AFVOA Newletters of Year 2002

Page 44 of 84 Later, waiting for a submarine that never came to take them off, marking time with sabotage activities and building the airstrip for the rescue plane that might come some day, Hamson and a part of the SOE lived off the land. Of this period, Hamson writes “Ted and Inder seemed to find a good deal of attraction in the younger members of our new neighbours…. It seemed slightly ridiculous and unreal to come up from a days work at the air-strip….to find a ‘cocktail party’ in full swing at my HQ, with Inder winding up an old gramophone and Ted telling a tall story to some languishing girls from the town. Which was perhaps the reason why we appreciated it”. And then it came time to leave Greece. ..............The Gill family’s Madras connections go back many decades and are remembered in educational institutions, various associations, and residential localities in the city. As for Inderjit Singh Gill himself, he stopped para-jumping only in his mid-seventies (when a twisted ankle had Mohini Gill finally crying “Halt”, still prefers to drive himself, likes to take a turn on the floor whenever he can, and always says it as it is, bluntly but reasonably, just as he did in Egypt and Greece. Capt Bhandari Ram, VC We are reproducing below a tribute that appeared in the London Times, dated May 23, 2002. This is with respect to the passing away of Capt Bhandari Ram, VC, who was one of the three surviving Indian Victoria Cross winners. It may be noted that our national newspaper allocated a mere three lines reference to condole the demise of this Indian warrior, who was honoured with the highest decoration for valour during World War II. Captain (then Sepoy) Bhandari Ram, VC, was the Indian soldier who attacked a Japanese machinegun post single handed during desperate fighting in Arakan in late 1944 Bhandari Ram was awarded the Victoria Cross for outstanding gallantry while serving as a sepoy (private soldier) with the 10th Baluch Regiment in General Sir William Slim’s Fourteenth Army in Burma in 1944. As with others who have received the highest award for valour, his action was a desperate individual effort to overcome enemy opposition at a crucial moment in battle –and very nearly cost him his life. Towards the close of 1944, having been warned not to expect further reinforcement from Europe, Slim decided that he must release three of his own divisions from the Arakan Peninsula, where they were containing Lieutenant-General Sakurai Seizo’s 28th Japanese Army between the Irrawaddy and the Bay of Bengal. Although Seizo had only two divisions they would be enough to threaten the right flank of Slim’s planned offensive into central Burma. Slim therefore ordered Sir Philip Christison’s 5th Corps of two Indian and two West African divisions to clear Arakan, leave one division in occupation there and divert the other three to the main offensive. As a preliminary, the 25th Indian Division was given the task of clearing the route into northwestern Arakan through the Mayu hills. Sepoy Bhandari Ram was serving with the 16th Battalion of the 10th Baluch Regiment in 51 Indian Brigade of the 25th Division. On November 22, during a company attack on a strongly held Japanese bunker position, he was in the leading section of one of the attacking platoons. To reach the objective it was necessary to climb a steep slope via a narrow, sheer-sided ridge. Fifty yards from the crest, the leading section came under accurate enemy fire which wounded three men including Bhandari Ram, who was hit in the shoulder and leg. Intense light machinegun fire from the Japanese positions then held down the platoon, holding up the entire attack. Undeterred by his wounds, Bhandari Ram crawled forward 15 yards towards the enemy machinegun position, intending to attack it with grenades. Before he