Chindit Chasing, Operation Longcloth 1943
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Gallery: Men of Column 8

Of all the columns on operation Longcloth number 8 had as it's majority the men and officers of the 13th King's. It was led by Major Walter Purcell Scott or 'Scottie' as he was affectionately known by both his men and his fellow officers. He had another nickname too, 'Jammy'. This was because he always seemed to be able to lead his men out of trouble whilst in Burma or stumble upon water when thirsts required, or food when hunger bit hard.

He had originally been an electrical engineer at the start of the war, but had decided he preferred to work with men rather than "things" and applied for an Infantry commission, at first this was not granted by his senior officer, who wanted him to remain in the Royal Engineers. Eventually an Infantry commission was given to Scottie and he was to spend four months at Sandhurst, before passing out and being posted to his home regiment, the Kings Liverpool. He joined the 13th battalion at their barracks at Jordan Hill, Glasgow.

Here is how Sergeant Tony Aubrey remembers his commander: "There is only one word to use about Major Scott, he was a smasher. He had personality, courage, foresight, and the greatest of all qualities in a leader, luck. He had been a Lance Corporal during the battle of France and so he knew the mens point of view. He had as much time for the thoughts and ideas of the humble private, as he had for his second in command. He respected his men and they would follow him anywhere."

Before I discovered which column my Grandad belonged to (and with no disrespect directed toward  Bernard Fergusson) I always hoped he had been with column 8 and followed the great example set by Major Scott. Column 8 had a quiet time in the early weeks of the operation, involved in the odd skirmish around places like Pinlebu. Most of the time they shadowed Wingate and his Brigade Head Quarters missing contact with the Japanese by small margins of time on several occasions.

The event that column 8 are most famous for, is of course the Dakota landing referred to as 'Piccadilly' on the 25th April that year. I will give an account of this story elsewhere on the website, but basically through good fortune and no small amount of skill by the pilot (Mike Vlasto) a plane was able to land in the jungle after a rough landing strip had been stumbled upon on the column's journey homeward. Seventeen sick and wounded men were flown out in this Dakota, men, who would otherwise have most likely perished in Burma that year.

By late April the column was well on it's way to reaching India when disaster struck them at Kaukkwe Chaung. The Japanese bumped the rear of the unit as it attempted to cross the fast flowing river. It was here that Scott's men suffered the majority of their casualties for operation Longcloth.

Below are some photographs of the men from Column 8. Please click on image to view personal information caption. NB. I have had to reduce the amount of information written on each caption, this is due to the web host changing the caption position from underneath the image to the new format seen presently. If you are interested in any particular photo then please get in touch using the contact form found on the home page.

Copyright © Steve Fogden and contributors 2011-15.