Indian scrpt mark translation help needed

ariel · 6th December 2007, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spiral

Hello Jim, No I am not military, but my father was a Chindit in Burma in ww2 , One of the ones who walked all the way in & out , not the ones flown in.

His unit was about 50% Gurkhas so I grew up hearing about them.

{Allthough it wasnt untilll my fathers last 18 days on the planet that he spoke of his actual expieriences that had haunted him for 50 years..}

a friend acrooss the road & myself when we were about 6 chopped his bedroom windowsill to pieces with his fathers ww2 mk.2 issue kukri. Most of the men in the road I grew up in had been in Burma or Malaya.

He must have got one hell of a hiding for that.

Its a shame you havent handled a kukri, But I guess if you wanted to you would have. They work well.

Spiral

So, he fought alongside Ord Wingate? That would be something... They do not make soldiers like that anymore!
My hat is off!

spiral · 6th December 2007, 04:31 PM

Thanks Jim, no problem. Yes I wish my father had told someone what it was like when he was still a young man. The men in his unit believed no one would understand the things you have to do when 400 miles behind enemy lines in a jungle for months on end, No hospital evacuations for your wounded mates in those days , to weak to carry the wounded from lack of food or dyssentry & malaria, they coudnt leave them for the japanese to play with. So they had there own pact with each other. How does one explain that to the fallen ones wives & parents?

Thanks Ariel, Yes he was one of the men Wingate selected at the start. My father had utmost respect for him.

He was only young, as most soldiers are.

The cloth badge was his, They only issued it to him when he went on leave at the end of it all.

He never collected his medals & gave away his bush hat & captured Japanese sword. Ive tried to recover them but no luck so far even though Id happily pay double or triple whatever anyone else would for them.

Spiral

Jim McDougall · 7th December 2007, 05:53 AM

Spiral, I'm with Ariel! My very deepest respect... outstanding!!!
Thank you so much for sharing the photos and material.
All best regards,
Jim

katana · 7th December 2007, 09:05 PM

Hi Spiral,
we 'touched' on your father's history before...when you kindly gave me info on my WW2 machete. I too wish to share my respect as well.

I found this painting which may or may not be of interest. It is a painting entitled "Sergeant McCabe at the Battle of Sobraon placing the Regimental Colour of the 31st Regiment on the Sikh ramparts, 10th February 1846." (Painting by Ackerman)

In the corner, one of the British soldiers is brandishing, what seems to be a Kukri. No other combatant has one, but neither he or the Sikh (he is about to attack) have scabbards so whether it belongs to the British soldier or has been taken from the Sikh is unclear. Were Kukri used by the British at this time? I've cropped and enlarge so that it can been seen better.

http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk...cabe/p005.html

Regards David

spiral · 8th December 2007, 04:17 PM

Thankyou katana,

Intersting picture! Not seen that one before.

It would have been not uncommen for officers in the Brit. Indian army to buy there own kukris at that time.

But the man holding the kukri is not in the Surrys Uniform & his skin colour matches that of the Sikhs. His uniform resembles Bengal Native infantry who at that time had numerous Gurkha units.

So most likely I think he is a Gurkha.

They were commonly used against the Sikhs at that time.

It was a British tradition to put the Gurkhas & the other native troops in the front line.

Spiral

katana · 9th December 2007, 03:37 PM

Thank you Spiral,
for the history lesson ..... the 'moustache' on the soldier looked typically 'colonial' ....never occured to me he was a native

Regards David

Jim McDougall · 9th December 2007, 08:01 PM

The dark uniformed soldier with the kukri looks to me like Gurkha uniform of c.1870's that I think appears in a title "Armies of India" by Maj. A.C.Lovett in the illustrations. What is most recognizable is the 'pillbox' type hat.
The Gurkhas was incredibly tough fighters who from what I understand, were pretty hard to hold back, so I think in battle they were more or less 'unleashed' rather than forced to the front. They seemed to have a sincere affection for the British forces, and in turn, the British carried an admiration for thier ferocity and valor in combat.

7th December 2007, 09:05 PM	#4
katana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Posts: 2,658	Hi Spiral, we 'touched' on your father's history before...when you kindly gave me info on my WW2 machete. I too wish to share my respect as well. I found this painting which may or may not be of interest. It is a painting entitled "Sergeant McCabe at the Battle of Sobraon placing the Regimental Colour of the 31st Regiment on the Sikh ramparts, 10th February 1846." (Painting by Ackerman) In the corner, one of the British soldiers is brandishing, what seems to be a Kukri. No other combatant has one, but neither he or the Sikh (he is about to attack) have scabbards so whether it belongs to the British soldier or has been taken from the Sikh is unclear. Were Kukri used by the British at this time? I've cropped and enlarge so that it can been seen better. http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk...cabe/p005.html Regards David Attached Images

6th December 2007, 04:31 PM	#2
spiral Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,712	Thanks Jim, no problem. Yes I wish my father had told someone what it was like when he was still a young man. The men in his unit believed no one would understand the things you have to do when 400 miles behind enemy lines in a jungle for months on end, No hospital evacuations for your wounded mates in those days , to weak to carry the wounded from lack of food or dyssentry & malaria, they coudnt leave them for the japanese to play with. So they had there own pact with each other. How does one explain that to the fallen ones wives & parents? Thanks Ariel, Yes he was one of the men Wingate selected at the start. My father had utmost respect for him. He was only young, as most soldiers are. The cloth badge was his, They only issued it to him when he went on leave at the end of it all. He never collected his medals & gave away his bush hat & captured Japanese sword. Ive tried to recover them but no luck so far even though Id happily pay double or triple whatever anyone else would for them. Spiral

7th December 2007, 05:53 AM	#3
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,200	Spiral, I'm with Ariel! My very deepest respect... outstanding!!! Thank you so much for sharing the photos and material. All best regards, Jim

8th December 2007, 04:17 PM	#5
spiral Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,712	Thankyou katana, Intersting picture! Not seen that one before. It would have been not uncommen for officers in the Brit. Indian army to buy there own kukris at that time. But the man holding the kukri is not in the Surrys Uniform & his skin colour matches that of the Sikhs. His uniform resembles Bengal Native infantry who at that time had numerous Gurkha units. So most likely I think he is a Gurkha. They were commonly used against the Sikhs at that time. It was a British tradition to put the Gurkhas & the other native troops in the front line. Spiral

9th December 2007, 03:37 PM	#6
katana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Posts: 2,658	Thank you Spiral, for the history lesson ..... the 'moustache' on the soldier looked typically 'colonial' ....never occured to me he was a native Regards David

9th December 2007, 08:01 PM	#7
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,200	The dark uniformed soldier with the kukri looks to me like Gurkha uniform of c.1870's that I think appears in a title "Armies of India" by Maj. A.C.Lovett in the illustrations. What is most recognizable is the 'pillbox' type hat. The Gurkhas was incredibly tough fighters who from what I understand, were pretty hard to hold back, so I think in battle they were more or less 'unleashed' rather than forced to the front. They seemed to have a sincere affection for the British forces, and in turn, the British carried an admiration for thier ferocity and valor in combat.