Thomas Sharpe, Indian Civil Service killed in Manipur April 1944

Discussion in 'Burma & India' started by Skoyen89, Apr 20, 2019.

  1. Skoyen89

    Skoyen89 Senior Member

    in answer to your questions:

    1 - While I'm aware of many atrocities reported during the Burma Campaign, I want to be careful about about the details provided by villagers. I haven't seen any such behavior reported about the Hoachong ambush. (It could be that it's simply too remote and obscure an incident.) Can anyone point me to any supporting documentation?

    I have not come across anything that details how he was killed or what happened to the escort beyond that he was executed. Beheading and bayonetting were common - few prisoners were taken (and survived) by the Japanese in the Imphal Campaign.

    2 - The villagers' casualty figure seems very high. Would anyone with knowledge of the Battle of Imphal have an informed idea of how big a military escort would have accompanied Sharpe on such a mission?

    Other accounts of similar missions suggest an escort of six to twelve was typical but definitely no bigger than a platoon. So the figures seem very high.

    3 - The villagers claimed that the bodies of the dead were never recovered, and likely remain buried at the execution site. Is this possible? It seems unlikely, but I don't know post-war remains recovery protocols for this theater.

    It is very possible - there are numerous cases where bodies of British soldiers were known to have been buried and were never recovered subsequently (and in places far closer to Imphal, roads etc) because of the challenge of the terrain, vegetation, weather and political situation limiting access.

    4 - Is it possible to identify the unit or units of the troops who might have escorted Sharpe? Were they soldiers from the UK? India? Both? (It's unclear to me from the War Diary.)

    I would guess at 3 or 4 Battalion of the Assam Rifles as they definitely provided support to V Force officers in the operations near Imphal. This is generally documented in the War Diary. It is highly unlikely they were British or Indian 'regular' units.

    Hope this is useful.
    Tony
     
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  2. Manipurean

    Manipurean Member

    Thank you everyone. This sounds reasonable. Given the reportedly high casualty list ("60 or 70") it may be that some of those killed were local men--Nagas and/or Kukis--acting as guides, cargo-bearers, tribal militia, etc. The impression I got from the village elders was that they were all killed as a warning to the community in Haochong to not support the British war effort.
     
  3. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    David Atkins in his book, The Forgotten Major (in the siege of Imphal) makes a brief reference to Sharpe on page 85 .

    The Dimapur road was now cut as was the Silchar Track and the elephants needed a good deal of fodder which was not available, so Elephant Bill took his party out along the Tamenlong track. He was now passing through country commanded by Ursula Bower of V Force whose Nagas, when the Kukis deserted, had stood firm. Pioneer battalions were going out along the same track in parties of six hundred at a time. They were in complete disarray and were dangerous and starving. Williams thought they might kill his elephants for food so decided to head off along a tiny side path. He had five mountain ranges to cross, each 6,000 feet high, and on one occasion his party had to cut a path along a cliff face where he himself, who had no head for heights, had to go on all fours. Elephants can go where horses and mules are frightened to tread. In this case the elephants were led out by a magnificent 47-year old elephant called Bandoola; without Bandoola giving the lead the others would never have faced the climb.

    Ursula Bower tells me that just behind Williams a young officer called Sharpe reached a village and was told that a patrol of fifty Japanese were in the longhouse. "Nonsense," he said.. "They are nowhere near, it is just a rumour". He walked through the longhouse door and was never seen again. That party of fifty Japanese then turned back to Milestone 105 and never finally closed this last small track which however was too long and difficult to be used as a supply route into Manipur.
     
  4. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    Ursula Bower mentions the incident in her book Naga Path.
    Sharpe 002.JPG
     
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  5. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Rather amazingly, I'm reading Bower's book right now and in the time it took to find mention of Sharpe on page 207, HW had posted the page above. Just too slow these days.
     
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  6. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    I am reading David Atkins' book and this morning I found the Sharpe reference and remembered that I had just read this thread a day or two ago. Synchronicity.

    I have the papers of an Indian Pioneer Corps officer who led his men through the hills to Imphal in 1944. He mentions Elephant Bill and I am going to check if he also went along the Tamenglong Track.
     
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  7. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    I chose Bower's book because I am doing some wrap around reading about V Force.
     
  8. Skoyen89

    Skoyen89 Senior Member

    Thanks for the extra detail guys.....it is all building up even if it is a little bit at a time.
     
  9. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    My officer, Capt. Browne, was definitely in the Tamenglong area on the 9th April 1944 and had been at Haochong two days earlier. I have his annotated maps of his trek and will post them tomorrow.

    s-l1600 (4).jpg
     
    Last edited: Mar 3, 2020
  10. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    The map showing the route from Haochong to Tamenglong April 1944.

    Tam 001.JPG
     
  11. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    Haochong.

    Tam 002.JPG
     
  12. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    J.H. Williams's brief mention of Sharpe in his book Elephant Bill.

    Tam 004.JPG
     
  13. Skoyen89

    Skoyen89 Senior Member

    Hi High Wood

    Thanks for the extra references.

    Do you know which Pioneer unit is mentioned in the Williams Book and I presume it is the same one as your Capt Browne was serving with? What happened to them?
     
  14. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    I know the Unit which my Captain Browne served with and I remember thinking "Bingo" when I saw his written reference to "Elephant Bill" in the margin of the War Diary. I was even more excited when I reread the relevant chapters of "Elephant Bill" and saw numerous references to Captain Browne being in charge of a party of elephants and elephant handlers. It then dawned on me that my Captain, Maurice Coulden Browne E.C.10787, was not the same Captain Browne as the one mentioned in the book, who was Harold Browne, a South African.

    I am not sure which specific Pioneer unit Williams was referring to but the unit that "my" Captain Browne commanded and lead through the hills to Tamenglong was 1390 Coy, Indian Pioneer Corps.
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2020
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  15. lionboxer

    lionboxer Member

    1390 IPC hot-footed out of Lion Box on the 6th April to start their arduous trek. Another day longer they would have been caught up in even heavier fighting than had faced until then, and without doubt there would have been fewer on that trek with Elephant Bill.
    Lionboxer
     
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  16. Manipurean

    Manipurean Member

    Hi everyone. The story was posted on National Geographic:

    https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/out-of-eden-walk/articles/2020-03-ghosts-forgotten-war/

    It includes a short video of a British-built bridge that still stands--barely--along the Imphal-Tamenglong track that Sharpe and his men were walking when they were captured by the Japanese. I walked this track (actually, I walked across India) last year. I wish to thank everyone on this discussion group for your kind help: Tony, Raj, and others. I hope you'll like the piece, and I own any mistakes in the story. Cheers.
     
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