Chindit Unit ID

Discussion in 'Burma & India' started by morrisc8, Jul 18, 2016.

  1. morrisc8

    morrisc8 Under the Bed

    morris chindit pu india.JPG morris chindit.truckJPG.JPG I Have just bought some original Negs of chindits in training in India, on some of the photos it has on the trucks number 88 & K, plus a chindit badge.
    info from the seller. The photos/negs came from the same estate of Lt Hartland 2nd Queens Royals.
    Would like any info on the markings and officer.
    Keith
     
    Last edited: Aug 17, 2016
  2. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    I don't see a Chindits' sign on the lorry and I doubt that they were ever used on vehicles but if there is one the photographs must date from the training period before Operation Thursday. Can you provide a close up of the Chindits' badge?

    London Gazette 28th March 1941.

    Royal Regiment of Artillery.

    The undermentioned Cadets from 121st & 125th O.C.T.U.'s to be 2nd Lts, 8th March 1941.

    John Hartland (174815).
     
  3. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

  4. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    London Gazette 25th April 1945

    The Queen's Regiment.
    The undermentioned War Subs Lts from R.A. to be War Subs Lts retaining their present seniority.

    15th November 1944

    J. Hartland. (174815).
     
  5. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    The 70th Division were at Torbruk and there was a map of Torbruk from the same clearance offered for sale by the same seller.
     
  6. morrisc8

    morrisc8 Under the Bed

    Here are some of the 60 photos/negs that he put up and i bought, i will get them in the post, i will add more when they arrive.
    Quote from Major-General Slim, " he argued in his memoirs that it had been a mistake to break up the 70th Division as it was the only British division which had been trained in jungle warfare, and that it would have been twice as effective as an experienced conventional formation than it proved to be as part of Special Force". [ Chindit Forces ].
    On the 6th Sept 1943 it began to reorganize for long range penetration and on the 25th Oct 43 it was part of the 3rd Indian Div . The 70th Div was disbanded on the 24th Nov 1943. info from the IWM

    Thanks for the help.
    Keith
    india 1a.jpg india 2a.jpg india 3a.jpg
     
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2021
  7. Rothy

    Rothy Well-Known Member

    Hi

    I looked up "British Military Markings, 1939-45" by Hodges and Taylor.

    The Morris appears to be displaying the formation/unit sign for the first field regiment in the 70th Div, presumably the 8th Field Regiment, R.A. The number "88" was allocated by Middle East Forces to the first field regiment, based on the standard unit signs for (infantry) divisions issued by MEF in September 1941. The letter 'K' may indicate the vehicle was allocated to a member of one of the regiment's battery headquarters? so these markings might have been inherited from the division's time in the Middle East before sailing for India.

    Rothy
     
    Owen likes this.
  8. idler

    idler GeneralList

    K1 and K2 were HQ vehicle callsigns, but K on its own could have been a subsection in the mid-war-ish 12-gun battery? But yes, I'd agree that they are still sporting MEF markings.

    The intriguing thing is that it looks like there is one of those early war geometric 'battery' signs on the door. And is that an elephant behind it?
     
  9. morrisc8

    morrisc8 Under the Bed

    morris pu india 1943.JPG Thank`s guys, yes that is a elephant. it`s taken in India by the look of it. Looks like it has HQ on the right window of the morris pu.
    Keith
     
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2021
  10. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    Judging from the clothing worn by the man at the far left, the photograph was probably taken in Bengal.
     
  11. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    I was watching these photographs as well Keith. They are wonderful images. I had a quick look through my Chindit related files to see if I could find mention of Hartland, but no joy I'm afraid. However, my information on Chindit 2 is not extensive.
     
  12. Charpoy Chindit

    Charpoy Chindit Junior Member

    Isn't it a bit cheeky to outbid several of the contributors to this forum, and then ask them for their help?
     
  13. morrisc8

    morrisc8 Under the Bed

    No, i do add a lot of photos to this forum for others to see. i don`t know who bids on them. So its a bit cheeky of you to say so,
    at least i show them and hope to put some of them in the MVT Windscreen magazine.
    you do not know me and what i do with the photos i buy.
    I have all ready been in touch to share them with someone with a chindit website.
    Quote from post number 6.
    " Here are some of the 60 photos/negs that he put up and i bought, i will get them in the post, i will add more when they arrive".
    Keith
     
  14. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles

    All's fair in love and military memorabilia acquisition!

    If you share some of the images as a quid pro quo, it's reasonable in my humble opinion.

    Must say, and this isn't aimed at Keith, I get a bit irritated by deliberately spoiled or conspicuously watermarked images. If there's a mind to sell or publish, it's understandable; if not it's like hoarding sweets but flashing them about a bit.
     
  15. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    Some of those sweets are very expensive and if we were hording them why would we share them? Too many people buy rare items and they never see the light of day again. The essence of this wonderful forum is sharing our knowledge, experience and photographs but that shouldn't be taken for granted. I have posted literally hundreds of photographs from my collection on various forums and have allowed many authors and website owners to use them in their publications without payment if they have the decency to ask. Some very scarce photographs have been published and all that I have ever asked for is a credit in the acknowledgements section, On the other hand a great many of my posted photographs have been used on websites without my permission or been reposted as if the poster owned the original or even used by others to enhance items that they are selling on the internet.

    If anyone wants to use a photograph from my collection in a publication please ask, it really is that simple.

    As to sharing research with the buyer of the photographs in question, I was the under bidder on every related item from the seller. It seems churlish not to have shared my limited research with him.

    O.K. rant over.
     
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  16. morrisc8

    morrisc8 Under the Bed

     
  17. Rich Payne

    Rich Payne Rivet Counter Patron 1940 Obsessive

    Since eBay began hiding the identities of bidders and thereby making contact impossible, it has been very difficult to know who we're bidding against. The eBay coded identities do remain the same though and a few of us who bid regularly on BEF stuff try to avoid treading on each others toes.

    Keith is very decent about sharing his images with those who have a genuine interest.

    Very few of us would feel able to buy large numbers of photographs simply to post them on the internet as some sort of public service. In my own case, I'm mainly looking for feedback and information beyond what I can extract myself. We will all vary in the extent that we're able to do that. Those who share information and images with me will frequently receive high resolution scans. Having seen my scans for sale in the past on eBay and posted on other websites devoid of or with mis-information, I'm a little reluctant to post large images on forums and I'll generally crop them down to show a relevant point or post a smaller image.

    I suppose what I'm really hoping is that if there is to be any discussion of photographs which I've bought, I'd like to be involved in that process.
     
    morrisc8 likes this.
  18. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles




    Both of these practices are disgraceful and I certainly wouldn't condone them. Something similar has happened to me with pictures of rare-ish books in my collection being used to sell inferior copies online (the buyer thinks they are getting a first edition with a FINE dust jacket, lord knows what arrives in the post) - I could tell they were mine as it was my writing desk they were pictured on!

    Perhaps I rather naively picture this forum as more of a closed community than it really is. I suppose you only need to Google to extract any images with all traces of their origin shorn from them.

    No doubt when I start spotting things I've uploaded here in other locations I'll feel more strongly. As you rightly say, Rich, marked images shared are far better than those flawless ones that are squirrelled away for life.

    I'm reconsidering what I initially wrote (I do that once in a blue moon!).
     
    morrisc8 likes this.
  19. morrisc8

    morrisc8 Under the Bed

    SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 14 AUGUST, 1945.
    The Queen's Regiment .
    The notifn. regarding War Subs. Lt. J. HARTLAND. (174815) in Gazette (Supplement) dated 24th Apr. 1945, is cancelled.
     
  20. morrisc8

    morrisc8 Under the Bed

    india 20 bridge kb.jpg india troops kb.jpg india british troops kb.jpg india british troops kb ww2.jpg india british troops kb 1.jpg India officers kb.jpg Here are some of the original photos that i have, sorry about the KB Collection. to stop copying. india jt kb.jpg india j training bridge kb.jpg
    Keith
     
    Last edited: Aug 12, 2016

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