An embroidered cloth and metal formation badge for Fourteenth Army. The sign was designed by Lieutenant General Sir William Slim, red and black being the colours of the British and Indian Armies. The sword points downwards, in defiance of heraldic convention, because Slim knew he would have to reconquer Burma from the north. The hilt forms the S, for his own name.
First published in Great Britain in 2013 by
PEN & SWORD MILITARY
An imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS
Copyright James Luto, 2013
ISBN 978-1-78303-031-6
eISBN 978-1-47383-147-6
The right of James Luto to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
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List of Plates
Foreword
They called it the Forgotten Army, its exploits overshadowed by the war in Europe. Yet the men who fought in that harsh environment thousands of miles from home did not see it that way. For those men had learned to live in the jungle, surrounded by their comrades. Their section, their platoon, their commander that was all that really mattered in that difficult war. The Fourteenth Army was a proud army, emboldened by its success. I know these things because my father fought in its ranks. Bernard Grehan was an NCO with 17 Platoon, D Company, 1st Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers, part of 36th Division. It formed what Churchill called the steel tip to the lance which was thrust into Burma in the long offensive to recapture that country from the Japanese.
My father was shipped out of Burma before the end of the war. Racked with dysentery and malaria, when he was discharged from the British Army in 1946 his records show that he was considered to be 40 per cent disabled. He remained, however, proud of the Forgotten Army, and wore his Burma Star with pride when occasion demanded.
This sense of belonging to a special force was not confined to the British troops of the Fourteenth Army. I recall the celebrations on the 60th Anniversary of VE Day in London in 2005. I was there with my father, still going strong after all he had endured. Amongst the thousands of veterans, I noticed in particular a magnificent-looking old Indian. A Sikh, his brilliant white turban was a sharp contrast to his black regimental blazer. On his chest was a dazzling display of polished metal and multi-coloured ribbons. I could not refrain from asking him about his medals. He was only too pleased to tell me about them.
Alongside the medals he had been awarded for his service with the British Army were those he had earned after the Second World War with the Indian Army. The Burma Star lay prominently on his chest next to the Indian Independence Medal. He saw no contradiction with this. He was as proud of his independence as he was of his service in that special force, Fourteenth Army.
So, I am happy to endorse this book by James Luto. It brings together the stories of the thirteen divisions of Fourteenth Army and, read one by one, they intertwine to form a complete history of that special force. A forgotten army? Not to the men of the Fourteenth.
John Grehan
Assistant Editor, Britain at War Magazine
Storrington, October 2012.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the following people for their constant encouragement to bring this book together and further the knowledge of all who read this about the brave and often understated loyalty that was shown to us during the Second World War by our British, Indian and African brothers in arms: Wesley Twigg, where it all started; Fred Crutchett DCM for his ongoing support; Martin Mace for believing; my Father for his constant support and introductions to the old breed via his sterling work with SSAFA; Mum for putting up with both of us; Nicky my wife; Paul Mangat; Dalbara Kalsi; John Grehan; Derek Archer; Richard and Janet Bow; Basil French; The Kohima Museum; Kay Hewitt; the late Philip Malins; David Banks-Broomet and Richard Doherty.
Introduction
I was only nine-years-old when my Grandfather died. Alfred Edward Luto was a captain in 102nd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Indian Artillery, and served with Fourteenth Army in the Second World War. Like so many of my generation I regretted not asking him about his wartime experiences and it was only later in life, long after he had passed away, that I realized what I had lost.
This, though, prompted me to find out more about the war in the Far East and I was fortunate to meet an old Fourteenth Army veteran, Wesley Twigg. At last there was someone who could answer all those questions I never asked. Wesley became my surrogate grandfather, fulfilling my desire for knowledge with boundless enthusiasm.
He too was an artilleryman, having spent the whole of his wartime years with one regiment and one division 4th Field Regiment in which he served in 7 (Sandhams) Battery with 5th Indian Division. His stories of 5th Division were inspirational and I simply had to learn more. Fortunately, 5th Indian Division had produced its own little booklet in 1946. Here were more fascinating stories and facts: Victoria Cross actions, great battles, maps and biographies.
Of course it could not rest there. If one division of Fourteenth Army had written a booklet, surely others had done the same? What other amazing actions and events were there to discover?
That was how my quest began. I found that indeed other divisions had produced their own booklets and, over a period of many years, I tracked down those booklets that had been produced. It is the combination of those booklets, collected over the course of a decade or more, which is presented here. The exceptions are the chapters detailing the history of 2nd British Division, which was provided by the Kohima Museum, and 11th (East African) Division, which was taken from original wartime XXXIII Indian Corps summaries.
Now, for the first time, the histories of the divisions of Fourteenth Army, as portrayed together in those rare, largely unknown and almost unobtainable booklets can be told.
