Melton man recalls his Burma campaign 75 years on from VJ Day

Jim Posnett, who is 101, is one of just two surviving Leicestershire members of the Chindits, crack special operations units of the British and Indian armies who played an important role in the eventual Japanese surrender on August 15, 1945, which finally ended the war.

His daughter-in-law is Councillor Pam Posnett, a Melton representative on the county council and current chair of the authority,

As the council prepares to fly the flag at County Hall to mark 75 years on from VJ Day, she has been filmed chatting to Jim about what he went through in the conflict for a video to mark Leicestershire’s commemoration of the important date.

Jim recalled the fierce fighting with Japanese forces in Burma where his battalion engaged in jungle warfare with formidable and, often cruel, enemy troops.

“Things were rough in Burma and when I say rough I mean rough,” he said.

“We had finished up at the back of the Japanese lines to stop all their supplies coming through.

“But if you got caught you didn’t get a second bite of the cherry.

“You got the bullet and that was it.”

While the nation has always commemorated VE Day - victory in Europe - he said VJ Day had been a largely forgotten anniversary for many years.

He said he had spoken to young people who knew nothing about it or the significance the Far East campaign played in the Allies winning the war.

Jim, who raised the flag at last year’s Armed Forces Day celebration at County Hall, still clearly finds it difficult to talk about those harrowing experiences in the theatre of war in Burma.

He commented: “Some of the things I saw I wouldn’t repeat.

“I’ve said I wouldn’t want to talk about it to anyone.

“Believe you me, it’s enough for me to say that the Japanese were cruel, and I mean cruel.

“They were past masters with the bayonet and I wil say no more.”

Jim joined the Leicestershire Regiment in 1940 and served in India, Burma and Java during the Second World War.

He was en route to Singapore but when the Japanese invaded, his regiment was diverted to Karachi, which was then in India.

Jim described how his regiment was silently flown into the conbat zone in gliders, in March 1944.

Under the command of Orde Wingate, the Chindits were a new under-cover long-range penetration unit designed to disrupt the Japanese.

“In Karachi we started a very different kind of training, jungle training, and we were told we were going to Burma,” he recalled.

“There were 25 of us on our glider and when we jumped out we were in the middle of the jungle, in no-man’s land.

“Then the other gliders landed until our whole regiment were there.

“It was all Mr Wingate’s idea and we all said at the time that he must be mad.”

Jim, who was married for 72 years to Doreen before her death last year, said he and his colleagues were indebted to the skill and bravery of the RAF as they dropped food rations into the jungle with enemy battalions not far away.

“The RAF were marvellous, really marvellous,” he added. “We could hear the Dakotas and then the crews shutting their engines right down and coming within 100ft of the dropping zone.”

Jim transferred to the Military Police later that year and was discharged in June 1946. He is a Member of the Burma Star Association, which was formed to promote comradeship among those involved in the bitter fighting in the jungles and hostile terrain of Burma and to support veterans of that campaign and their families.

Because of her family connection with Jim, the 75th anniversary of VJ Day is particularly special for Councillor Posnett too.

She commented: “It is especially poignant for me to be able to pay tribute to those who fought in the Far East during World War Two, as my father-in-law is among those who served.

“He is one of just two surviving Chindits in Leicestershire and I am honoured to be able to help him share his story

“In 1945, the people of Leicestershire joined in Victory in Japan celebrations, celebrating heroes at home and on the frontline.

“And 75 years on, residents across Leicestershire can join in online from their homes to remember those who lost their lives, so that we could live ours.”

The official commemorations will begin at 11am tomorrow, with a national moment of remembrance and a two-minute silence, with residents being encouraged to mark the occasion from the safety of their homes due to the current need for social distancing.

And to support the commemorations, the county council has launched a website dedicated to helping people to get involved with VJ Day.

The county and city councils, together with the Lieutenancy Office, the Royal Tigers’ Association and the Children of Far East Prisoners of War (COFEPOW), have worked together to produce the online resource to honour the bravery and sacrifice of all those who fought in the Far East.

The website features a wealth of material, including video messages, in-depth history of the campaign and personal reminiscences from those involved and their families, including the video showing Jim and Pam Posnett in conversation.

It also includes an online link to the virtual service at Leicester Cathedral, which takes place at 5pm on Saturday.

The anniversary of VJ Day was to be marked with a big service there but this had to be scaled back because of the ongoing coronavirus restrictions.

The Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire, Mike Kapur OBE, said: “It is impossible to overstate how much we all owe to those men who served in the Far East campaign – those members of the ‘Forgotten Army’, so many of whom lost their lives or spent years imprisoned in brutal camps.

“If it were not for their service and sacrifice, many of the freedoms and way of life we take for granted today would not be possible.”

Go to www.leicestershire.gov.uk/VJDay75 to view the commemorative website to mark this milestone anniversary of VJ Day.