The UK’s National Army Museum commissioned a poll of historians who concluded that Imphal and Kohima was Britain’s Greatest Battle.  But it’s no

The battlefield diggers of India: Uncovering the history of a battle that turned the tide of WWII in Asia

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2021-06-14 16:00:08

The UK’s National Army Museum commissioned a poll of historians who concluded that Imphal and Kohima was Britain’s Greatest Battle.

But it’s not nearly as famous as Waterloo or El Alamein, and the men who fought it regarded themselves as part of the Forgotten Army of the Asia-Pacific theatre.

The battle was a series of brutal skirmishes fought on mountains and in jungles and many of those who died had to be buried where they fell.

But they do not lie forgotten. A team of battlefield diggers has been scouring the punishing terrain to find their remains and to provide their relatives with some answers about their final days in a foreign land.

Pte Tod’s great granddaughter Sharon Vanderwerf is a nurse in Edinburgh.  As the faraway excavation begins Rajeshwor makes contact with her via a video call on his mobile phone.

She may be 5,000 miles away but Sharon gets to see where her great grandfather died.  She watches live as Rajeshwor talks her through what the team are doing. 

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