They became a part of the umbrella organisation Indian Defence Force (IDF) in 1917. War diaries for the Burma Rifles are to be found in the WO 172 series: - 1st-5th Battalions - WO 172/974-978- 6th Battalion - no war diary/file- 7th-14th Battalions - WO 172/979-986. Use the National Archives Discovery search tool. As the reoccupation of Burma proceeded, a British military administration was established under the authority of the Supreme Allied Commander South-East Asia, which published eight issues. Officers, Governor’s Commissioned Officers (Subedars and Jemadars) and staff serving with or attached or seconded to the units are listed under the appropriate unit. The majority of the formations deployed in Burma were Indian Army formations, albeit most contained units from the British Army within their establishment. Until separation from Indian in 1937, the Burma volunteer and auxiliary force units formed part of the Indian organisation, thereafter they formed the Burma Axuiliary Force. Phillips became aware of these soldiers during his 15-year stint for the BBC in Nigeria. : In 1920 the Indian Defence Force was superseded by the Auxiliary Force, India. The Chindits were the largest of all the allied special forces of the 2nd World Word. Copied from microfilm, WO 203/5693 Burma Military Police: report by Major H. Chappell, WO 203/5694 Burma Frontier Force 1939-1942: report by Lt.-Colonel H.M. Day, WO 203/5695 Burma Frontier Force: comments by General Officer Commanding Burma Army, Major-General H. Rich, WO 203/5696 Burma Frontier Force: demi-official correspondence, WO 203/5697 Burma Frontier Force: reports, WO 203/5698 Burma Frontier Force: report by Captain K. Hales 5 Battalion, Burma Regiment, WO 203/5699 Burma Campaign: report by Lt. Thompson writing as Francis Clifford, Hodder & Stoughton (1979), "Kelly's Burma Campaign", Kelly D., Tiddim Press (2003), "Memoirs of the Four-Foot Colonel", Smith Dun, Cornell (1980), "The Jungle in Arms", Oatts B., William Kimber (1962). The Indian Army List does not include new units of the new Burma Army, the Burma Rifles and the Burma Regiment raised at the war's end and immediately afterwards. The list of [British Service and Indian Army] Officers seconded to the Burma Defence Force and the Burma Military Police gives details of attachments and secondment to the Burma Military Police and the Burma Frontier Force and in most cases identifies the specific battalion with which the Officer was currently serving. In 5 major and 30 minor engagements they met and defeated the veteran soldiers of the Japanese 18th Division. or the B.F.F. Although serving and supplied with the Indian Army, the 2nd Burma Rifles and the battalions of the Burma Regiment were administratively owned by the Burma Government in exile. Memories of Chindits (Memories written by members of Forces Reunited) Chindits 14th Army in . The Burma campaign lasted until the end of the war. The instances I have seen where a record is held apply to men who at some time were in British Service or with the Indian Army either before or after their commission into the A.B.R.O. Lieutenant George Albert Cairns Somerset Light Infantry attached South Staffordshire (Posthumous) Major Frank Gerald Blaker MC The Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) attached 9th Gurkha Rifles, Indian Army (Posthumous) Rifleman Tul Bahadur Pun 6th Gurkha Rifles, Indian Army They were able to hold back the Japanese from further advances in China and an invasion of India. Turner. I have seen one or two copies of tantalising documents however have not been able to identify the source. British Non-commissioned Officers (NCOs) and soldiers serving in India and Burma were seconded or attached to Indian and Burma Army units. However, one of their most important tasks was to eavesdrop on Japanese soldiers. The search results are returned in the usual format and the individual pages that they are linked to can be opened in your browser and searched using the "Control F" feature. Officers, Honorary Officers and Staff are listed under the battalions with which they served or were attached to. Burma units of the Auxiliary Force, India were transferred to the newly formed Burma Auxiliary Force and ceased to be listed in the Indian Army List. The run is not continuous and in some editions the data is absent, presumably not ready in time for inclusion. See Answer. Editions for selected years have been transcribed by the Anglo-Burmese Library and are available in the Members' Area to those who have subscribed. Perhaps more than any other conflict, World War II produced some unusual military formations that defied easy categorization. officers serving with the Burma Frontier Force (January 1940 edition not seen). Officers and staff are listed under the units with which they were enrolled or attached at the time. The text search also allows searching by, for instance, regiment, service or corps, for example: "Burma Rifles"; "Burma Regiment"; "Burma Intelligence Corps". His investigation bore fruit – he came across the manuscript of a man called Isaac Fadoyebo and was immediately struck. Ghanaian veteran Private Joseph Hammond, who is now 95 years old, reflects on the Burma Campaign of World War Two. : In 1917 all the units of the Indian Volunteers became units of the Indian Defence Force. The MIS soldiers served both as interpreters and riflemen. The British Library has a catalogue entry:  IOR/M/3/83: 17 Apr 1937-20 Sep 1945 "Army List, Burma: security editions of Army List; entries for officers of Burma Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve in Navy List" however this document has not yet been viewed. Reference to other sources is often needed to confirm an individual's identity. Lists details of Officers commissions, promotions, appointments and relinquishments (retirement). Enter the text terms you wish to search for followed by "site:thegazette.co.uk", for example "Burma Rifles site:thegazette.co.uk". Yet you wouldn’t know this from the literature: the war in Burma is more of a footnote than a chapter. Leeches, flies, ticks, and other insects, along with such diseases as malaria, dysentery, and typhus, added to a soldier's miseries. Search for a name in our archive. mobile detachments. The contents are listed below; note that units served with, attached or seconded to are not given: - British Service and Indian Army Officers serving with the Burma Army or who were under secondment at the time of the withdrawal- Emergency Commissioned Officers- Army in Burma Reserve of Officers, (including A.B.R.O. Any information on obtaining A.B.R.O. The online search facility is comprehensive although it sometimes takes several different approaches to find all available records for an individual. Copies of the British Army List are available on the open shelves at the National Archives. Because of the bad start to the war for Britain, where France became occupied early on, Canada became Britain’s main ally during the first year. Listen to Barnaby Phillips’ talk about his book and the wider context of Burma during the war that took place at Asia House on Thursday 10th September below: Asia House Bagri Foundation Literature Festival 2016, Asia House Bagri Foundation Literature Festival 2017, African soldiers who fought in Burma during World War II finally recognised, Terms & The Burma Gallantry Medal (BGM) was a military decoration (Wikipedia) awarded to non-commissioned Officers and other ranks (Wikipedia) of the British Burma military, Burma Military Police and Burma Frontier Force for acts of personal bravery in war or peace. Grant, Zampi (1993). Officers seconded to the Burma Military Police are listed in a section headed "Officers in Civil Employment" under "Burma". "Distinctly I Remember", H. Braund, Wren (1972), "Tales of Burma", A. McCrae, James Paton (1981), "Scots in Burma", McCrae, A, Kiscadale (1990), "Desperate Journey", A.L.B. One man specifically, named Shuyiman, hid the two in his hut, endangering his life in the process. But once his five minutes of fame were up, his story, like so many others, was relegated to the fog of the past. They were unconventional due to their total reliance on airdrops for their supplies and complete dependence on wireless for communications For World War Two it also lists officers granted Emergency Commissions. The units were: - 14th Tenasserim Battalion- 18th Rangoon Battalion- 21st Burma Railways Battalion- 34th Upper Burma Battalion. These are found in the WO 203 series at the National Archives. Irregular issues of the Gazette were published there between 1942 and 1945. See: Officers and Men of the Burma Army - Project for the Anglo-Burmese Library for further details. of the British Burma military, Burma Military Police and Burma Frontier Force for acts of personal bravery in war or peace. Officers seconded to the Burma Military Police are listed in a section headed "Officers in Imperial or Colonial Employment" under "Burma" in the section headed "Burma Frontier Force". For each source a brief summary describes the scope of information to be found in terms of regiment, corps or unit. In total, about 250,000 went overseas to fight over the course of the war. Established by royal warrant in 1940, it was first awarded 26 March 1942 and last awarded 28 November 1947. 5. The units are listed in a section headed "Indian Defence Force (Infantry Corps)" in order of the number assigned. 58,000 soldiers enlisted in the first month alone, and by December troops were already heading over to Britain. Nor did it really feature loyalty to the British Empire. With the transfer of the 20th Burma Rifles (now just The Burma Rifles, the regiment number being dropped) to the Government of Burma, this regiment ceased to be listed in the Indian Army List. Search for an individual or by Regiment or Corps: - Burma Rifles- Burma Infantry- Burma Military Police- Burma Mounted Rifles- Rangoon Port [Defence]- Rangoon [Battalion]- Upper Burma [Battalion]. Photographs of RAF servicemen in Burma and India during World War II that spent 70 years in a trunk before they were finally uncovered by soldier's daughter after his death See: The Burma Rifles. But we have a website to honour them all the Northern Rhodesia Regiment, The Kings African Rifles, Royal West African Frontier Force. Founded in 1951 for veterans of the Burma Campaign during The Second World War and their familites, The Burma Star Association promoted comradeship and … During the Japanese occupation of Burma the British administration withdrew to India and a Government of Burma in exile was set up at Simla. The A.B.R.O. How many now recall the role of more than one million African troops? It is in the latter that the book really excels. First Name: They sometimes contain names of officers (and some men) but do not provide full listings of all who served with the unit. "Burma, The Turning Point", I.L. As he writes towards the book’s end: “Were the British really fighting for freedom? For details of copies available online see the Families In British India Society (FIBIS) Fibiwiki Directories online. I know many of the African soldiers who fought in Burma and North Africa are the forgotten African soldiers of WW2. The Burma Army was still in embryonic form at the outbreak of the Second World War, as the country was seen as a backwater and unlikely to become embroiled in the war. They deployed h… 07 September 2015. The information is organised by source category or type. Formed and lead by Major-General Orde Wingate DSO, they fought behind enemy lines in Northern Burma during 1943 and 1944 in the War against Japan. It was here that Allied forces pushed the Japanese back and in so doing changed the course of the war, in Asia and from that elsewhere. One such unit was the Indian National Army (INA) that fought for Japan in the Burma Theater 1942-45. Isaac’s singular experience is a window to understanding the broader context. An annual publication. WO 172/475 - 17th Indian Infantry Division, WO 172/563 - 13th Indian Infantry Brigade, WO 172/570 - 16th Indian Infantry Brigade, WO 172/589 - 48th Indian Infantry Brigade, WO 172/601 - 63rd Indian Infantry Brigade, WO 172/2656 and 5037 - 4th Burma Regiment, WO 172/5040 and 5041 - The Chin Hills Battalion, WO 172 203/118 and 4653 and WO 172/5042 - Northern Kachin Levies. Operations . So, carrying a letter from Isaac, Phillips ventures to Burma himself to seek out the man’s family and pass on the message. Some records are still closed depending on age criteria defined by the Freedom of Information Act. For example you will need to search by both full name (first, middle, last) and initials and last name when searching for an individual. Personnel Records containing a brief summary of service with S.O.E. ): The monthly and quarterly Indian Army Lists have a section within the "Indian Volunteers" headed "Volunteer Corps (Burma)". Written by lennard Clarke. Then we engaged the enemy in a climactic battle at Namh-pakka [sic], located right smack on the Burma Road." The List does not give any details of secondment or attachment to regiments or other corps. His unit was caught in a Japanese ambush and most were killed. Questions such as these remain as relevant today as they did 70 years ago. Given that the Burma Military Police and the Burma Frontier Force came under the civil administration, Officers seconded to these services are included. The predecessor of the Rangoon Field Brigade, the 3rd (Rangoon Port Defence) Group, Garrison Artillery is found in the section headed "Indian Defence Force Garrison Artillery". From January 1931 this section is further subdivided into "Burma Commission" and "Burma Police". conditions, Terms & For all the change, there is continuity. The word "Volunteer" was removed from the unit titles and the units were given numbers as part of their titles. The Disclosures Section, however, does NOT hold Service Records for officers and soldiers who served with the Burma Army, unless those involved at some time served with the British or Indian Armies. However no details of their attachments are given. After the withdrawal to India many men joined or were appointed to intelligence gathering units and to the Special Operations Executive. 5       Burma Army List and Burma Defence Services List. Photograph courtesy of Jill Hopwood. 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