2nd Battalion Leicestershire Regiment, India 1945

The Odeon Cinema. Location unknown.

 

The Capitol Cinema. The Bombay leaflet mentions a Capital Cinema, this may, or may not, be the same place. Interestingly, there are notices for both the Odeon and the West End Cinemas visible on the railings.

 

The Lady Lumley Canteen for Soldiers which, I believe, was located in Poona.

 

Unfortunately not. I only copied the 36 Div HQ diary up to May 1945 when they came out of Burma - at that point the units I am researching were approaching their 'Python' limit and left the Division.

It's an absolutely massive file and there may well be some more details in there regarding 2 Leicester post-May, but I never came across anything along the lines of a nominal roll for any of the constituent units in the Div HQ diary, nor in the Brigade HQ diaries - I've only seen them turn up occasionally in regimental diaries.

 

The Lady Lumley Canteen seems to have been located at Deolali.

 

Taking photographs of Indian cinemas seems to have been popular with British soldiers, probably because it reminded them of home. This is the Strand Cinema, Bombay, again, taken from the albums belonging to Pte R E Powell, D Coy, 2nd battalion Leicestershire Regiment.

This week's offering is, God is my Co-Pilot, released by Warner Brothers in 1945 and described in Halliwell's Film guide as an, "adequate flag waver". Starring Dennis Morgan, Dane Clark, Raymond Massey, Alan Hale and others, it appears to have bombed.

 

Back at the Eros Cinema they are showing, On Stage Everbody, released by Universal Studios in 1945. It doesn't get a good review from Halliwell, but not to worry as the photograph also shows a poster for the House on 92nd Street, so it would have been worth returning the following week.

 

There seem to be strong indications in the albums that R. E. Powell served with D Coy.

 

D Coy, H.Q. Football Team.

 

Some really great and interesting photos on this thread HW. Very much enjoyed viewing them.

 

I am beginning to work out who R. E Powell was. One photograph in the album states my Pal Gordon.

 

A newspaper cutting shows that Gordon Perkins married Mary Horton in Shrewsbury. A search of the FreeBMD database gives their full names as Gordon A Perkins and Alice M Horton and date of 1947 for their wedding.



Gordon Albert Perkins's birth was registered in Atcham (which covers Shrewsbury) in 1924, the mother's surname being given as Morris. The birth of Ronald E Powell was also registered in Atcham in the same year and it is very possible that they were school mates.

Due, to the strategic positioning of Gordon's Field Service Cap, I cannot see if he is wearing any medal ribbons on his battledress. He is certainly old enough to have served in Burma.

 

In 1950, Ronald E Powell married Joan A Perkins in Shrewsbury, she was born in 1927 and her mother's surname was also Morris. So it would appear that Ronald married his best mate's sister.

In their wedding photograph both Gordon and (Alice) Mary Perkins are clearly visible beside the bride and groom.