this thread you already know my father was present when he earnt that MC... I hope you will be willing to share some more of what you know and are in a position to let us know the families' plans for his memoirs... I would be most interested in reading them to see how they fit into the monster that my project has become... If you are looking to work towards a publication of his notes, then there are a number of us that would probably be able to offer assistance... Kenny
