We remember the Forgotten Army
WILL we remember the 75th anniversary of VJ Day tomorrow in the same way we celebrated VE Day? My uncle was one of the Forgotten Few held in the jungle by Japanese soldiers who did not know the war had ended. He came home a broken man, all skin and bone, to find his wife had remarried as she had been told he was dead. He did not reach old age. My husband Dennis was one of the children evacuated to Australia from Singapore when the Japanese invaded. He escaped with his mother Violet and older brother Richard on RMS Orion in January 1943. The only possession they had was a sewing machine. They had to find accommodation and sort themselves out with little help. My husband’s father, George, served in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and India, returning to Singapore to help repatriate prisoners of war from Changi jail. He was not reunited with his family until 1946.
DIANE CARLTON, Waddington, Lancs.
I WOULD like to thank Captain Sir Tom Moore not only for his magnificent fundraising for the NHS, but for raising awareness of his war service in Burma. World War II did not end on VE Day. The Forgotten Army were on a mission to prevent the Japanese invasion of India and succeeded against the odds. I remember the Queen’s speech on the VJ Day 60th anniversary when she reminded us that she had not forgotten the Forgotten Army because Prince Philip had served in the Far East. Will the real end of World War II be commemorated on the scale it deserves tomorrow? Probably not. But the Queen, Philip and I will remember. SUSAN BRADLEY ROBERTS, Sandbach, Cheshire.
MY FATHER spent four years in India and Burma, fighting a war that was beyond belief. Here is one of his diary entries: ‘Burma, the one and only, the place we all fear. Why? Fever, malaria, the jungle, not much chance of coming back, monsoon, heat, the Japanese. Otherwise it’s OK.’ He returned home in February 1946.
PAUL STONIER, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs.
MY FATHER, Ken Bailey, served with the 5th Suffolk regiment and was taken prisoner when Singapore was invaded. He was one of many who built the infamous railway through dense jungle. He saw his friends die in horrendous pain. Dad had very little food, no medicine and suffered inhumane punishments. On their return, the Forgotten Army were instructed not to talk about their captivity. There was no welcome or celebrations. Dad passed away four years ago. He would have been so proud to have still been here to remember his mates.
JANE WOOL, St Ives, Cornwall.