Searching for Information on my Great Uncle, Died in Burma 1943

Discussion in 'War Cemeteries & War Memorial Research' started by MichaelMraf83, May 8, 2020.

  1. MichaelMraf83

    MichaelMraf83 Member

    Wondering if anyone can help me? My Great uncle is listed above, John Munro McGuire. Would anyone have a photo of his grave in Myanmar? Would love to know further info if anyway to find? My Grandfather died before I was born and I lost my father in January, so my information is severely limited.

    Cpl John Munro McGuire
    Aged 24
    18th (5th Bn, the Loyal regt) Regt reconnaissance corps
    Service no 3311890
    Died 05 October 1943
    Buried Myanmar , Thanbyuzayat cemetery, B6 N19

    Any help would be massively appreciated

    Thank you for your time.

    Michael
     
  2. amberdog45

    amberdog45 Senior Member

    Hi Michael, welcome to the forum.

    You should apply for his service record from the MOD for £30 (and a few months wait).

    He was born 1920 in Maryhill, Glasgow and his death is recorded in the Service Returns on the website Scotlandspeople. Can't see a marriage or a Will.

    His birth details will be available online next January and his Service Return won't tell you much more than you'd find on the CWGC website for free.
     
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  3. MichaelMraf83

    MichaelMraf83 Member

    Thank you so much for your help.

    Its massively appreciated.
     
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  4. amberdog45

    amberdog45 Senior Member

    I should add, you shouldn't require his full date of birth, because you'll get his service number from CWGC.

    I used the freebmd website and found his marriage (hopefully), to Doris Clarke in Newcastle 1941. You might (for a fee) be able to get a PDF copy from the GRO website. I don't know how accessible GRO is at the moment with Covid on the go.
     
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  5. idler

    idler GeneralList

    18 Recce were part of 18th East Anglian Division who were sent to reinforce Singapore not long before it fell. Many of the troops were sent to work on the Burma/Death Railway and many of them didn't survive.

    It may be worthwhile having a look at the COFEPOW Children of Far East Prisoners of War website.
     
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  6. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Hi Michael,

    Pleased to see you have created a thread for John. As I mentioned on the other thread, he was probably a POW on the Burma/Death Railway. I found him on this Roll of honour on line which more or less confirms this fact:

    Mc Database

    I'm pretty sure some other members will have details for you in regards his time as a POW.

    Steve
     
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  7. KevinBattle

    KevinBattle Senior Member

    MCGUIRE, JOHN MUNRO. Corporal. Service Number 3311890. Died 05/10/1943. Aged 24
    18th (5th Bn. The Loyal Regt.) Regt. Reconnaissance Corps
    Son of Anthony and Catherine McGuire; husband of Doris McGuire, of Talke Pits, Staffordshire.
    Buried at THANBYUZAYAT WAR CEMETERY: Memorial reference: B6. N. 19.

    Thanbyuzayat became a prisoner of war administration headquarters and base camp in September 1942 and in January 1943 a base hospital was organised for the sick. The camp was close to a railway marshalling yard and workshops, and heavy casualties were sustained among the prisoners during Allied bombing raids in March and June 1943. The camp was then evacuated and the prisoners, including the sick, were marched to camps further along the line where camp hospitals were set up. For some time, however, Thanbyuzayat continued to be used as a reception centre for the groups of prisoners arriving at frequent intervals to reinforce the parties working on the line up to the Burma-Siam border.
    The notorious Burma-Siam railway, built by Commonwealth, Dutch and American prisoners of war, was a Japanese project driven by the need for improved communications to support the large Japanese army in Burma. During its construction, approximately 13,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway. An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 civilians also died in the course of the project, chiefly forced labour brought from Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, or conscripted in Siam (Thailand) and Burma (Myanmar). Two labour forces, one based in Siam and the other in Burma worked from opposite ends of the line towards the centre. The Japanese aimed at completing the railway in 14 months and work began in June 1942. The two sections of the line finally met near Konkoita towards the end of October 1943 and the completed line, 424 kilometres long, was operational by December 1943.


    His CWGC Record also has a Concentration tab, showing that he was initially buried after dying at Tambaya Camp No 9 in the cemetery there, before being relocated after the War.
    It may be distressing for you but there is at least one account of experiences on the Death Railway which specifically detail camp conditions, although I am sure by now you understand the harsh brutality of the working conditions and the exhaustion and illnesses that wracked virtually all in the camps.
    (Use ctrl and F then type Tmbaya into the Search box to find the references to Tambaya) if you prefer not to read the entire document. It mainly covers F Force, the 6th group of prisoners sent from Changi. I have no knowledge f which party John was in.
    The 'F' Force | COFEPOW

    This is an an account of an Australian who died the day before John, but the circumstances must in general have been similar.
    It would seem that only the extremely sick (and that in context of most men being in very poor health) were sent to Tambaya/Tanbaya camp.
    Prisoners of War of the Japanese 1942-1945
     
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  8. amberdog45

    amberdog45 Senior Member

    John's mentioned in a news article, page 1 of the Staffordshire Sentinel 4 Dec 1945.

    Corporal J. M. McGuire, Royal Armoured Corps, husband of Mrs Doris McGuire of 30 Rodgers Avenue, Newcastle.

    This article can be found at Find My Past when you do a search for Doris McGuire. She obviously didn't get word of his death until a couple of years later.

    His service number when searched brings up several entries in the military section also on FMP. You get 14 days free search when you sign up, but if you don't want to subscribe after the 14 day trial, make sure you untick the auto subscribe box before the 14 days are up or they'll charge you full subscription rates.
     
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  9. MichaelMraf83

    MichaelMraf83 Member

    This is incredible.

    Thank you so much for taking the time to help me.
     
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  10. Recce_Mitch

    Recce_Mitch Very Senior Member

    Welcome to the forum. Image00001.jpg
     
  11. MichaelMraf83

    MichaelMraf83 Member

    I'm speechless. Your kindness humbled me.

    Nowhere ever near same breath but I'm ex Raf and I do care deeply for our service community.

    Quite emotional seeing this.
     
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