Pte. Frederick Griffiths MM RAMC
I was delighted recently (November 2020), to receive a family enquiry from Sue Langabeer, who has been researching her father's WW2 pathway which included service with the 77th Indian Infantry Brigade from October 1943.
Sue told me:
Hi Steve, I am enclosing some photos for your information and interest as promised. Dad was Private Frederick Griffiths, his Army number was 7383239 and he served with the Royal Army Medical Corps.
He enlisted in July 1940 as a medic and spent two years with the 6th Field Ambulance in the UK before being attached to 2nd Battalion, Durham Light Infantry and embarked overseas aboard the TMS Dempo part of convoy WS18, leaving Liverpool on the 15th April 1942. He was then attached to the 1st Battalion, the Royal Berkshire Regiment (part of the 26th Indian Infantry Division) and in March 1943 was awarded the Military Medal during an action in the Arakan region of Burma.
I believe it was this gallantry award that saw him joining 77th Indian Infantry Brigade in October 1943 and I am still researching and detailing his actions from this point onwards. I know that he was admitted to the 62nd Indian General Hospital at Dacca in May 1943, where he remained until September but have no idea why he was admitted. His records then have a long gap until March 1945, where he reports to the 2nd Training Wing, Special Force and remains until April 1945. In June 1945, he is sent to the Deolali Transit Camp and the Homeward Bound Trooping Depot. His records then say that in July 1945 he embarked from Bombay for the UK but as yet I have no details of the ship. I hope this information will be of interest to you.
As Sue mentions, Fred was awarded the Military Medal for his efforts in the Arakan during late March 1943. This was one of the most inhospitable areas of Burma consisting of razor-sharp mountainous ridges and malarial mangrove swamps. The Japanese had dug themselves into deep and impenetrable bunkers throughout the Arakan and removing them from these proved both arduous and costly in human life.
The Award of the Military Medal (Immediate).
Pte. Frederick Griffiths-RAMC:
ATET NANRA PASS, MAYU PENINSULA, BURMA – 28 March 1943
The following eyewitness account is by Captain C.S. Smalley, 6 Field Ambulance, RAMC.
While moving up the Atet Nanra Pass, Mayu Peninsula on 28th March 1943, at about 10.30 hrs, with a Company of the 1st R. Berks, the Section under my command in company with the leading two platoons of the R. Berks came under fire from Japanese machine guns and grenades at close range. A Sergeant of the 1st R. Berks was wounded in the chest in the open ground some distance on our left flank. Pte. Griffiths, without orders, went out alone under fire and dragged him back to another stretcher party. He displayed the utmost initiative and coolness in this fact and undoubtedly saved this NCO’s life. In view of the above account, I have no hesitation in recommending Pte. Griffiths for the Military Medal.
Recommended 19th May 1943 (London Gazette 22nd July 1943).
Sue told me:
Hi Steve, I am enclosing some photos for your information and interest as promised. Dad was Private Frederick Griffiths, his Army number was 7383239 and he served with the Royal Army Medical Corps.
He enlisted in July 1940 as a medic and spent two years with the 6th Field Ambulance in the UK before being attached to 2nd Battalion, Durham Light Infantry and embarked overseas aboard the TMS Dempo part of convoy WS18, leaving Liverpool on the 15th April 1942. He was then attached to the 1st Battalion, the Royal Berkshire Regiment (part of the 26th Indian Infantry Division) and in March 1943 was awarded the Military Medal during an action in the Arakan region of Burma.
I believe it was this gallantry award that saw him joining 77th Indian Infantry Brigade in October 1943 and I am still researching and detailing his actions from this point onwards. I know that he was admitted to the 62nd Indian General Hospital at Dacca in May 1943, where he remained until September but have no idea why he was admitted. His records then have a long gap until March 1945, where he reports to the 2nd Training Wing, Special Force and remains until April 1945. In June 1945, he is sent to the Deolali Transit Camp and the Homeward Bound Trooping Depot. His records then say that in July 1945 he embarked from Bombay for the UK but as yet I have no details of the ship. I hope this information will be of interest to you.
As Sue mentions, Fred was awarded the Military Medal for his efforts in the Arakan during late March 1943. This was one of the most inhospitable areas of Burma consisting of razor-sharp mountainous ridges and malarial mangrove swamps. The Japanese had dug themselves into deep and impenetrable bunkers throughout the Arakan and removing them from these proved both arduous and costly in human life.
The Award of the Military Medal (Immediate).
Pte. Frederick Griffiths-RAMC:
ATET NANRA PASS, MAYU PENINSULA, BURMA – 28 March 1943
The following eyewitness account is by Captain C.S. Smalley, 6 Field Ambulance, RAMC.
While moving up the Atet Nanra Pass, Mayu Peninsula on 28th March 1943, at about 10.30 hrs, with a Company of the 1st R. Berks, the Section under my command in company with the leading two platoons of the R. Berks came under fire from Japanese machine guns and grenades at close range. A Sergeant of the 1st R. Berks was wounded in the chest in the open ground some distance on our left flank. Pte. Griffiths, without orders, went out alone under fire and dragged him back to another stretcher party. He displayed the utmost initiative and coolness in this fact and undoubtedly saved this NCO’s life. In view of the above account, I have no hesitation in recommending Pte. Griffiths for the Military Medal.
Recommended 19th May 1943 (London Gazette 22nd July 1943).
After his recuperation from serving in the Arakan, Fred was posted to the 77th Indian Infantry Brigade in the autumn of 1943 and began training for the second Chindit expedition, codenamed Operation Thursday. 77th Brigade was the senior Chindit Brigade on Operation Thursday and was commanded by the inspirational, Mad Mike Calvert. At the outset of the expedition in early March 1944, the Brigade was made up of the 1st King’s Liverpool Regiment, 1st Lancashire Fusiliers, 1st South Staffordshire Regiment, 3rd Battalion of the 6th Gurkha Rifles and the 3rd Battalion of the 9th Gurkha Rifles, with each unit providing personnel for two Chindit Columns. It is likely that Fred was attached in his role as Army Medic to one of these sub-units.
Annoyingly, due to the secretive nature of Operation Thursday, it is very common for no entries over the period November 1943/October 1944 to appear on soldier’s service records and this proved to be the case with Fred's papers. Also, with Fred being a member of an attached unit (Royal Army Medical Corps), it is unlikely that he would be named in any of the battalion war diaries or nominal rolls. Hopefully, more information about his Chindit experiences will come to light soon.
Seen below is a gallery of images in relation to this narrative, including a wonderful photograph of Fred alongside his WW2 medals and a map drawn up by Fred's son, Bob Griffiths. I would like to thank Sue Langabeer for sharing her father's story and for allowing me to include it here on these website pages. Please click on any image to bring it forward on the page.
