Researching names of WW2 war dead on our local war memorial plus others linked to Budleigh Salterton as mentioned in CWGC record. Hoping to find which units Captain Richards was attached to as an army medic during WW2. He was gazetted Lieutenant in 1940; wounded in a tragic shooting accident in Burma and died 23 Jan 1945. Any help would be much appreciated.
Hello as you know re his service and detail this is the only way to go Get a copy of military service records Other forum members will possibly give a bit more detail Do you have the name of the memorial he is named on CAPTAIN GERALD ARTHUR RICHARDS Service Number: 133377 Regiment & Unit/Ship Royal Army Medical Corps Date of Death Died 23 January 1945 Age 36 years old Buried or commemorated at IMPHAL WAR CEMETERY 6. K. 22. India Secondary Unit, Regiment attd Royal Artillery Country of Service United Kingdom Additional InfoSon of Walter Guyon Richards and Ethel Ruth Richards; husband of Kirstine Richards, of Budleigh-Salterton, Devon. M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P. Personal Inscription HONORE ET AMORE regards Clive
1945, Two young women start a new enterprise in ExmouthKirstine Richards She met her future husband, Gerald Arthur Richards; a young medical student from St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, at the ‘Highland Fling’. Their two children, Nicholas and Louanne, were born during the 2nd World War and their father, Gerry, was accidentally wounded in Burma and died at Imphal on the 23rd January 1945 TD
Many thanks for your contributions Clive and TD. Very prompt! I am in contact with the daughter, so I do have lots of information. But she didn't know which artillery unit he was attached to. He is not mentioned on Budleigh Salterton war memorial; the link with Budleigh is only because of CWGC record, and the daughter thought that was tenuous (Captain Richards' widow had a relative who lived in the town!) . I am working my way through 60+ WW2 names linked to our town - hoping to manage without the service records, though they do occasionally pop up - tackling it chronologically and am now in August 1944. So good progress apart from little queries like the above.
You would need to obtain his service records from the MOD - forms here Request records of deceased service personnel to know which artillery unit he was attached to when he died, unless there is something in his obituary or RAMC file TD
Heatherman yes the records only way to go You do see many times a CWGC casualty detail married to X giving the town of his/her wife/husband but the casualty is from a different part of the country which can only be found via ancestry or the like regards Clive
Heatherman When applying for his service records download the document from his CWGC page and include it in the application as this acts as a copy of his desath certificate being as he died in service - Casualty Details | CWGC From his CWGC page you will also see that there are some pages entitled "CONCENTRATION (3)" these show where he was buried previously until he was 'concentrated' into the final cemetery These appear to show he was initially buried at Inbaung Military cemetery, before being moved and concentrated at Imphal TD I have to say by the mix of services and regiments etc, it looks as though the burials at Inbaung would possibly have been from a hospital or Casualty Clearing Station (CCS) or some form of medical facility - this is a guess on my part
I have been informed by others that Inbaung is - Inbaung - Wikipedia and "believe it was located to the north of a town called Kalemyo in Assam, a few miles west of the Chindwin River and close to the Burma border." TD
OK - reading about Imphal CWGC then it appears 38 General Hospital was in the vicinity Hospitals WW2 - Scarlet Finders 38 British General Hospital Hoddesdon (Herts) 12/40 to 2/41 then to Hatfield; Hatfield House 2/41 to 2/42 then overseas; Shaiba (Iraq) 2/42 to 4/42 then to Kirkee; Poona (Kirkee) 3/42 to 15/4/42 then to Bangalore; Bangalore 15/4/42 to 5/44 then to Jermot; Jermot 5/44 to 5/44 then to Golaghat; Golaghat Assam 5/44 to 10/44 then to Dinapore; Dinapore 10/44 to 11/44 then to Imphal; Imphal (Manipur) 11/44 to 6/45 then to Rangoon; Rangoon 6/45 to 10/6/46 then disbanded. Added to what I mentioned earlier about concentration I note on this link Cemetery Details | CWGC - states "but after hostilities had ceased, the Army Graves Service brought in graves from two smaller cemeteries in Imphal and from isolated positions in the surrounding region." TD
Although he was in the Royal Army Medical Corps he was attached to the Royal Artillery - at a guess I would suggest he was the Regimental Medical Officer for a Royal Artillery unit. On the Casualty Lists he was shown as dangerously ill on 17 January 1945 and died as a result of an accident on 23 January 1945. I suggest he was in a hospital near Inbaung (not Imphal) whilst being treated, buried there and then Inbaung Cemetery was 'concentrated' to Imphal (as were a number of others). Kalemyo is at the southern end of the Kabaw Valley and it was a major route for the retaking of Burma - 11th East African Division were the lead Division. The timing is right because they were at that point in January 1945 (altho many reinforcements passed through Kalemyo throughout 1945). Getting his records from the MOD might have the missing information. However that is taking about a year as demand has grown during lockdown and the staff to service it has been less. Another thought is there used to be a RAMC museum at Keogh Barracks near Aldershot. It may be worth contacting them if they still exist.
Skoyen89 Thank you very much. The Casualty List pics will be great to include. And thanks for the other ideas including RAMC. Gerry Richards studied Medicine at Barts and was responsible for acquiring a football field at Chiselhurst for the students, so I am hoping that some present-day student might like to help with my project. Although I may not get his service record, there will be enough to write about combating disease in WW2 Burma, plus his family medical background, and the story of the widow running a hotel. The daughter tells me that he died as the result of a stupid accident when a friend was cleaning a rifle next to him and somehow the weapon went off.
I was right that Inbaung was the site of a medical facility There were two Casualty Clearing Stations there and a FMTU (Forward Malaria Treatment Unit), with supporting units, plus an airstrip. Details are in FAE Crew's book on the Medical Services in Burma.
This is interesting, my Great Grandad was RAMC and is listed on the same page as Cpt Richards in that War Graves Concentration list posted above. He was one of three who died on the same day, you can see the three names in the middle of the page, died 23.2.45. Unfortunately the Army spelt his name wrong on that page, it was Weatherley not Weatherby and they also got it wrong when he was buried at Imphal so I guess his name is misspelt on his war grave too as he is listed as Weatherly with an ‘e’ missing between the l&y. The only information as to cause of death was drowning, I assume that they may have all died together but I have no info on this.