A beautiful place Andy. The Chindit Society held its 75th Anniversary for the first Chindit expedition, Operation Longcloth at the Arboretum this June. This was the operation in Burma during 1943 when my grandfather was taken prisoner. He, amongst others has a memorial plaque in the Burma Star/Chindit section of the premises. You were not far away from it today. Here it is. My grandfather is Pte. Arthur Howney:
Hi Steve We took a few pictures, OK well over 50 The image you posted above was one of them, along with the second plaque beside it. Also a few of the Chindit Memorial.
That's great Andy. When I first started my research into what happened to grandad, I could not find anything about him or his time in Burma. We had just what was available on the CWGC website to go on. In fact, I started my enquiries very much like you have done this week. I still find it amazing how far I have come and how much I have learned and uncovered. Back then, my only hope was for him to be recognised and remembered in some way back home in the UK. So the day he was included on that memorial plaque at the Arboretum was a very special day indeed.
Steve I have learned more about Uncle Sydney over the past three day since I joined the site and asked for help than I have over the previous months working alone. You and your fellow members have been brilliant. Regards Andy
Tony Yes Sir it is. I'm typing this through moist eyes as this is the very first picture of Sydney I have ever seen. Grandad was a Master Baker and they lived in Hunslet, South Leeds. He actually has a slight resemblance to my youngest daughter. Thank You so very much. Regards Andy
Tony Meant to ask, but lost the plot a little after seeing the picture. What publication was this in please? Andy
Leeds Andy, I'm afraid it's a little like starting a landslide - just one rock or question starts a whole thing in motion ending with a mountainside falling! Don't worry about moist eyes, the folks on here are so fantastic they can cause the hardest hearts to melt. Happy to have been a small part of this voyage of discovery for you (and even more pleased to catch Bamboo out over his own work!) Each of us puts a brick in place but only when you stand back do you realise how much each piece we hold makes the entire jigsaw fit. So please you were able to honour Uncle Sydney, so many of the Jap PoW's never had a proper chance to fight, just walked into captivity against an enemy that didn't recognise surrender as an option. There are photos of Rangoon Jail which appear to show an entire wing as demolished, if that was the case, then for so few casualties, it's rather unfortunate that your Sydney was one of them, but a necessary step towards Victory.
Evening Kevin I've spent some of today trying to find plans of the prison, but to no avail. I did read though that it was Block 4 that was bombed, killing 40 Dutch POWs plus a few British lads. I wanted to build a mental picture of where Sydney was. I've seen pictures of the inside and the conditions they had to try survive. As you say just one piece at a time. Regards Andy
Hi Andy, Please find attached a sketch map of Rangoon Jail showing the Cell Blocks and occupants. Although it was me who first mentioned the possibility that Sydney might have been caught in one of the Allied bombing raids on the jail and died later on from the effects, we do not know this for certain and so should always keep this in mind. From reading the various books written by survivors of Rangoon Jail, the bombing on the 30th November, which killed the men listed directly above Sydney (of which, Cummings, Gonsalves and Malok were all USAAF aircrew), buried the casualties in their own slit trenches. Those who perished, could not be dug out in time. The Allied friendly fire incidents are mentioned by most veterans who wrote books or memoirs, but all give slightly different accounts of these and often different dates. They can be excused of these inaccuracies, what with being unaware of dates during their captivity and the passage of time before writing things down. I have aerial photographs taken above Rangoon during the last days of November (25-28th) 1943, these show where Allied bombs had struck parts of the city, including one which had hit the Southwest corner of the jail close to Blocks 1 and 2. I will get these from my other hard drive and post them if you would like them. Steve
Morning Steve My respone was because Kevin mentioned about a complete block being missing due to the Allied bombing. The piece I had read said it was on January 3rd 1943 giving the number of casualties I stated above. from reading through the report it seemed to have been written from an American's point of view. I know I will probably never know how Sydney died and until I do everything could be a possibility. Thank you for the sketch and I'm looking forward to seeing the aerial photographs if you get time to dig them out. As I have said above yourself and the other members on here have been so brilliant with all the help and assistance you have given me. Regards Andy
Hi Andy, Here are the photographs I mentioned. They came from file reference AIR23/4056 at the National Archives. I've had them a while now, there is a page of short notes describing each of the bomb strikes shown on the image. I passed these on to another forum member (Matt Poole) a few years ago, who also has a strong interest in all things Rangoon Jail. Best wishes Steve
Eving Steve Thank you for the images. will look at them in detail in a bit SWMBO wants me to eat. Andy
Steve Comparing the images of bomb strikes to the sketch, it shows that Block 4 has already gone. So I went back and found the article I quoted above. It was January 1943 that Block 4 was hit not as my brain had read Jan 1944. Andy P.S. Note to self, you are not a woman you can not multi-task. So one thing at a time from now on
Hi Andy, As most of the activity for British POW's centres around Blocks 3 and 6 and for a whole Solitary Confinement (Block 5), I have never really considered that there was no mention of Block 4. Just shows you, I've been reading and researching this topic for over 10 years and never given it a single thought. Steve
Evening guys Just started reading Operation Rangoon Jail and in the front is a sketch layout of the Jail that has the Blocks numbered. Not sure how accurate this numbering is, but I have recreated the numbering on to a photo. I have attached the image, it shows that Block 4 was not in the "Wheel" but behind Block 6A which is between Blocks 6 & 7. Andy
The nice people at the MoD have cashed my cheque, so hopefully Sydney's records should be with me soon - fingers crossed. Then I can start thinking about which years from the war diaries I need to talk to Andy (Drew5233) about.
Just received Sydney's death certificate. It states cause of death as "Bombing Wounds" Still awaiting his Service Records
