6396083 Charles Claude SCOTT, Royal Sussex Regiment: Looking for Burma Records

Discussion in 'Burma & India' started by Darren Rigden, Apr 27, 2020.

  1. Darren Rigden

    Darren Rigden Member

    Hi I'm new to this forum, I am looking for some information on my grandfather Charles Claude Scott
    Army No 6396083, his rank was SGT when he left the army. Charles was wounded in Burma on 16/10/1944 and was awarded the Burma Star, thats all I know.
     
  2. AB64

    AB64 Senior Member

    HIs casualty return, this has the date of wounding as December rather than October - it also has his unit as the Royal West African Frontier Force

    GBM_WO417_087_0102.jpg
     
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  3. Darren Rigden

    Darren Rigden Member

    Wow thanks for that, would you know where in Burma he was deployed?
     
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  4. Tullybrone

    Tullybrone Senior Member

  5. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Arakan campaign (3rd) - all part of the final push
    Burma campaign 1944–45 - Wikipedia

    82nd (West Africa) Division - Wikipedia
    After further training, the division took part in the third Arakan campaign in December 1944 under Indian XV Corps. On 15 December the Division captured Buthidaung on the Kalapanzin River and created a bridgehead on the east bank of the river. This allowed allied troops to control the Maungdaw-Buthidaung road which had been contested for three years and enabled the transport of 650 river craft by road through railway tunnels to Buthidaung to supply Indian troops in the Mayu Range.


    His service records as mentioned will tell more


    [​IMG]

    TD
     
  6. Darren Rigden

    Darren Rigden Member

    Thank you,
     
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  7. Tony56

    Tony56 Member Patron

    Newspaper 29 May 1931
    Scott.jpg
     
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  8. Tony56

    Tony56 Member Patron

    Obviously from the newspaper he was in the army prior to call up, the 1939 register has him in the Army Reserve, dob 6 Apr 1910.
     
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  9. Darren Rigden

    Darren Rigden Member

     
  10. Darren Rigden

    Darren Rigden Member

    Thanks for that.
     
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  11. Shiny 9th

    Shiny 9th Member

    Darren,Do you know which Battalion of the Royal Sussex Rgt. he served with? I have a lot of info re the 9th which went out to India and Burma late in 1942, and their first action was in the Arakan in 44.
     
    Last edited: May 20, 2020
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  12. Darren Rigden

    Darren Rigden Member

    The only mention of a battalion is the 307 Holding Battalion, did that become part of the 9th? as he was in India as well as Burma.
     
  13. Darren Rigden

    Darren Rigden Member

    Grandad war records
     

    Attached Files:

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  14. PackRat

    PackRat Well-Known Member

    That page suggests that when he was wounded he was serving with 7th Battalion The Gold Coast Regiment (7 Bn GCR), which was part of 5th (West Africa) Infantry Brigade, which in turn was part of 81st (West Africa) Division. They were operating against Japanese forces in the Kaladan Valley in the Arakan in late 1944 (along with the 82nd, as Tricky Dicky mentions above). More detail should be found in the war diary of 7 Bn GCR.

    How he got from The Royal Sussex Regiment to a West African regiment is another question altogether, though. Do you have more pages of this?

    From the first entry on that page it looks like he was in Kaduna (Nigeria?) when he was posted to a draft of reinforcements sailing for India. After landing in India, he had spells at base and reinforcement camps and in hospital ('X IV List' indicates a man available to be posted to a unit, 'X II List' indicates illness or injury). In October he was sent to Brigade HQ of 5 (WA) Infantry Brigade, then in early November posted on to 7 Bn GCR, then wounded in action the following month.
     
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  15. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Just something to consider in relation to how Charles might have ended up with the RWAFF.

    In the book, March Out, by James Shaw. A tale of a Sergeant with the 12th Nigerian Regiment on the second Chindit expedition. There is this opening quotation:

    I had served in the Army in peacetime as both a Guardsman and infantryman. In 1940, when I was back with the Royal Sussex Regiment, I volunteered for service with the Royal West African Frontier Force, but by 1944, I had had enough of administration duties in Nigeria. They called for Sergeant volunteers for Burma, and I was accepted, though I had to take a tough medical and surrender my Colour-Sergeant's crown. My pal Jock Mitchell volunteered too. With a few others we were flown across Africa and India to join Wingate's Circus.
     
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  16. PackRat

    PackRat Well-Known Member

    Intriguingly, there are a few medal recommendations in the National Archives for men serving in Burma with 7 Bn GCR in 1944/45 who have a variety of British 'home' regiments:

    WO 373/36/22
    WO 373/35/58
    WO 373/80/332
    WO 373/34/427

    I wonder if some chose to volunteer for combat service with the RWAFF like James Shaw, and (just possibly) Darren's grandfather?

    Darren - if you sign up for an account with the National Archives (you only need an email address) you can download those medal recommendations for free at the moment. I've already bust my free allowance for the month so I haven't viewed them...

    These war diaries may be of interest in the future, but are not available to download - you would need to visit to view them yourself or ask someone to copy them:

    WO 172/6696 The Gold Coast Regiment: 7 Bn. 1944 Jan.- Dec.
    WO 172/6706 Auxiliary Groups: 7 Gold Coast Regt. 1944 Dec.
     
  17. KevinBattle

    KevinBattle Senior Member

    On 16 December 3 African members of 7th Bn Gold Coast Regiment were killed per CWGC, and all are commemorated on the Rangoon Memorial, suggesting that they may have been lost crossing a river or that their graves were never located after the War.
    That action might be recorded in the War Diary.
    In all, there were 10 deaths for that date, so if there was a combined operation with other RWAFF units that may well have been recorded.
    Wiki says:
    As the monsoon ended in late 1944, XV Corps resumed the advance on Akyab for the third year in succession. The 25th Indian Division advanced on Foul Point and Rathedaung at the end of the Mayu Peninsula, being supplied by landing craft over beaches to avoid the risk of Japanese attacks against their lines of communication. The 82nd (West Africa) Division cleared the valley of the Kalapanzin River before crossing a mountain range into the Kaladan River valley, while the 81st (West Africa) Division advanced down the Kaladan River, repeating the move it had made in early 1944. The two African divisions converged on Myohaung (now Mrauk U) near the mouth of the Kaladan River, cutting the supply lines of the Japanese troops in the Mayu Peninsula. The Japanese evacuated Akyab Island on 31 December 1944. It was occupied by XV Corps without resistance two days later.
     
  18. Darren Rigden

    Darren Rigden Member

    More of Grandads Service records.
     

    Attached Files:

  19. Darren Rigden

    Darren Rigden Member

    Thanks so much for all the infomation
     

    Attached Files:

    • gr.pdf
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  20. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Hi Darren,

    If you do eventually find out what happened to your grandfather in Burma, there is a very detailed book called, War Bush, by John Hamilton, that describes the experiences of the 81st West African Division, including 7 Gold Coast Regiment. It can be a bit heavy going at times, but it is quite thorough in recalling the efforts of these men.

    WB.jpg
     
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