- Campaigner wants to put up a plaque in memory of forgotten Jersey veterans who served in the Far East during the Second World War.
- Jean McLaughlin has identified a location below Mount Bingham
- She would like the unveiling to take place in September, to coincide with the formal ending of hostilities in the Far East 70 years ago
- Find out more about the Forgotten Army below
A CAMPAIGNER hopes to put up a plaque in memory of the ‘forgotten’ Jersey veterans who served in the Far East during the Second World War.
Jean McLaughlin has identified a location below Mount Bingham, overlooking the entrance to the Harbour – from where the men would have left – as the potential site for the memorial.
She is now in the process of writing to the Ports of Jersey for permission to put up the plaque, and hopes that if her plans are given the green light the unveiling will take place in September, to coincide with the formal ending of hostilities in the Far East 70 years ago.
Mrs McLaughlin, chairwoman of the Jersey Evacuees Association, says she is determined to ensure that her father, John Quénault, who fought for the British Army in India, and other Jersey servicemen who fought in the Far East are suitably remembered.
The war in Burma started in January 1942 with the Japanese invasion of what was then British territory.
After an epic retreat, the British Army made its stand on the Indian frontier, fighting a series of battles there culminating in the Kohima campaign in 1944, which turned the tide in Britain’s favour.
Soldiers serving in Burma experienced monsoon conditions and tropical disease and were often short of supplies and equipment.
This neglect led to the men becoming known as ‘the Forgotten Army’ – a name that stuck after the war.
Mrs McLaughlin said: ‘It was not until 1946 that dad finally came home.
‘He never spoke much about his wartime experiences, but mum told me how the tropical climate and diseases had affected his health, and about the terrible nightmares which he suffered for the rest of his life.
‘Yet it seemed to dad, and veterans like him, that his contribution to the war was overlooked.
‘When I realised this a few years ago, I wanted to do something about it.’
Ten years ago Mrs McLaughlin founded the Jersey Evacuees’ Association and started arranging reunions for Far East veterans living in Jersey.
Mrs McLaughlin said: ‘I had great support from people like Brigadier Terry Troy, who had served at Kohima during the war. Sadly, he and most of the veterans are no longer with us, so we only have memories of what they went through.
‘But I promised they would not be forgotten.
‘With this year being the 70th anniversary of the war in the Far East ending, it seems the right time for a permanent memorial to them.
‘I hope that Islanders will support the idea.’
Anyone with a connection to Jersey’s Far East veterans who would like to support the initiative can phone Mrs McLaughlin on 721171.
- The British Fourteenth Army was a multinational force comprising units from Commonwealth countries during World War II.
- The army was formed in 1943 in eastern India.
- Many of its units were from the Indian Army as well as British units and there were also significant contributions from West and East African divisions within the British Army.
- It was often referred to as the Forgotten Army because its operations in the Burma Campaign were overlooked by the contemporary press, and remained more obscure than those of the corresponding formations in Europe for long after the war.
- For most of the army’s existence, it was commanded by Lieutenant General William Slim.
