I am looking for information on my Father John Alexander Lewis who served with the Northamptonshires from 1944 to 1948 He was sent to India as reinforcements after Kohima and Imphal. He was part of the invasion Fleet to attack Hong Kong but the Japanese had surrendered before they got there. He was then sent to Singapore where I am led to believe that the Regiment supplied the guards of the Japanese POWs in Changi who were imprisoned there after the war. He also played the large drum in a military band as I have seen photographs of him on parade. He also played Football in Goal for the Regiment in a Special Football match in Kuala Lumpur as I have also seen a cigarette case which had been presented to him. He rarely spoke about his time in the war but he did mention being involved with the Sherwood Forresters?? at one time so I have only snippets of information to go on. I would really appreciate if anyone has any information on the Northamptonshire Regiment at that time and can fill in any blanks what so ever.
Hello Apply for his service records Get a copy of military service records date of birth plus death cert and £30 A bit of a backlog at the moment but worth the wait
Hi I know a fair amount about the 1st Battalion Northamptonshire Regiment in India and Burma as my father-in-law served with them 1942-5 and was wounded badly at Imphal. After coming out of the line in July 1944 they rested at Wangjing, near Palel, until they were sent back in to Burma in Nov 1944 for the recapture of Burma. They were part of 32 Brigade in 20th Indian Division. This achieved I believe they were sent to South-East Asia but I thought it was Saigon. Have you tried Googling them - there is an amount of stuff on the internet? There are also two Facebook groups of relevance - WW2 Burma Research and The Northamptonshire Regiment. Do you have a rank and number for your father? You do need to get his records as mentioned above. It may be he was with them for a period and transferred to/from another Regiment which may account for the Sherwood Foresters link. I have not heard of the Sherwood Foresters as a unit fighting in the India/Burma Campaign but they did provide drafts of infantrymen to other Regiments.
