Damn Yankee - Top
Display your banner here
Results 1 to 4 of 4

British Soldiers 14th Army Burma Souvenirs WW2.

Article about: This box of items recently came to light again, wasn't sure where to post this but couldn't find a specific Japanese section so here goes. The photos show the items brought back from the fig

  1. #1

    Default British Soldiers 14th Army Burma Souvenirs WW2.

    This box of items recently came to light again, wasn't sure where to post this but couldn't find a specific Japanese section so here goes. The photos show the items brought back from the fighting against the Japanese in Burma in WW2. The items belonged to a Mike Wagster as his name appears on the back of some of the photos. His own items include a wad of photographs of him with his friends in Burma, a manual titled "Notes on Japanese for Forward Units", a magazine detailing the war against the Japs in Burma, and a joining up leaflet. The souvenirs which he collected from either Japanese killed in the fighting or items which were abandoned include the Japanese Rising Sun flag. The flag so his son explained had been attached to a Japanese rifle-the barrel had been pushed through its centre so there is a small tear in its centre. This was taken after a firefight in the Jungle which ended in a suicide charge where most of the Japs were killed by machine gun fire with no casualties on the British/Indian side. The flag has no writing on it like many do and apart from the hole in its centre is in good condition with just a few minor stains. There are also two Japanese tank brass data plates believed to be from the electrical communications equipment, a nice early Arisaka bayonet, gas mask filterAttachment 948773Attachment 948772Attachment 948771Attachment 948773Attachment 948772Attachment 948771 and a Sake (Rice Wine) bag which were found inside a Japanese Command post. There is also some Jap and Allied occupation bank notes. In all a fascinating collection which obviously meant something very personal to this man. His son inherited the items after his passing three years ago and decided to sell. I think this is a great collection with a good cross section of items and nice to have a really good clean Arisaka bayonet thrown in. Cheers Tim.

  2. #2

    Default

    Interesting collection of souvenirs from the 'Forgotten Army'.

    Martin

  3. #3
    ?

    Default

    Neat stuff.
    I knew a fellow that fought in Burma 34 years ago but unfortunately I have forgotten his name.

    I also knew a fellow that flew Fighter planes in the CBI. He gave me his paper ghouli chit. He trained at the Spartan Aviation School in Miami, Oklahoma in the early 40s. I met him at a School Reunion in 1982 where I sat up an Aviation display and played music of the period. Damned if I can recall his name at the moment. He also gave me his Chevrons and cloth wings. He was a nice fellow. Fun to get drunk with. I found out you couldn't out drink those British guys.

    I was talking to one fellow and said something about him being English and he promptly corrected me saying that he was Welsh not English. I didn't realize that the Welsh were so touchy.

  4. #4

    Default

    Good old boy that by the sound of it Steve . Ha ha yes I think the Welsh can be a bit tetchy. Everytime I say I'm going to visit my Welsh buddies they always reply "well don't get leaving any feckin castles behind you boyo"! Can you post up any pics of your pieces as they sound most interesting and thanks for your post. The 14th were soon known as "The Forgotten Army" and many Indians fought in the 14th and were every bit as good fighting men as the Brits, Aussies and Gurkhas and nice to see they have recently been recognised for their efforts against the Japanese. The Japanese soldier was brutal far beyond all Western comprehensions and I think it took some time for this to sink into the minds of those who fought them. The Japanese were as brutal to their own as they were to others all bound by the warrior code of Bushido-no surrender, no emotion, no expressions of weakness, fight to the death-the list is quite endless. I think this is why Japanese items are of such interest to collectors. In most cases you could never take a bayonet or flag off a living Japanese soldier-only the dead ones. I recall one British soldier ordering a Japanese officer to hand over a bayonet he had, the Japanese Officer refused so the Brit beat him to the ground and cut it off his belt-he said of the incident "if I had my way id have killed him there and then but I guess on that occasion there were too many people around and I didnt fancy being put up on a jumped up charge later on just for killing a jap, the job I was sent there to do"! Cheers Tim.

Similar Threads

  1. "September Connections" Polish Items Brought Back to Germany as Souvenirs by Wehrmacht Soldiers Thread

    In Polish Armed Forces - Second Republic (Siły Zbrojne II Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) 1918-1939
    03-23-2019, 08:22 PM
  2. 06-01-2015, 07:47 AM
  3. 02-10-2014, 05:58 PM
  4. Burma Campaign British slouch hat

    In Cloth headgear-Western Allies
    06-17-2013, 12:02 PM
  5. 03-06-2013, 05:46 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Ratisbon's  - Down
Display your banner here