Royal Scots Fusiliers, Burma

Discussion in 'Burma & India' started by dave500, Nov 8, 2023.

  1. dave500

    dave500 Senior Member

    I scanned this U.S. Army Signal Corps photograph at the NARA II, College Park,
    Maryland on 25 April 2022. SC 196685, Credit NARA.

    IMG_0201.jpg


    IMG_0202.jpg

    Dave
     
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  2. lionboxer

    lionboxer Member Patron

    Ouch! Royal "Scotch" Fusiliers, Royal "Scottish" Fusiliers?! I'll bet the Jocks of the Royal Scots Fusiliers will have something to say about that!
     
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  3. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Last edited: Nov 8, 2023
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  4. PackRat

    PackRat Well-Known Member

    Superb photo and scan Dave.

    They terrorised North Burma with those things. If the date is right, this photo is at Pinwe, which 1 RSF entered on 30th November with the pipes at full blast (by coincidence it was St. Andrew's Day, so a double celebration). From 36 Div HQ diary:

    36 Div Diary.jpg

    It was a celebration because 36 Division had been held up at Pinwe for weeks. It had been its bloodiest battle so far, involving reportedly the biggest artillery barrage seen in North Burma to that date - combined firepower of a Chinese artillery group (under the US Army's Trevor Dupuy), both of 36 Div's assault field regiments, half of its anti-tank regiment (re-equipped with mortars), brigaded infantry mortars and waves of airstrikes by the 10th US Air Force. They didn't need a special occasion to fire up the pipes, though. From 'Gunner Jack Dunkirk to Burma':

    GunnerJack-p322.jpg
    GunnerJack-p323.jpg

    In the divisional history, 36 Div's witty ADMS describes them being deployed to break up a tiresome celebration at Mongmit in March 1945:

    36 Div History.jpg

    This is about the best photo I've seen of 36 Division's fashion quirk - improvised neckwear made from parachute material. Cutting up supply drop chutes was normally forbidden as they would be backloaded for reuse, but this was impossible for 36 Div due to the remote terrain they were in, with a lack of landing strips and no land L of C behind them. There was no shortage of stuff falling from the sky for them (courtesy of the US 12th Combat Cargo Squadron), which meant masses of parachute material to deal with. Big bundles were given to local civilians in exchange for their help in collecting supplies at drop zones, and many men wore pieces of it around their neck. 36 Div was an unorthodox formation in many ways so Frank Festing allowed it, but when 26 Indian Brigade arrived to join the division their brigadier was having none of it for his own men. From Roy McKelvie's 'The War in Burma':

    WarinBurma-p227.jpg

    Martin
     
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  5. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

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  6. Shiny 9th

    Shiny 9th Member

    The 9th Btn. Royal Sussex had fought ferociously to reach Pinwe and suffered many losses. But it was the R.S Fusiliers who marched in to a now enemy free village.
     
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  7. HighlandRoots

    HighlandRoots Member

    Ayee they would indeed!
     

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