From the AXHOLME HERALD of
Friday 2nd February 2001
Blockbuster tale of the 'Forgotten army'
A BOOK published last Friday tells the story of Britain’s ‘Forgotten Army’ withdrawing in disarray in the face of the remorseless Japanese assault on Burma, in which one in three soldiers died.
One of those who returned home was the late Mr Jim Major, of Owston Ferry. He and the author were two of only 79 officers and men from a 900-strong infantry battalion to survive the long-prepared Japanese assault on Burma.
The book, “No Mandalay, No Maymyo - 79 Survive”, is by Capt Gerald Fitzpatrick.
It was in May, 1942, that Gerald Fitzpatrick, then aged 22, was one of the few that survived. Commissioned into the Infantry, he was posted to Burma In November, 1941. He joined with the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry near the beleaguered city of Rangoon.
Capt Fitzpatrick tells his story of the long withdrawal of the army in graphic detail. It is spell-binding and heart-rending that such a fine body of Yorkshire soldiers could suffer such extremities in a foreign land, thousands of miles from home.
He recalls his feelings of betrayal and disillusionment towards those in authority over him and his regiment - even Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
When Capt Fitzpatrick visited the Axholme Herald, he spoke of how he felt the desperate army had been discarded by Winston Churchill and the crass incompetence of military commanders and those in Whitehall.
Capt Fitzpatrick claims they were “abandoned” by the PM and War Council.
His story pulls no punches, giving the stark details of the atrocities and suffering of the men.
“Night after night, the ground was our bed and stars above the ceiling, yet no man wanted for anything more than to be with his ‘mucker’ in this stinking hot country”.
He said that when he first met Major, Jim had only shorts and the boots on his feet to wear. The popular Owston Ferry resident died just prior to Christmas, but lived to see what had been written in the book about him and the “loss of so many of my good friends and colleagues in this action.” He said he was proud to be one of those who survived.
Continuing his own trade, Mr Major was the butcher and cook to the battalion, serving in Burma throughout the long withdrawal from December, 1941 to May, 1942, with the 2nd Battalion of the KOYLI.
The book tells a vivid story by a man who experienced it all first hand, but fortunately lived to tell this compelling account. As a story, this is a blockbuster, fit for any film.
I am privileged to have met Capt Fitzpatrick, but I feel so inadequate to express in words such a momentous experience. - RS.
The book is available at £16.95 (plus 10 per cent p&p) from The Book Guild Ltd, Temple House, 25 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 2LU. Order forms are available at the Axholme Herald.