A Story For Vj Day.

[Vaughan]

 

 

Here are a couple of very tatty Japanese officers' swords.  You may think I should have taken better care of them but this was the condition they were in when they were surrendered to my father in 1945, about 2 months after VJ Day.  Rusty they may be but they are still extremely sharp!

Father lived in Hong Kong before the War and by 1939 he was already a Lt. RNVR, and skipper of an MTB.  He was one of only 57 Forces personnel who escaped the fall of Hong Kong, in what was left of his MTB flotilla and they later also escaped the fall of Rangoon, having trekked for 2000 miles across China in the space of 2 months.  Much later in 1945 he played a major part in the re-taking of Rangoon from the Japanese, as senior officer, coastal forces on the Arakan Coast of Burma.

He told me later that "VJ Day" to them, was like any other day, as he was still up the Irrawaddy River with a flotilla of ML's of the Royal Indian Navy,  rooting out any Japanese forces who had not heard of the surrender and were still fighting.  This was part of a huge area known as "Chuangs" which were mangrove swamps, notorious for being shown on Army maps as water;  but on naval charts as land.

As the flotilla came round a bend in the river, a large Japanese force suddenly appeared out of the mangroves and formed up on the beach beside the river.  The gunners on the MLs immediately trained their Oerlikon and Bofors guns on them but father sensed something was wrong and radioed the boats to hold fire.  It became obvious that the Japs had had enough.  Father went ashore in a dinghy and was met by the colonels of two regiments, who surrendered their swords to him on the beach.  He later told me that one is an infantry sword and the other is artillery but I wouldn't know about that!

The Japanese were starving, emaciated, mostly un-armed, only partially clothed and totally beaten. Perhaps by the swamps, as much as by General Slim's 14th Army. My father then had the problem of getting several hundred starving prisoners, for many miles down river until they could be handled properly.

Today we remember all those who served in what became known as the "forgotten army" as well as all who lost their lives, either in action, or as prisoners of the Japanese.

 

 

 

[MaceSwinger]

Thanks for sharing your story Vaughan; such stories always have a much greater effect knowing the personal story to go with it.

[charlesa]

That is extraordinary Vaughan. My father, a Major in the Border Regiment, had this flag , along with 2 swords, surrendered to him in 1945 by 2 Japanese army officers . However I don't know the story behind it as he never spoke about his experience in Burma. I have just finished reading The Little Men about the Borders fighting at Imphal and afterwards along the Chindwin and Irrawaddy rivers and it sounds quite horrific.

As boys my brothers and I used to fight with the swords and I'm afraid that over time they have been lost. Not so the flag.

We have just observed the 2 minute silence in my local farm shop so to come back and read your post was especially timely.

 

Best wishes

Charles

[vanessan]

My father was a RM Commando and was also in Burma. In his ‘memoirs’ he mentioned about the Japanese officers’ swords being taken. 25 years ago we were fortunate to accompany him to Eastney Barracks in Portsmouth for a service to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the battle of Kangaw and the end of hostilities in South Asia. 

[addicted]

My father had a somewhat unusual war in that he started  in the Royal Navy and then transferred into the RAF.  He was a very skilled engineer and mechanic and spent a lot of his service time looking after Spitfires. Because of his particular skills he was frequently  sent into industry  all over the country and on the whole considered himself to have had a fairly easy war  - until his last posting, which was into the Fleet Air Arm serving aboard an aircraft carrier bound for Japan! he went home to my mother and told her that he was pretty sure his luck had run out and  that it would be unrealistic for her to expect to see him come home again! A few days before he was due to sail, the first atom bomb was dropped on Japan and his ship never sailed!

 

Carole

[MotorBoater]

3 hours ago, Vaughan said:

He told me later that "VJ Day" to them, was like any other day

 

This is typical of the attitude of a generation, most of which is lost to time.

I can understand the reluctance of individuals involved to discuss their stories and also their families wishing to honour their feelings on these matters. However as long as we keep special remembrance days wherein we recall and respect their heroic deeds, and all to often tragic loss, then we should, I think, put these stories out there to ensure that subsequent generations (Who may fortunately never suffer in this way) understand exactly what they are asked to honour.

If VJ day is to have any meaning it is to remember that the far eastern conflict was not just about american island hopping.

Vaughan has only touched on a story that has few comparisons at that time, or since.

I point the honourable members to http://www.hongkongescape.org/

This is a "Great Escape" that doesn't involve Steve McQueen, motor bikes and wire fences. Nevertheless it held me enthralled for days as I dug further and further.

I can understand Vaughan's reticence as the action actually started a little earlier with a mission that later came to be known as "The Balaklava of The Seas" - led by one Lt. Ron Ashby who was awarded his first DSC. Vaughan's father was awarded his second (Bar) for his service as senior officer, coastal forces on the Arakan Coast of Burma.

All the details are there on the website. It is authored by the son of a member of Lt. Ashby's crew. It is not the easiest of sites in that the pages are prone to change at will but this can be controlled, to some extent, by the menu on the left of the page.

It is built around the stories of the people actually involved.

Read it, please, and if anyone asks about VJ Day tell them to read it too. If they don't ask, tell them anyway.

 

The escape through enemy waters and across thousands of miles of territory deserves the Hollywood treatment but would probably become another tale of how America won the war.

But a story to be told nonetheless..... Lest we forget.

 

[Vaughan]

Wow!

Motorboater did share a PM with me before he made his post and I can just assure you that what you read on the hongkongescape website, is true!

The webmaster, Richard Hide, is the son of Petty Officer "Buddy" Hide, who was my father's chief engineer on MTB 07 from before the War right through the actions that are described. He also stayed at his post in the engine room when all around him were killed.

Have a read of the website, especially today, on the anniversary of VJ Day. It's quite a story and it is a true story.

If any members have any questions later, I hope I can fill in on some detail!

[Vaughan]

I thought members might be interested in a bit of MTB history, as I have just realised that the drawing above, posted by Motorboater, gives an excellent view of how the torpedos were launched in the early boats.

The torpedos were stored on rails in the engine room (beside the petrol tanks!) and were launched backwards out of the two round ports in the transom.  The metal frameworks that can be seen on the aft deck were hinged down backwards and formed launching rails as the torpedos came out.  When attacking, the torpedos were unlashed, the rails swung down and when ready, the skipper simply opened the throttles and accelerated the boat!  The idea was that the torpedos would dive under the boat and overtake it at about 45 knots but any MTB skipper with any sense would jink the boat out of the way as soon as they hit the water!  I once asked my father how close you had to be to an enemy ship when launching them.  He said that, to have a chance of hitting it, about two cables.  That's 400 yards, going in a straight line under fire!

This arrangement was why the motto of coastal forces MTBs, from then on, was "Beware the sting in the tail".  It is also why all coastal forces bases around the UK were named after stinging insects, such as HMS Hornet in Gosport, HMS Beehive in Felixtowe, and HMS Midge in Gt Yarmouth.

The badge in the top right hand corner of the drawing is the crest of the MTBs and is still worn today by RN patrol boats and by the preserved MTB 102.

The boats were designed by Hubert Scott-Paine of the British Powerboat Co in Hythe and were the same  design as this RAF rescue launch, preserved at the Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth.

 

 

 

 

[WherryNice]

Thank you Vaughan, always a pleasure to read these historical posts