I have found 7 of these photos of the 2nd battalion Royal Welch Fusilier.......anybody know where the other 9 are or if they are of the 2nd RWF? Royal Welch Fusiliers, at the capture of Pintha, 18 October 1944 Photograph by D L Quaid, 2nd Battalion The Royal Welch Fusiliers, World War Two, Far East, 1944. The 2nd Battalion was serving as part of 29th Infantry Brigade in the 36th Division. The front two fusiliers are each carrying a No. 1 Rifle and the last man carries a Thompson sub-machine gun. One of 16 photographs by D L Quaid, 2nd Bn Royal Welch Fusiliers, Burma.
Are you referring to this photpgraph? 2nd Battalion, The Royal Welch Fusiliers, at the capture of Pintha, 18 October 1944 | Online Collection | National Army Museum, London
Yes, that's where I found 7 and assume the other 9 are of the 2nd RWF. As he was American I thought they maybe archived over there somewhere?
Are these the 7 photos held by the National Army Museum? Online Collection | National Army Museum, London I'd guess that the others are in an American archive - maybe some of the forum members on the other side of the pond might know how to find them? The photographer would probably be Dave Quaid (Sgt David Laurence Quaid) of the US 164th Signal Photo Company - 2RWF was under American command in North Burma in October 1944, and 36 Division had plenty of US bods attached at the time. As to whether they are definitely of 2RWF... this doesn't help much, but the battalion was certainly at Pintha on 18th October. It had 3 coys on the outskirts of Pintha by nightfall, and completed capture of the village in the early hours of 19th October, supported by its own 3" mortars and sections from 36 Division's MG company. Some other circumstantial evidence: NAM. 1984-03-96-5 British troops fording a stream in Burma, 1944 36 Division did still have Thompsons at this time - forced to swap them for Stens in early 1945. NAM. 1984-03-96-9 A British mortar crew in action, Burma, 18 October 1944 None of these photos show any divisional patches or ID, but two members of this crew are wearing strips of cloth around their necks. If you zoom in close on this photo from the IWM (also attributed to 2RWF in North Burma) you'll see a similar thing: THE BRITISH ARMY IN BURMA 1944 36 Division was the sole British unit under US command and deep in the wilds, completely reliant on air supply. Being far from British control, after the first few months things got... unorthodox, in a lot of ways. They were too remote for parachutes to be backloaded for reuse, so they got traded with locals or cut up for shelters and neckwear. Wearing a neckerchief of coloured parachute material was common in units of 29 & 72 Brigade. When 26th Indian Brigade joined 36 Division much later in the campaign, the Brigadier of 26 Bde was furious when his men took up the practice too. This is what he said about it: “In order to preserve for as long as possible the outward signs of military force, I direct that coloured neckwear shall be worn only under the following conditions: (a) Only men who have actually killed or captured a Japanese may wear one. (b) Platoon commanders, sergeants, and section commanders on the same level as men. Company commanders may wear one when their companies have bagged fifty Japanese. No rules for battalion commanders and their seconds-in-command. The brigade commander and his staff may wear one only when the brigade has accounted for 250,000 Japanese or on Armistice Day, whichever is the latter.” NAM. 1984-03-96-16 'A Mule in Difficulties', Burma, 18 October 1944 None of the 36 Div diaries say anything at all about air-dropping mules, but 2 RWF did receive an air-drop at Pintha on 19th October. This is from 36 Div 'G' diary:
Yes I believe that is the guy, followed it from this link.......David L. Quaid Collection I don't have my grandads Service records yet, just fishing, so I can place him when/if they arrive. Thx for the info.
