Burma pictures

[Bodger Baz]

Dug out some of my grandads pictures from his time in Burma 1944-47 serving with the RASC as part of the 12th Army (even more forgotten than the 14th Army!)

Picture were mostly taken in Rangoon, intresting array of vehicles and japanese officers surrendering in Rangoon.

 

These pictures inspired the markings on my Jeep :-D

Edited February 3, 2010 by Bodger Baz

[Bodger Baz]

nearly forgot these :-)

[N.O.S.]

Great pics.

Always a sobering experience looking at snaps from wartime, we can but sit there and imagine...........

[Larry Hayward]

Bodger Baz,

 

My Dad was in the RAF in the Far East in support of the Forgotten 14th and came home in 1946. He remembers seeing quite a few Japanese Generals arriving to surrender, in bomber transport aircraft that had to be painted white with green crosses on them, as a term of surrender. The aircraft in your photos looks to be a Mitsubishi Ki-57. My Dad also remembers that their swords were later retained and he could have had one but couldn't be bothered! If only he had known that some of the swords carried by these Japanese Officers were 400 years old!

 

By the way, the Spitfire in the last couple of photos is a Mk XIV of 273 Sqn, which disbanded in Saigon on 31st January 1946. The other aircraft is an Auster

[woa2]

My Dad was in India/Ceylon/Burma until 1946 as a Signaller in the Royal Signals. Only thing he drove there was an Elephant. As for Japs, the only ones he saw were some POWs, who were Koreans, and about 6 foot tall! After the war he joined a Concert Party, and said that 'It ain't arf hot Mum' was very realistic.

[mcspool]

Very interesting pictures, thanks for sharing them!

 

The second one shows a number of locally bodied Canadian Chevrolet C8A Heavy Utilities. See some pics of these at the Maple Leaf Up Forum.

 

Hanno

 

[Bodger Baz]

My Dad was in India/Ceylon/Burma until 1946 as a Signaller in the Royal Signals. Only thing he drove there was an Elephant. As for Japs, the only ones he saw were some POWs, who were Koreans, and about 6 foot tall! After the war he joined a Concert Party, and said that 'It ain't arf hot Mum' was very realistic.

 

 

Now that is intresting, my grandad travelled to Burma via Mumbai and Calcutta then drove down to Rangoon bringing up the rear so to speak. He then spent most of 46 driving concert parties around Burma! the truck in the picture with the spitfire was his for a while, i think its a chevrolet?

He spent a lot of his time driving dodge WC51's, nickmaned "coffin carriers!" as thats what they carried most of the time and two fitted in the back just right apparently. He also drove a lot of DUKWS around the water ways of Rangoon, unfortunaetly no pictures have turned up of these yet.

He then went to Ceylon before returning to the UK.

 

[LeeEnfield]

Thanks for posting these pic's.

[Bodger Baz]

i have put the pictures back on, they had disappeared

 

Baz

[edskarf]

The serial of the Auster V is TJ634 in case anyone is interested.

[No Signals]

Being as you have 'resurrected the thread' I hope you dont mind my adding some taken from my late uncles album. These are all pictures from his album but i do wonder if they were some kind of 'pool' photos available for forces personnel to buy or request at the time. I know that others he has in the album taken on board HMS Attacker, that I always believed were his, turned out to be something of that order.

 

The pictures show the march past at Singapore on VJ day, the three commanders of SEAC at the signing of the surrender terms and the fly past at Singapore on VJ day.

 

No doubt if these are well known pics then someone will let it be known. As they do.

 

 

[Bodger Baz]

very nice pictures, thanks for adding them.

 

My grandad has some more pictures that i keep meaning to borrow so i can scan them in, that he took from the time he arrived in Mumbai then onto Calcutta and into Burma and rangoon, then his return trip via Singapore and Ceylon, they are great.

 

Baz