what regiment did father go to India with ?

thank you hw , i was worried i had offended you ! thanks for the names, daft question i know, you have said this numbers were given out in blocks so could it have been next man through a regiment go the next number ? i ask because some of those numbers are not that far away from fathers . now to len yes i am sure that is him, he lived in zeals which i thought was Wiltshire in fact i quizzed his son about it . but you are on the wilts , dorset, and somerset border there . i had a good idea he may have been older than the first len found plus the age at death is right ,many thanks mike

 

Wiltshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1916
Name: Leonard Martin Love
Birth Date: 12 May 1914
Baptism Date: 7 Jun 1914
Baptism Place: Zeals, St Martin, Wiltshire, England
Parish as it Appears: Zeals
Search Photos: Search for 'Zeals, St Martin' in the UK City, Town and Village Photos collection
Father: William Charles Henry Love
Mother: Mary Rachel Love

Death details as per High Woods last post

TD

 

Mike,

absolutely no offence taken. I was just explaining the criteria that I use to confirm that a man took part in Operation Thursday. There was an enormous amount of cachet in being a Chindit and 1945 Calcutta was allegedly full of soldiers on leave wearing Chindit badges bought in the bazaar. I heard a story from an RAF veteran who remarked that in London after V.E. Day every RAF airman that you met had awarded himself a higher rank, in his words, "you couldn't get down Oxford Street without bumping into a Squadron Leader".

With regards to the Dorsetshire men in the King's, there are several other regiments that have notable numbers of men in the 1st Kings including the Devonshire Regiment and the Somerset Light Infantry but, from memory. there seem to be more from other Lancashire regiments, particularly the King's Own (Royal Lancaster).

There were of course some original 1st King's soldiers who didn't take part in Operation Thursday due to their standard of fitness or age and who were effectively weeded out and replaced with younger, fitter men. There were also those whose part in Operation Thursday required them to remain in India directing supplies, signal traffic and general orderly type stuff.

With regard to numbers being given out in blocks, this was done to ensure that no two men in the British Army had the same Army Number. Each regiment, corps, etc. had its own block of numbers. e.g. The Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders were numbered between 2,966,001 - 3,044,000. Any soldier with a number in this range must have originally enlisted into the A&SH even if he was transferred the very next day into another unit and spent the rest of his service with them.

Simon

 

In this photograph he appears to be wearing a King's slip on shoulder title. Can you make out the letters using a magnifying glass?

 

sorry for my pc skills somewhat lacking . this picture is from fathers time in the kings as i have noticed his strip first mention in service record 6.11.43 entd concessional area 21.1.44 relinquished on admission to hospital 11.5.44 . why no shoulder badges ? on the other pic under a magnifying glass kings can be seen.please look at his mates tattoos must make him stand out ? any comments please, thanks mike

 

sorry hw i must have been uploading as you replied yes first photo definitely kings under glass in fact i asked my daughter to look as well and she did not know what name to look for ,mike

 

Mike,

thank you for sending copies of your father's service record. It makes interesting reading. It states that he entered the Concessional Area on 21st January 1944. My understanding is that the Concessional Area covers the area controlled by the Military as well as the actual fighting areas. The 1/King's flew into Burma on the night of the 5th/6th March 1944 but were already in the Concessional Area so an entry for the 5th March may have been unnecessary. The entry stating that he was admitted into the 91 I.G.H. on the 11th May 1944 would tie in with other known Chindits being evacuated out of Burma to hospitals still in the Concessional Area. It also states that he left the Concessional Area on the 1st July 1944 and so would have been in India proper. I am still perplexed as to why his name does not appear on the casualty list or at least in the 77th Brigade radio messages as many other evacuees are mentioned by name. I am now 99% sure that he took part in Operation Thursday but would like to know where the 91 I.G.H was stationed in May 1944.

I have added a list of other men known to have been evacuated out of Broadway between 5th - 10th May 1944.


06/05/1944 5622453 Devonshire Regt 81 Pte Seaman L J Message 6102: Evacuated sick evening 5/6th May. See also message 6198. A Coy DMR

06/05/1944 14375376 General Service Corps 81 Pte Clutterbuck Alfred B Message 6102: Evacuated sick evening 5/6th May. See also message 6198

06/05/1944 14612026 General Service Corps Pte Purchase M Message 6198: Evacuated sick 7th May

07/05/1944 McCann Message 6198: Evacuated sick 7th May

10/05/1944 14574447 General Service Corps Pte Lewis J Message 6526 11th May: Ptes Lewis, Keenan, White, McCarvin, Bettesworth with you. 82 to Broadway. C Coy DMR

10/05/1944 14401771 General Service Corps Pte Keenan Message 6283 8th May: 14401771 Pte Keenan evacuated from Broadway

10/05/1944 Pte McCarvin See McCann. Same person?

10/05/1944 Pte Bettesworth

10/05/1944 6096715 Queen's Royal Regt Pte Whitham Message 6283 8th May: 6096715 Pte Witham evacuated from Broadway

10/05/1944 14400527 General Service Corps Pte Aldis Alfred DoW 12/05/1944

11/05/1944 5730257 Dorsetshire Pte Rose Kenneth Douglas Admitted to 91 I.G.H. WW2 talk query

 

I agree HW, 99.9%.

 

HW, we may have possessed the answer to the 91 IGH question all the time. It was at Sylhet on the 11th April, chances are it was still there in May:

 

well done bamboo we are getting there ,mike

 

Hello Mike,

Sorry for the long delay in replying. A couple more bits to add from your Dad's records:

Entry for 15/05/1944 17th British General Hospital. This hospital was based at Dehra Dun in early 1944 and then moved across to Dacca by July. Dehra Dun was a town the King's knew well and was where the battalion reassembled after Operation Thursday had closed.

The entry for 15/12/1944 CCS Malthone. Refers to the Casualty Clearing Station based at Malthone which was in Uttar Pradesh State.

Finally, the entry for 03/01/1945 BMH Jhansi. Jhansi was/is a large railway junction town in Uttar Pradesh State. The town hosted various Hospitals during this period, the most likely one being the 80th British General Hospital.

I have no information on the other smaller Indian hospitals mentioned after January 1945. Hope this helps in some way. I will send you a PM with this info as well.

Steve

 

thanks Steve i hopefully enclose the last army photo i have of father interestingly this photo has taken in Bombay oct 44. then a personal message but also the date 11.2.45 . so is one of the hospitals there ? also Simon may be sending something over if he considers it of interest ,mike

 

That's another great photograph Mike. Bombay was a very popular location for the King's when on leave and often the place to pose for photographs to send home.

Thanks for posting. Steve