I hope this is the right place for this post. Records of Private later Corporal Harry Fuke Army No. 4862514 7th Leicester Btn. Chindits then force 136. Hello My name is Geoffrey Fuke the only child of Harry Fuke (brief details below) who served with the 7th. Battalion Leicestershire Regiment during WW2. I have recently received his army records from MOD Glasgow. I have read the webpage of Harold Lambert (HG Lambert - a soldier with the Chindits) and feel that they must have been in the same enlistment intake as the dates fit for enlistment and embarkation to India. I’m sure as with a lot of these records they can throw up more questions than answers and my father’s has done just that. Record shows disembarked India 25-Nov. 1942. Posted to HQ 14th. Infantry Brigade has been written in and (Special Forces Reg.) has been crossed out. I’m assuming this would for Chindit “Operation Thursday”. His fitness was downgraded to B1/T from A1 on 05-11-43. I don’t know if this would preclude him from frontline duty?. Now the strange bit. In just one line as written on his record. “Proe. On posting to Force 136 S.O.S. to X (i).” I have since found out that Force 136 was part of SOE. So I’m now very confused as to where to go from here. My father use to tell me stories of driving trucks behind enemy lines and burying the contents at given map co-ordinates in the jungle. But he did not pass a truck test until 1945 and then promoted to Corporal. I moved to Australia in 1968 and we never met or spoke again. I only have a few memories of things my father spoke of and unfortunately after he died my mother threw all his “war year’s” photo’s and papers away. Getting to Burma isn't a problem from Australia but without knowing where he was it could be a futile exercise. Sorry if i'm in the wrong place Regards Geoff. Fuke
Hi Geoff, there are a few Chindit gurus on here.... bamboo43 for sure can help as well as Eddie chandler another member who has not posted for a while but has Leics and Chindit knowledge, in the meantime your Father's downgrade from A1 ties in with numerous mentions of placement on the X list I.e sick list and I assume S.O.S is struck off strength to X.... is placed on sick list, others will be along soon to help all the best Jason.
X List definitions THE X (i) LIST comprises all ranks posted to fill vacancies in authorised War Establishments of a Headquarters or an extra-regimental unit (such as a base depot, school etc.). An officer placed in X (i) list will be seconded. THE X (ii) LIST comprises all ranks evacuated on medical grounds beyond Regimental First Aid Post. Personnel so evacuated cease to be on the effective strength of their units. Temporary or acting rank will be relinquished 28 days after being so transferred to X (ii) list. Personnel remain in X (ii) list until they are classified as fit for posting when they are transferred to the X (iv) list of their corps and marched out to the appropriate training depot, or until discharged by a medical unit direct to their original units. I think this says "Proc (Proceed) on posting..........." but that posting was only for less than a month, he seems to have spent his time in India moving between 7th Battalion Leic's, 2nd Battalion Leic's, and HQ 14 Brigade 14th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom) - Wikipedia Component units during the Second World War[edit] The following infantry battalions were assigned to the 14th Infantry Brigade for various periods in the Second World War.[5] 2nd Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) 1st Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders 2nd Battalion, Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) 1st Battalion, Welch Regiment 1st Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment 2nd Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment 2nd Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) 1st Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment 2nd Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) 2/4th Australian Infantry Battalion 2nd Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment 7th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment Others more experienced in SEA matters will be along TD
Hi Geoff, Thanks for posting the photograph of your father and the copies of his Army Service Records. These documents are rarely comprehensive in detail and often, as is the case with your father's, leave out any information from the period around Chindit (Operation Thursday) activity, in this case late 1943 until early 1945. The fact that he does not feature in the 7th Leicester's roles for Columns 47 and 74 on the Lambert website, is not conclusive proof that he did not enter Burma during the second Wingate expedition. My hunch though (but I certainly could be wrong), was that he served with 14th Brigade's Rear Head Quarters. This is mainly down to the x (i) reference which TD has already highlighted. All Chindit Brigades had extensive Rear Base Depots, where all communications and signals were collated and of course where all supplies of food, ammunition and equipment were prepared for dropping to the troops in the field. The other possiblity is that the reference points to him being with the Brigade's actual HQ in Burma, that being, serving in the main administrive unit of the Brigade in some capacity under Brigadier Tom Brodie. After Operation Thursday closed, many of the British Battalions had suffered large losses in personnel. The two Leicestershire battalions amalgamated with the 7 Leicesters being taken up by their senior counterparts the 2nd Battalion. I know that the 7 Leicester's were very unhappy about this decision. The Force 136 entry is interesting. At the time of his posting, the 14th Army had all but driven the Japanese out of Burma and had re-taken control of Rangoon. However, the overall picture towards the Thai border was very confused, as small groups of enemy troops attempted to exit Burma and escape into territory still in their own hands. Force 136 were busy in this area harrassing the Japanese and destroying as many as they could find. Hope this info assists you in some way. Steve
Thanks TD unsure on the Proc myself thought it might be Promoted but that is shown as a full word a few lines later. Regards Geoff.
Thanks Steve I have another Doco. a medical report for discharge that has India and Ceylon 1942-1945 no mention of Burma. Could it be that he was not deployed to Burma or as Force 136 officially did not exist he could not say he had been there. Regards Geoff
Hi Geoff, Often in service records that I have seen Burma is not mentioned. Instead the place name India is used, as they looked upon this as the general theatre of war. My own grandfather, who sadly perished inside Rangoon Jail has only one reference to Burma in his records, all the others use India theatre even when the dates concur with his presence in Burma. If Harry was at 14 Brigade Rear HQ only, then he would not have been inside Burma territorially in any case. The Force 136 situation is a tricky one to decide upon with so little to go on. It must be quite frustrating for you.
The fact that he did not pass the trade test as Driver-Mechanic until 1945 means that he wouldn't have been receiving the extra trade pay but it certainly doesn't mean that he wasn't driving.
A couple of points mainly for my edification: 1. What is ALF SEA - I understand that SEA would be South East Asia 2. He appears to me to have been with Force 136 between 3/6/1945 and 1/7/1945, presumably driving people or stores? TD
Thanks for the reply Rich. I had noticed the time line. He use to tell me of driving trucks loaded with supplies to map co-ordinates in the jungle and burying it there. I thought this was with the Chindit's but it must have been for Force 136 as he wasn't a Corporal in the Chindit's. But without Force 136 documents I may never now. Regards Geoff.
Geoff, I have found whilst looking through my files, I have a digital copy of the 7th Battalion's potted history 1940-44. It includes the photograph below from December 1944 at Bangalore. If you would like a copy of the booklet, let me know and we can arrange how we get this to you. Steve
Steve that would be great, do you know what file format the disc is and how large the file is. If it is a PDF file you may be able to send it as an attachment to my email address at gmail.com if that is permitted from here. or I'm happy to pay any P&H costs if you have a spare copy or if the potted history has a name and author I may be able to get our local library to obtain a copy. Changing the subject am I right in thinking that most if not all of Operation Thursday took place North East of Mandalay. Regards Geoff.
Hi Geoff, In answer to your question, roughly speaking the operation was north-east of Mandalay. There is a good thread on here, that talks about all the Chindit strongholds and landing areas used in 1944. This thread contains a lot of maps uploaded by the Chindit group. Take a look here: Chindit 2 General maps, including Strongholds and Landing Grounds. Not much has been written about 14th Brigade. The 7th Leicesters booklet I have is photographed. The jpegs are not too large, so could be sent in a couple of emails. I will send you a message with my address and we can sort these out from there. Steve
Hi bamboo43 It is interesting that Army Service Records often leave out details of the entry of soldiers into Burma between 1942 and 1945. On several records I have seen the entry into Burma will be noted as "Entered the Concessional Area". Nor, it seems, does the absence of such an entry always imply that the soldier concerned did not enter Burma. I haven't seen enough examples to be sure that the reference to "the Concessional Area" applies only to the records of Chindits or was applied to the Army in general. I have seen at least one other example where the there is an entry identifying entry into Burma, worded thus: "Entered Theatre of Operations" with "Burma" given as the location. Steve
That's right zohonado but his medical record shows him as B1. and he told me he drove trucks. So knowing where he was is becoming impossible to find. His entire 6 year war record fits into 15 lines with gaps of several months to several years. Many thanks for the reply Regards Geoff. Fuke
