There it was in black and white. Diaries for 2nd Battalion The Dukes at Sittang Bridge do not exist.Due to the nature of the fighting and retreat.Disapointed, yes. However! continued reading the file which was from the intelligence log book carried in a pack until they reached India. Wow,not at all written in a stuffy manner, comments such as Symth or any of his staff no where to be seen. Brigadier Jones just simply disappeared from around 9.30 after the bridge went up.I have read quite a lot about the fiasco previous but,having read this has really hit home.What a complete and utter shambles.And the good news?Listed, were all men of the Battalion. I have photographs of some of the men and because of the list I have recalled the names of one or two who kept in touch with my Father. Busy now to find their offspring. A big thank you to Andy, for Not the Diary! Veronica.
Well done Veronica, and well done Andy. I found a list of 2 DWR a few years ago in file WO361/185. This is a special operations file SSD2 in Burma commanded by Lieut.-Col. H. C. Brocklehurst. Would you like a copy?
Yes please, Steve. And going of topic, I may ( only a may) have a lead for an ex Longcloth living in Liverpool. A very sprightly man by all accounts. At the moment I only have the name of Anthony.On the case! Veronica.
Hi Veronica, Here they are attached, if the resolution is not good enough, I can email them over to you. In my POW lists for Rangoon Jail, I have some DWR men, some are definitely Sittang captures, yours if you want them. Steve
Hi Veronica Majority of the war diaries and other papers like recommendations for medals during retreat from Burma were lost at least once some even two times. They were recreated once units reached Imphal and were based on memories of those who survived. I have copies of war diaries for almost all units which fought at Sittang and that of 2nd Dukes is one of the more informative. All diaries were very similar and usually they are providing only a basic info about movements, battles and casualties. And if you are lucky in some you can find appendixes with more details, like in the wds of 2/5th Royal Gurkha Rifles or combined 1/7th and 3/7th Gurkha Rifles. I have read a lot about Sittang and if I can help you in any way just ask here or via private message. Enes
Steve, I would really love to have the list of P.O.W . DWR. Rangoon Jail. Searching for the pal Father joined up with in 1937.
Thank you for your reply. Now I am confused! You say the WAR DIARY ? for the Dukes is the most imformative.So would that be the intelligence log book i have been reading? The contents of which were read and re- written at a later date in the format of an non existing diary. Veronica.
Veronica, I will send you a pm presently with my email address. The list is on Excel, have a look through, if anyone catches your eye, let me know as I may have more information on some individuals. Steve
WO 172-858 is technically a war diary of 2nd Dukes for 1942. All war diaries are written in similar way. Of course depending of who wrote them and in what condition they could provide more or less details. For example compering to 190 pages of 2nd Dukes', war diaries of some other units which took part in the first Burma campaign were even shorter, 1/4th Gurkha Rifles - 136, 4/12th Frontier Force Rifles - 109 pages, 16th Indian Infantry Brigade - 75 pages or 5/17th Dogra Regiment only 13 pages. Well all of these were recreated after the campaign but even those which are not lost sometimes are not much longer. War diary of 3/5th Royal Gurkha Rifles for 1942 is 64 pages long and that for 1943, even thought that for majority of the year battalion is in constant contact with the enemy due patrolling and small clashes, have only 124 pages. Yes there are some diaries with more pages/details but compering with others from the campaign that of 2nd Dukes is quite informative especially considering that it is rewritten after original is lost.
Veronica, As promised, here are the DWR men traced as POWs in Rangoon Jail. The details for each man come from various war diaries, casualty listings and anecdotal mentions in books etc. If anyone looks to be of interest, please let me know as I may possess more information. Apologies for the way dates are sometimes recorded and shown, I simply copied exactly how each entry was shown from the original source. Best wishes Steve View attachment DWR Rangoon Jail.rtf
