My grandfather served with the above throughout operation Thursday. He was one of the 'lucky' survivors, staying until the end despite having malaria, dysentry & beri beri. All info greatly appreciated- currently reading through all on here and feeling rather humble at the harrowing events these brave men endured. His name was john thomas antrobus (tom) and number 3714635.
Hi Amanda, Welcome to the forum. Our member with a special interest in 111th Brigade is Hebridean Chindit, I'm sure he will be along soon with some pointers for you. Do you have a photograph of Tom that you are willing to share. It would be great to see if you have. Best wishes Steve
We have none of him in his service days but i do have one of him from 1978 at my parents wedding. Grandad was a stubborn character, self discharged from liverpool hospital of tropical diseases (admitted on return from burma for the malaria/dysentry) which meant that he couldn't be declared fit for further service. He was less than impressed at this news and as a result ignored his medal's offers and much of his service documentation dissappeared. My dad remembers his thick sole'd desert boots and chindit bush hat along with the KORR & chindit insignia's. He has now found his discharge paper's also. Sadly he also remembers the relapsing malaria and the hallucinations it caused although i do wonder whether these were in fact some form of post traumatic stress. Unfortunately grandad passed in 1990 when i was around 8/9 and nanna has also since gone. I now have my own children and it Seems very important that grandad- and the many that served with him- are remembered for the huge lifelong sacrifices they made.
This is one of the few photo's i have of grandad.my dad has many more of course. This was my mum & dads wedding and apparantly grandad only put his teeth in for the photo's. He never had his teeth in - even ate pickled onions with his gums.
Thanks Amanda, it is always wonderful to catch a glimpse of a former Chindit soldier, even in his later years. I have attended lectures and talks given by staff from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and always found this subject quite fascinating. I know that they did not start their investigations into what we now call PTSD until the mid-seventies, by which time many people had been suffering from the condition for thirty years. I wonder if the Liverpool School still hold records for your grandfather and whether this might be an avenue for you to explore. Most of their research centred around the returning Far East Prisoners of War, and the varying diseases and medical conditions they contracted whilst held captive by the Japanese, but I know they helped many other service personnel too.
Thank you. I am currently putting together a list of 'must contact' places. Liverpool is now on said list. The MOD records service have not been particularly forthcoming with info- only confirming his number and regiment then saying we would be looking at a year plus wait for full records. We have put in the application but aren't holding our breath. Grandad had what was said to be many relapses of malaria. However when some such incidents have been described by my dad from when he was a boy it appears to be a ptsd type thing but of course ptsd is a 'modern' condition. For example my dad (born in 1947 and now 69 himself) remembers vividly two such bouts. The first being walking through their village when a loud bang followed by a high pitch squealing noise (caused by a hay baler malfunctioning!). Grandad was said to hide in bushes. Nan took my dad & siblings home while a neighbour sought the local gp. Of course, grandad was pyrexic, high pulse etc so again malaria relapse was blamed. Quinine, sedatives and bed rest ordered. Another time dad remembers hiding in the bath during hide & seek and jumping up catching grandad by surprise. He recalls grandad dropping to the floor, shouting (and swearing) about the bren gun (he was bren gun operative) and various other warfare type things before being ushered out by nanna. Again it was said to be malaria and of course in the 1950s ptsd was unheard of. Grandad was a fab character- dry humour, stubborn and at times feisty but heart of gold and true gentleman.
a lot of people , including me, have got them a lot sooner. about a month for most. see this thread http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/57740-service-records-application-timescale/
Quick update: heard back from liverpool sch for tropical meds! They took mainly POWs and their earliest surviving records date back to 1965. BUT they suggested grandad was more likely to have been in the tropical beds at either smithdown rd or mossley hill as he was a veteran not a POW. The good news is that liverpool records office have many of those records in their archives so needless to say today i messaged them to see what they have about grandad. Hopefully he wasnt a naughty boy in his younger days
