THIS Saturday August 26 at 10.45am the Worcester branch of the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regimental Association will be holding a wreath laying ceremony to mark the actions of the 1st, 2nd, and 7th Battalions the Worcestershire Regiment at Burma 1944, Vernon France 1944, and Malaya 1950.
The wreath-laying will take place at the Worcestershire Regimental Stone in Gheluvelt Park, Barbourne Road, Worcester. WR3 7AA.
The public are welcome to attend.
The citations of the Regiment include: Vernon
After the Falaise Pocket of German resistance had been dealt with in Normandy, the 43rd Wessex Division in which the Worcestershire Regiment served, made a fast journey for the town of Vernon on the River Seine.
The French Resistance had kept the Germans from crossing the bridge back into Vernon.
The Wiltshires had attempted the first crossing by boats on the right of the bridge, they got stuck on a mud bank, the covering smoke cleared and they were consequently cut to ribbons from gunfire from the heights overlooking the river.
A few of the Wiltshire troops landed.
The Somersets attempted a crossing by boat on the left of the broken bridge and were stuck on a small island, after a delay they managed to get a toe hold on the far bank.
The Worcesters were tasked with crossing the broken bridge with the use of ladders but were driven back by murderous machine gunfire.
Dawn the following morning the Worcesters were tasked with crossing the bridge at ‘all costs’.
Lt Col. Taylor`s famous order of the day which the words “…this position WILL be held to the last man and the last round.”
When they crossed the machine gun post that had beat them back on their initial foray had been abandoned.
The Worcesters then managed to form a bridgehead, and this was later expanded.
After passing the village of Vernonette the Worcesters then had a hard fought battle on the Tilly road.
The Germans counter attacked including the use of Tiger tanks.
One Tiger had been knocked out with the Battalions small six pounder gun and after the battle the 43rd Wessex Division pressed on north for the liberation of France.
Where the Tilly road battle took place there is a memorial of Malvern stone with brass inscription plaques in what is called the ‘Worcesters layby’.
Dave Plant of Malvern, a Worcester Branch member, took the stone there.
The town of Vernon have their remembrance services on this day, August 26, placing flowers on the grave of the Worcesters and other Regiments who lost their lives.
Burma 1944 – 1945
Both the 2nd and 7th Battalions of the Worcestershire Regiment saw service in Burma during the Second World War.
The 7th Battalion Worcesters were the first to see action arriving in The Assam Region in April 1944.
Following the fall of Singapore in February 1942, the 2nd Battalion which was already serving in India, was then moved to Madras.
At that time it was believed the Japanese would invade India by crossing the Bay of Bengal.
It was not until November 1944 that the 2nd Battalion finally advanced in to Burma.
On April 1, 1944 the 7th Battalion crossed the Brahmaputra River at Gauhati and entered the operational area of Assam, being the first troops of the Division on that occasion to taste the conditions of the Burma war.
They then moved on to a railhead at Dimapur and on April 2 a perimeter was formed to cover the approaches to Dimapur from attack from the north.
From April 5 onwards the Battalion was busy patrolling the Kohima road, working in tandem with armoured cars.
The village of Zubza was reached by “D” Company in Motor Transport.
Progress was also made on foot, the immediate objective being a blown bridge.
In the darkness they failed to make their objective and by dawn they were caught in an ambush, whereupon they then concentrated at Zubza and were joined by the rest of the Battalion.
After the bloody battles at the Naga Village and Kohima the road into Burma became open and the Allies pressed on through Burma on the heels of the Japanese Imperial Army.
Malaya Emergency 1950 -1953
In February, 1942, after the Japanese had overrun Malaya and Singapore, the Malayan Communist Party offered its services to the British Government in organising a resistance movement.
In this seemingly innocent offer lay the seeds of the Emergency.
The proposal was accepted, and the Malayan Peoples’ Anti-Japanese Army (M.P.A.J.A.) was formed. Some of its members had received guerrilla training from the British before Singapore fell, and during the war large quantities of arms and equipment were sent to them, although the actual military activities of the M.P.A.J.A. were very limited and largely defensive.
After the Japanese Surrender in 1945, the M.P.A.J.A. was disbanded and over 5,000 arms were handed in.
However, a secret branch, about 4,000 strong kept their arms.
It was the intention of the Malayan Communist Party (M.C.P.) to gain control of Malaya, using their secret force if other means failed.
Their political expedients proved unsuccessful, and in May 1948, they embarked on an armed insurrection, calling themselves the Malayan Races Liberation Army (M.R.L.A.), the majority of whom were former members of the M.P.A.J.A.
They were 80 per cent Chinese, the remainder being Malays, Indians, Indonesians and Siamese.
Most of the officers had had previous military experience in the M.P.A.J.A.
In Malaya, patrols were usually carried out by platoons.
Battalion operations were not uncommon and even brigade operations were occasionally mounted.
The armament of patrols varied considerably according to the type of operation, but in a section there is always at least one bren gun. Some grenade-firing rifles were also carried.
On May 27, 12 Platoon, “D” Company under 2/Lt. W. O. Morris, R.A.O.C. att. 1st Batt Worc. R, the Platoon Commander, with two sections, set out once more in search of the enemy.
They moved due West into the jungle and followed a narrow track, which had jungle on the left and felled jungle on the high ground to the right. T
Having moved about a quarter of a mile into the jungle, the leading section came under very heavy automatic fire from the front and left flank.
The patrol went to ground and returned the fire.
In the first few minutes Private Dykes, the leading scout, was killed.
The section commander (Corporal Stanton), two more privates (Hughes and Payne), and the Iban tracker (Awang anak Rawang), were wounded.
The Platoon Commander shouted several times to Corporal Stanton to withdraw his section, but he received no reply.
2/Lt. Morris then moved back and deployed the rear section to the left; they then engaged the terrorists as best they could.
2/Lt. Morris moved forward again to investigate the state of the leading section.
During this time he fired two complete magazines from his carbine but was subsequently killed shortly afterwards.
However the Platoon fought on for about 40 minutes, then the terrorists withdrew.
The sound of the firing had been heard back at the Company base, and the Company Commander, with two platoons, moved out and arrived at the scene an hour later.
During the action Private Hughes fell wounded in the middle of the track, and Awang anak Rawang, the Iban tracker, although wounded himself and lying in an exposed position, dragged him under cover of a fallen tree.
From behind the tree Awang defended Hughes and continued to engage the terrorists as they tried to approach.
For his gallantry he was subsequently awarded the George Cross. He was the first, and at that time to be the only, Iban tracker to receive such an honour.
A total of 21 are on the Roll of Honour who were killed in action or died whilst serving in Malaya.
A memorial with their names on is in St Georges Chapel in Worcester Cathedral.
