Lost servicemen could be returned from Korea
President Trump’s recent rapprochement with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could have unexpected consequences for the families of those British servicemen missing in action during the Korean War.
The two presidents signed the Sentosa Agreement which included a commitment by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to return the remains of US personnel left there after the 1950/53 war. Already 55 boxes of bones have been shipped to Hawaii where the complicated process of trying to identify them has begun.
But it is not certain that all the remains are American. Although the USA suffered by far the largest number of casualties on the United Nations’ side during the three-year conflict, other allied countries which included Turkey, Australia, France, Greece, New Zealand, South Africa and Columbia also lost men. Britain had 710 personnel killed, 2,278 wounded and a further 1,263 missing in action, presumed dead.
It is possible some of those 1,263 missing men may be among the remains now being shipped to America. John Weeden, 87, from Sutton Road, Maidstone, fought in Korea himself for 18 months between 1952 and 1954.
He knew two men from Maidstone who lost their lives in the conflict - Bryan Bristow and Jimmy Costello. He has twice visited the United Nations War Cemetery in Busan in South Korea where the two are buried to pay his respects. Mr Weeden, who is vice chairman of the Invicta branch of the British Korean Veterans Association, said: “I personally didn’t know anyone who was listed as missing in action, but it is possible that there were some from Maidstone or the surrounding areas.
“If so, their relatives or descendants may like to respond to an appeal from the Ministry of Defence (MoD).”
The MoD is inviting relatives of those missing to supply a DNA sample to compare with the remains now being recovered.
It’s the MoD’s intention, if British servicemen are identified, to give them a proper burial with their comrades at Busan, and the ministry has said it will pay for close relatives to fly over for the funeral. Family members of those missing personnel are asked to call the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre on 01452 854622. For more information go to tinyurl.com/koreavet. We’ve all seen them, but may not have registered their presence.
They are called ghost signs - the fading, washed-out, handpainted wall adverts of yesteryear - and there is now quite an online interest in recording them before they disappear. A quick scan round Maidstone found three examples: on the wall of Baldwins travel agency in Earl Street, there is a painted sign that proclaims simply “Jeans.”
On the corner of Bower Place and Bower Lane there is a sign for C.H.Drury. But the most mysterious is the sign where Market Buildings meets the High Street. Within a small oval there is a blue figure S plus some numbers. What on earth did this indicate?
If you have the answer, or have examples of local ghost signs, email Alan Smith on ajsmith@thekmgroup.co.uk, or call 01622 695666