AUTUMN 2016

the Chindit Column The boldest measures are the safest

Our Aims and Objectives for the Society To protect and maintain the legacy and good name of the and their great deeds during the Burma Campaign.

To carry that name forward into the public domain, through presentations and education.

To gather together and keep safe Chindit writings, memoirs and other treasures for the benefit of future generations. The Chairman’s Message At the beginning of this year I sent letters to all the Chindits To assist families and other registered with the Chindit Old Comrades Association interested parties in seeking out the informing them of The Chindit Society’s intentions. This was history of their Chindit relative or followed by the inaugural newsletter in March, which loved one. included an invitation to become a member of the new Society. I am pleased to announce that we currently have a Wherever possible, to ensure the Chindit membership of 100 and a family and friend’s continued well being of all our membership of 218. I could never have envisaged such a Chindit veterans. superb response. Thank you all for your support.

Inside this issue New Books Alec Gibson Griff Richards PageBooksChindboo 3 Page 8 Page 9 Reviews for Love An obituary in Read about a Letters From a remembrance of a Chindit nephews Chindit and The Longcloth veteran. visit to White City Wild Green Earth. and beyond.

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Chindit Peter Heppell Remembers

Sgt. Peter Heppell, a member of 82 Column on Operation Thursday recalls:

I am proud to have been a Chindit. I couldn’t really talk about it for quite a long time. I felt it was of no real interest to people.

I was in Burma for five months and saw only one road and I crossed that on my stomach! Burma was so different to European warfare. It is amazing how quickly one adapts to living rough.

The day we flew in was 5th , which was my 21st birthday; quite a nice birthday celebration don’t you think!

As we came in to land I heard the pilot say, Christ Japs! And I thought, what a good start. We landed in darkness; the instruction was, out of the glider and into the jungle. And so it began.

Chindit Duncan Bett (seen in the photograph below), a soldier on the first Wingate expedition remembered the sense of isolation in the Burmese jungle:

We were most scared of being left behind. When we dropped down exhausted at night it was so dark under the jungle canopy that you could not see your hand at the end of your nose. It was like a tomb. I remember waking up suddenly one time and I couldn’t see a thing or hear a sound. No mules, no sentries, nothing. I thought I had been left behind when the column moved on before dawn. I scrabbled around in a panic feeling for another body and the relief was indescribable when I felt someone else there on the ground.

The heartfelt words of a Longcloth survivor, who asked graciously to remain anonymous:

Fear is an emotion I now respect and understand, It keeps you awake the moment before an action. It sweats you out as you brew your tea, And makes you think more and more of home.

No real man is immune from the sense of fear, It drives you on for those first few yards, But vanishes instantly at the sound of the first bullet. Out here, fear is not in the dying, just in those who are left behind.

Anon.

The Chindit Column Autumn 2016 3

Recent book publications with Chindit connections

New from Pen & Sword books, Pamela Towill, comes a re-publication of widow of 111th Bernard Fergusson's, Wild Brigade Intelligence Green Earth. Officer, Bill Towill has recently published This is an account of the her sixth book: Love author's second foray into Letters from a Chindit. Burma in 1944, when he led as Bill sadly passed Brigadier, the 16th British away in 2013 after the Infantry Brigade. couple had been married for sixty-five Charged with leading a mightier force than the year years. before, but still having to march into enemy territory, unlike the other Chindit Brigades which entered Pam recounted: “When turning out an old chest Burma by air; Fergusson recounts the trials and of drawers, I came across a bundle of letters tied tribulations of his journey, including the with a blue ribbon, which I hadn’t read since interminable march to Indaw and of course the receiving them from Bill in 1944. Bill had such a shocking loss of his commander. wonderful way with words. I was moved and amazed as I read them and recalled his deep and Over the course of my research, and not least sincere love for me as a girl of 17, this love because my own grandfather was found to be a lasted throughout our long life together.” member of 5 Column in 1943, I have read many of Bernard Fergusson's books. It is wonderful to see this The new book is published by Pegasus under new impression of The Wild Green Earth, as in my Pam’s maiden name, Pamela Justine Dowley- opinion the author's writings are always skillfully Wise. Pam had an interesting war as an Army delivered and prove most worthy reads. decoder. On July 31st 1945, she decoded a Review by Steve Fogden. message that referred to the imminent use of the Atom Bomb at Hiroshima. To find out more about the new publication, please Review by Tony Redding. follow the link to the Pen & Sword website: http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk To find out more, please follow this link: http://www.amazon.co.uk Did You Know? In 1944 the Chindits became known as Special Force and had expanded to six Brigades, with personnel now totaling over 20,000. Three of these new Brigades, 14th, 16th and 23rd had come in to being with the break up of the 70th Infantry Division.

Each Chindit Brigade was given a special codename: 3rd West African Brigade were known as Thunder 14th British Infantry Brigade as Javelin 16th British Infantry Brigade as Enterprise 77th Indian Infantry Brigade as Emphasis 111th Indian Infantry Brigade as Profound 23rd British Infantry Brigade did not enter Burma in 1944, but did excellent work during the battle of .

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Sgt. Fred Thompson

Freddy Thompson sadly passed away on the 14th On Operation Longcloth, he February 2016, he was 98 years old. was sometimes in charge of planning the column's He was formerly with the Royal Welch Fusiliers in 1942, route during the march before being posted overseas and attached to the 13th out through Northern King's at their training camp in Saugor in the Central Burma and Provinces of India. Although very proud to be a Chindit Province. in 1943, Fred told me he was always a RWF at heart. He told me a fabulous He was placed into 7 Column for Operation Longcloth, story about a rather commanded by Major Kenneth Gilkes. He explained to short conversation he me that he felt rather like a 'spare part' in the column, once had with his as all the main roles for NCO's were already taken up. commander, whilst He eventually was given the job of Intel Sergeant in 7 travelling through some Column HQ. unchartered territory in the Kachin Hills: Fred was one of the many Chindits who marched over 1000 miles inside Burma, eventually exiting in June Gilkes: "So Thompson, where do you think we are 1943 via the Chinese Borders. He had an aversion to then?" rice, which often made him quite ill. He remembered during the trek out, that he was given some delicious Fred Thompson: "I am not sure sir" curry at a Chinese village in Yunnan Province; he later discovered that he had eaten rat! Gilkes: "Well Sergeant, you should jolly well know where you are, you have the maps!" Fred and I spoke several times on the telephone back in 2013, when he gave me some wonderful insights into Fred Thompson: "Yes sir, but there is nothing 7 Column's activities in 1943. He was a wonderfully bloody well written on them!” bright and humorous man and sent me his hand-written memoir describing his time during WW2 for inclusion on God Bless Fred and thank you for your generosity my website. of spirit and most of all your humour. Article by Steve Fogden.

Listen to a Chindit Memoir

The Chindit audio memoir for Arthur Baker can now be listened to on line. Please follow the link below to the website of the Imperial War Museum and enjoy hearing about Arthur’s experiences with 71 Column on Operation Thursday.

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80012029

Bill Smyly, From Burma to Bedford (creator Chris Smyly):

http://vimeo.com/122133444

The Silencing of Chindit Mules, an article from the pages of the British Medical Journal, December 1983:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1550202/?page=1 The Chindit Column Autumn 2016 5

In My Father’s Footsteps

I had already been to India in search of the places where my parents spent their early-married life, using their love letters as the basis for my itinerary. I then began transcribing my father’s war diary, which led me into whole new areas of research and the discovery of fascinating information about his career as a young officer in India and Burma. Along with most others, he rarely spoke about his experiences. I became familiar with exotic sounding place names and more or less pieced together what happened to him. It was an easy decision to decide to explore these same places, so in November 2015, my partner and I set out on our rather intrepid Lieutenant Ray Cooper a member of 20 journey to discover more. Column in 1944. We began in Assam, part of the North Eastern It was almost unbelievable to see the numbers of men States. My father Ray in fact had already travelled from all over the Commonwealth remembered there. via Bombay, Calcutta and Poona before his time in In Imphal we met Raj, who gave us a tour of some of Assam. As a member of a Light Artillery Regiment the key places and events from the battle. The two in 1942, he spent a lot of time doing very little just cemeteries are very well kept and we met some outside Dimapur on the Manipur Road. When we senior Indian Army officers, who were also making a visited Dimapur, there was a huge Army presence. respectful visit. Close to the barracks, we found the location by the river, where my mother briefly ran a W.A.S.B. After a few days in Calcutta, where we found the canteen. Otherwise Dimapur had little to make us renowned ‘Firpo’s Restaurant, we travelled on to linger. Rangoon. Sadly, we had no time to visit Taukkyan Ray was then based at Digboi, protecting the oil War Cemetery, before a tiny plane bounced us into wells during the period when General Stilwell was in Kachin State. Our guide told us that we building the Stilwell Road. Our Homestay hosts would be taking a boat down the Ayerwaddy to ensured that we visited the old airfield, the road Katha, from where we would visit various places itself, now a smugglers route to Burma and then the where my father, along with 77 Brigade and the Digboi and Margaretha Clubs, where we had the had fought. same gin and limes in dark teak surroundings. Tea at the Margaretha Club was almost entirely an The boat journey, while not being luxurious, was a Indian event and the high point of the tea planter’s great chance to experience the river, which had been week. There were a few relics from the war lying such a feature of the Chindit operations in Burma. about, but tea is the main occupation there now. Along the way we visited villages such as Shwegu and Kaukkwe, both mentioned in my father’s diary After a stay in a bamboo hut on Majuli Island, and spoke to people who still had some memories of similar to Saikhowa where Ray ran a rest camp, we what happened back then. Near Kaukkwe we stood had a luxury safari experience to see the rhinos in on the sandbank where Ray and his companions had Kaziringa, before making our way via Gauhati and waited five days for a supply drop. Although Tezpur to Nagaland. My father never ventured up to Broadway was only a few miles inland, we were not these hills, but I felt it crucial to understand a little allowed to travel there. of the tribal lifestyle of the people who had assisted the British in their fight against the Japanese at From Katha we went by car over barely passable Imphal and Kohima. roads, passing through Pinwe, where we were told of The villages are still basic, but Kohima itself is a children after the war playing with the skulls of both large town, built around the impressive cemetery Japanese and British soldiers and stories of villages where the legendary District Commissioner’s tennis razed to the ground by both sides. court was fought over. Continued on page six.

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White City, just north of Mawlu, was instantly The last part of our trip was spent on the boat down recognizable from the old photographs. It was to Mandalay. We then went up to Pyin Oo Lwin incredibly moving to climb the small hills currently (formerly Maymyo), which was the old British Hill occupied by the Burmese Army and see the trenches station and spotted old colonial mansions and clubs still there, and to remember what a fierce and costly still hiding in huge gardens. battle had taken place. It was obvious that it was a key place to build a stronghold, unlike Blackpool, Inle Lake was a lovely area to visit, as was Ngapali, which we passed later at the village of Namkwin. on the coast south of what was the Arakan. Our final stories came from an elderly woman who was keen Apparently, Ray’s column tried to rescue members th to tell us that as a four year old, she and her family of 111 Brigade here, but failed due to the had fled their village, which was then burnt to the unspeakable monsoon conditions. Eventually we ground. She then lived in the forest with her tribal reached , the final destination for this part people for 4 years. We were also told that an of the trip. unexploded shell had recently been found there from At Pinhmi we crossed the bridge over a pretty, the war. marshy area and could see the hills from where 77 Altogether, it was an unforgettable and moving Brigade descended after six weeks of intolerable journey. We will never forget the people we met conditions and disease and where many men were along the way and the places we saw. injured and killed, prior to taking the town from the Japanese. One of these men was my own godfather, Article written by Frances Gillard, whose books Lieutenant John De Quidt. about her father’s wartime experiences can be accessed here: http://delacuesta.wix.com/familyhistorybooks

Photograph of surviving officers from the 1st Battalion, the Lancashire Fusiliers. This was taken after the battalion had evacuated Burma in 1944. These were the gentlemen said to be the only ones not still recuperating in hospital. (Image from the Lancashire Fusiliers website). http://www.lancs-fusiliers.co.uk/index.html The Chindit Column Autumn 2016 7

Chindit Gallantry Awards 1943-44 One of the regular features in forthcoming newsletters will be the transcription of official recommendations for various Chindit awards for gallantry, of which there were many.

Rifleman , of 3/6th Rifles was a member of Mike Calvert’s 77th Brigade in 1944. As the much-diminished unit began to clear the Japanese from the town of Mogaung in June that year, Tul Bahadur Pun exemplified the spirit of Calvert’s Brigade: Gazette, 7th November 1944.

The King has been graciously pleased to approve the award of the to:

Rifleman 10119 Tul Bahadur Pun, 6th Gurkha Rifles, Indian Army.

In Burma on June 23rd, 1944, a Battalion of the 6th Gurkha Rifles was ordered to attack the Railway Bridge at Mogaung. Immediately the attack developed, the enemy opened concentrated and sustained cross fire at close range from a position known as the Red House and from a strong bunker position two hundred yards to the left of it.

So intense was this cross fire that both the leading platoons of 'B' Company, one of which was Rifleman Tul Bahadur Pun's, were pinned to the ground and the whole of his Section was wiped out with the exception of himself, the Section commander and one other man. The Section commander immediately led the remaining two men in a charge on the Red House but was at once badly wounded. Rifleman Tul Bahadur Pun and his remaining companion continued the charge, but the latter too was immediately wounded.

Rifleman Tul Bahadur Pun then seized the Bren gun, and firing from the hip as he went continued the charge on this heavily bunkered position alone and in the face of the most shattering concentration of automatic fire directed straight at him. With the dawn coming up behind him, he presented a perfect target to the Japanese. He had to move for thirty yards over open ground, sometimes ankle deep in mud and through shell holes and over fallen trees.

Despite these overwhelming odds, he reached the Red House and closed with the Japanese occupations. He killed three and put five more to flight and captured two light machine guns and much ammunition. He then gave accurate supporting fire from the bunker to the remainder of his platoon, which enabled them to reach their objective.

His outstanding courage and superb gallantry in the face of odds, which meant almost certain death, were most inspiring to all ranks and beyond praise.

Shown below, five soldiers from Operation Longcloth receive their awards at a special presentation at Karachi. From left to right as we look: Captain John Pickering MC, RSM William Livingstone MC, CSM Richard Cheevers DCM, Jackie Cairns MM and Sgt. John Thornborrow MM.

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Alec McKay Gibson

Alec Gibson sadly He was commissioned into the Indian Army and passed away on the 3rd served in Burma with the 77th Indian Infantry November 2015, he was Brigade, otherwise known as the Chindits. 94 years old. Alec was a Cipher Officer and his duties included Over the past few years, sending coded messages, which made good use of Alec helped out with his excellent numeracy. In 1943 and behind many Chindit related Japanese lines, his Brigade came under attack and projects. These included Alec was captured by the Japanese as he tried to being interviewed for escape across the . Alec was held in Tony Redding's Rangoon Jail for over two years, where he suffered excellently researched very harsh conditions. book War in the Wilderness and the television documentary series, Narrow Fifty years later, on a Government sponsored visit to Escapes of WW2. the cemetery in Rangoon where many of his fellow In late 2014, Alec moved away from his family servicemen were buried, Alec was astonished to home in Surbiton, where he had lived for many discover that many relatives had no knowledge of years and moved to the Royal Star & Garter Home what their loved ones had experienced. He felt at Solihull in Birmingham. Even here he moved to ensure that these stories were shared and contributed to an article for Soldier magazine in to help raise awareness about the treatment of August 2015 and produced another story for the VJ POWs. Celebrations run by the Royal Star & Garter After his eventual release from the POW camp, Alec organisation that same month. We are very grateful returned to India in 1945 and served in the Army for to the Royal Star & Garter organisation for another two years before being demobbed. Back in allowing the Society to reproduce the following the UK Alec trained to become an accountant and obituary for Alec, as shown on their Memorial was eventually appointed Deputy Treasurer for Wall pages on line: Lambeth Council. https://starandgarter.org/mr-alexander-gibson/ Alec came to live with The Royal Star & Garter Mr. Alec Gibson Homes at the end of 2014. He was a keen artist and remained active throughout his life, enjoying the Alec joined the Army aged 18. Although he was in morning workouts at the Solihull Home. He was a reserved occupation in an armament firm, Alec happily married to his wife Kathleen for 64 rd knew that his friends were fighting for their country years. Alec passed away peacefully on 3 November and felt it was his duty to join up. 2015 and will be missed by all his friends and his loving family. Family Contributions

The Chindit Society warmly welcomes the contribution of new Chindit artefacts and encourages families to share what they have with a wider audience. We would be interested to receive copies of any items, such as diaries, letters, memoirs and photographs. These would then go towards supplementing our Chindit archive and hopefully expand our knowledge of the campaign and the men who served within it.

Do you have a Chindit soldier in the family? Would you like to find out more about his contribution in 1943 or 1944? One of the aims of The Chindit Society is to assist families in accessing information about the two Wingate expeditions and relating this information to their own Chindit and his experiences. If you are not sure, but have heard family stories about a possible Chindit connection, the first thing to do is attempt to access his Service Records from the MOD Offices in Glasgow. For more information about applying for Army Service Records, please use the following link: http://www.veterans-uk.info Please contact the Society for more advice on Chindit research. For all enquiries please email: [email protected] The Chindit Column Autumn 2016 9

Salute to Lt-Colonel Griffith Powell Richards In December 2015, I set out to explore where my uncle fought as a Chindit in Burma, and to visit his grave in Griff Richards Bangladesh. I was born in soon after he died, and my parents named me after him. It was many decades Chittagong War later before my curiosity was ignited - my appreciation of Cemetery what my parents’ generation endured and what they December 2015. sacrificed (my father was himself a fighter pilot). The trip became one of the great adventures of my life. Griff continues: Uncle Griff had joined the South Staffordshire Regiment as a private soldier at age 18, and went on to serve in At Henu, we were Malta, Palestine, Egypt, India, and Singapore – working hosted by the village his way up the ranks to Captain. Taken prisoner by the chief, who walked Japanese at the surrender of Singapore in 1942, he with me over Bare escaped, stole a Chinese schooner, and sailed undetected Hill, my heart in my past 6 Japanese minesweepers, wearing Malay style throat as I imagined clothing and conical hat. Given shelter by a Dutch official the scene - the extreme hardship, the trauma and the on a nearby island, he re-joined the British in India. terror, the smoke, the stench, the noise, and the unbelievable courage this all took. At his home, he st He was promoted to Lt-Colonel to command the 1 showed me ammunition boxes and aluminium buckets Battalion of the South Staffs, proudly fulfilling a personal made from crashed plane fuselages. He gifted me an ambition. Serving under Brigadier Michael Calvert in the original aerial war map of the White City area. I met Chindit Force, they invaded Burma by glider at night in his grandmother, who was just 10 years old when the early March 1944. They landed at ‘Broadway’, a clearing Chindits were there. We then shared lunch in the deep behind the Japanese lines in the Burmese jungle. neighbouring village of Mawlu. This spontaneous Their job was to set up a ‘Stronghold’ at Henu, to block generosity, that I met everywhere in Burma, made the the main rail and road supply line to the Japanese in the emotion-filled trip even more memorable. north. It was called ‘White City’, from all the parachute silk caught up in the trees from supplies dropped by plane. I flew to Bangladesh and visited uncle’s grave at the Commonwealth War Memorial Cemetery in They found the Japanese already dug in on Pagoda Hill, Chittagong, immaculately cared for by a team of overlooking the road and railway line at Henu. The welcoming staff. I was the first of my family to visit, resulting battle had both sides charging one another, and I spoke aloud the following poem I had written to shooting, kicking and bayoneting, and Lt. Cairns had his Uncle Griff - arm hacked off by a Japanese sword. Lt Cairns carried on fighting but later died, and was awarded the Victoria I come to salute you. I come to honour you. I come to Cross. All the Chindit officers were trained to lead from express our deepest gratitude to you. For your bravery, for the front, resulting in 3 being killed and 4 wounded, but your leadership, for your immeasurable generosity, in also setting an inspiring example. Uncle Griff was giving your life for us. I have copies of your letters home. certainly involved in this battle. You dreamed of family. We are your family. Your brother had two sons and two daughters. I am one of them, and I His area to defend was Bare Hill on the northern carry your name. perimeter. On the night of 21/22 March, the Japanese over-ran the Chindit machine gun post. At dawn the We are your sons and your daughters. We in turn have following morning, Uncle Griff led a counter-attack back had our children. They too are all your children. Our lives up the hill with pistols and bayonets. They drove out or have been forever blessed by the freedoms that your killed the enemy, himself killing seven before being sacrifice gifted us. We thank you. You, my father, and all wounded in the chest. He was airlifted out to hospital in your fellow soldiers stood for a just society. Your example Dacca, where he died a few weeks later for want of is an inspiration to us all – to be our best and to do our penicillin. best. What you gave your life for is not lost.

In my visit to Burma, I was accompanied by guide Tony Your nephew, Griffith Powell Richards, Auckland, Yang of Baron Travel, specialising in WW2 history tours. New Zealand, December 2015. He had insisted on being my guide, rather than assigning

one of his staff, because the Chindits had liberated his

birth town of Mogaung. He already had researched my

uncle, and was a sensitive and supportive companion.

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Dates for Your Diary and Other Notices

The West Country Chindit Reunion

Pat and John Pearce are pleased to announce this years date for the Exeter Reunion. This will take place on Saturday 29th October 2016 at The Exeter Court Hotel. Some guests travel to the venue on the Friday evening and enjoy an informal gathering before the main event on Saturday. There will be more details about the weekend attached separately to this newsletter.

However, if you would like more information about this event, please contact Pat or John on 01736 795788.

Remembrance Sunday

We will be holding our usual service of remembrance at the Chindit Memorial on Sunday 13th November 2016. The memorial is located on the Victorian Embankment, London. The nearest tube stations are either Embankment or Westminster.

The short service is held within earshot of the main Cenotaph Event at Whitehall and includes the laying of wreaths in memory of our beloved Chindits. Please arrive in good time before the official two minutes silence commences our own service at 11am.

We look forward to meeting old friends and hopefully some new ones too.

Captain Baden Kenneth Wilson

Congratulations to our very own Captain Baden Wilson, who has been awarded the British Empire Medal by Her Majesty the Queen, in recognition of his long-standing work as General Secretary and Welfare Officer for the Chindit Old Comrades Association.

The British Empire Medal or BEM was originally an award for meritorious civil or military service, worthy of recognition by the Crown. King George V introduced the medal in 1922. The medal was discontinued in 1992, but was brought back by David Cameron in 2012 as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

The medal itself is circular in shape, 36mm in diameter and struck in silver. The obverse of the medal depicts an image of Britannia with the inscription: For God and the Empire, Meritorious Service, with the recipient’s details inscribed on the medal’s outer rim. The ribbon suspender is of the straight, non-swivelling style, ornamented with oak leaves. The ribbon is 38mm wide and rose pink in colour, with narrow pearl-grey stripes along either edge. The Chindit Column Autumn 2016 11

The Chindit Society Team

President - Holly Wingate Media - Tony Redding

Vice President - Alice Wingate Archivist and Editor - Steve Fogden Chairman - Paul Shenton JP. Chaplain - The Reverend Vice Chairman - Position Canon Jonathon Gough Vacant Welfare - Joanna Cowley Secretary - Mandy Walsh Exeter Event Manager - John Treasurer - Eddie Chandler Pearce

Coming soon, The Chindit Society website Appearing on your computer screens soon will be our own Chindit Society website. Managed and edited by Alice Wingate and Ed Pearce, the aim of the website will be to bring together in one place, the story of the Chindits and their unique contribution to the Burma Campaign in WW2. Keep an eye on the following link for more details: http://thechinditsociety.org.uk Chairman’s Report 2016 has been an extremely eventful and significant year year, which was very well supported. Seventy-one in the continuation of the Chindit narrative. In March, members sat for dinner this included seven Chindits. I the new 77th Brigade (Cyber Chindits) visited Burma to received many comments on the excellent standard of undertake a battlefield study of the areas involved during the meal, served by helpful and friendly staff. Wingate’s second expedition, in the hope of better understanding the challenges encountered in managing As always there was the Raffle. All the prizes, as usual irregular forces. Brigadier Alistair Aitken, Commander of were sorted by Pat Pearce and Shirley Ekers-Good. Sue 77th Brigade also unveiled the new Chindit Memorial, Bentley, our ticket-selling guru, collared everybody and located on O.P. Hill at Henu. I know that a number of tables helped with the ticket folding. The expert ticket number caller John Pearce In May, we saw the airing of ‘Burma’s Secret Jungle War’, got the raffle off to a great start, Mandy and Katherine a two-part documentary featuring mountaineer, Joe Walsh elegantly floated around the tables handing out Simpson and his attempt to follow in his Chindit father’s the prizes. With all these great helpers and those who I footsteps through the Kachin and Shan States of Northern have not been able to name, the raffle had to be a Burma. Then on the 26th June, some of us may have success, it was and we raised £360. watched ‘Calling Blighty’ a programme dedicated to soldiers of the Forgotten Army and the short film The dinner next year will be held on Saturday 3rd messages they sent home to their loved ones back in JUNE 2017, same venue, same time, see you there. My Britain during the war. thanks to the committee for there continued support.

In relation to our own Chindit Society, a full two-page I end this report on a really happy note, Captain Baden article outlining our aims and objectives was published in Wilson; Secretary General of the Chindit Old the Spring Issue of the Association’s Comrades Association was awarded the British Empire magazine, Dekho! In the meantime, our committee has Medal for his service to the Chindits. Baden has worked been working very hard to ensure that we move in the tirelessly for the Association for so many years and I for right direction and continue to support the surviving one, can think of no one who deserves this recognition Chindits, their widows and families, and at the same time more. Congratulations Baden. promote the Chindit name. Paul Shenton JP. One of the major events for the Chindits is the annual Chairman. dinner held in June. The Society organised the event this

11 12 The Chindit Column Autumn 2016

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