From the Yorkshire Evening Post of Wednesday 28th February 2001
by Jon Rhodes

Forgotten heroes on campaign trail again
Now Burma survivors battle for recognition

TALES OF HEROISM: Gerald Fitzpatrick with the book he wrote about the escape and in his army days

PRIME Minister Tony Blair was today called on to honour Yorkshire’s “Forgotten Army” 60 years after they fought their way out of the killing fields of Burma.

Taking on the might of the Japanese army in a series of bloody battles, the gallant White Rose unit pulled off one of the most remarkable and unpublicised military escapes of The Second World War.

Having been given up for dead by Winston Churchill and his Commanders, 79 men miraculously managed to get out of the jungle by making a tortuous 1,000-mile journey on foot to the Indian border.

The escape, which took three months came at a terrible cost with British troops trapped by the Japanese invasion killed either by the advancing enemy or the atrocious conditions. (misquoted paragraph)

Along the way, there were many acts of bravery by members of the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry such as the capture of a key Japanese defensive position which prevented the possible massacre of Chinese troops who proved successful in checking the invasion.

Daily gun battles ensued, while the lack of supplies made the British escape one of the undoubted wonders of the eastern front.

Despite this, the men who escaped across the border have never been officially recognised for their actions.

Many have blamed the embarrassment of the British government at the time, which, it is claimed, hushed up the matter after allegedly abandoning its own troops.

Book

Leeds-born survivor Gerald Fitzpatrick, who was a raw 22-year-old sec­ond lieutenant when he was sent to Burma, and who has written a book about the conflict, said it was nothing short of a scandal that the men who served under his command were still waiting for some form of decoration other than their Burma Star service medals.

He has now written to Number Ten in an effort to gain what he clearly feels is long-overdue recognition.

He said: “I’m 82 now and I’m concerned at the rapid decline of those good and gallant men who served with me out there."

“They are now dying in old age and with no recog­nition of their unique and tortuous service for this country."

“Time has passed, but the fact remains that what these lads did out there is every bit as relevant today as the Holocaust.

“I would like to see Tony Blair recognise at least one of their many deeds of valour. I ask him to not only remember the forgotten army, but recognise it and honour it.”

However, Ministry of Defence officials may feel that as so much time has passed, proving medals should have been awarded could be impossible.

“There is a cut-off point for commanding officers to recommend the decora­tion of a serviceman,” said a spokesman for the MoD.

“However, if this gentleman is writing to a specific minister then we will see what the response is from that minister before we make any comment.

Please note, in this copy of a press report, the Ministry of Defence comments upon my letter of 20th February 2001, addressed to Prime Minister, Mr. A. Blair. Sticklers for protocol that they are, the MOD task is to preserve ‘The Establishment!’. They are evasive, and defensive to any unusual approach, particularly one of this nature. This approach must be considered alongside Churchill’s treachery and the timing, of his abandonment of our force. On leaving Burma in our distressed state, there was no identifiable commanding officer. Owing to multi-illnesses, the battalion disintegrated for a short period.

Churchill’s message of 1st April 1942 to Roosevdt -

“SPEAKING AS ONE AMATEUR TO ANOTHER -  MY FEELING IS THAT THE WISEST STROKE FOR JAPAN WOULD BE TO PRESS ON THROUGH BURMA NORTHWARDS INTO CHINA AND TRY TO MAKE A JOB OF THAT. THEY MAY  DISTURB INDIA BUT I DOUBT ITS SERIOUS INVASION”
Our K.O.Y.L.I. action was on 19th April

Without knowing why, or how, this long hidden signal affected my colleagues and me, and all troops within Burma. It scandalised China and India, and additionally by association, Australia and New Zealand.

In this claim for recognition, I single out but one of several, day by day, spectacular and traumatic operations, all conducted in the period following our abandonment by the treacherous British Prime Minister.

Sketchily outlined in my letter of 20th February 2001, the more detailed account of this spectacular action is given in my recently published book ‘NO MANDALAY, NO MAYMYO - 79 SURVIVE”. Chapter 19, pages 172-183.

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