The Far Setting Sun

Far East Living History Group

About Us

Our main portrayals are of units of the British Army & Indian/Burmese Army, who served out in the Far East during WW2. Our main focus is upon the time leading up to “Operation Thursday”, the Second Chindit Expedition.

Chindits (3^rd Indian Division), who served as jungle commandos out in the Far East, and were a revolutionary concept in that they were based on a 400 man, self contained unit structure. They were reliant upon air dropped supplies, and were totally dependent on Mules for transport.

A Unit Briefing, showing off the uniform, and under shirt typical of the jungle war.

Jungle Green shirt, trousers, and re-dyed vest/shirt. Worn with a “slouch hat” or “IWT” (I was there)

Within our Chindit Ranks, we portray:

1^st Battalion, Essex Regiment. And old “line” regiment, who were bought into the Chindits in 1943, and trained to be in “Operation Thursday”, the Second Chindit Expedition. They ended up being used as a re-enforcement at Kohima, but still under the organisation, and using much of the training from, the Chindits.

2^nd Burma Rifles, There was a contingent of Burma Rifles in each and every one of the columns, and in all of the battles, and marches of, the Chindit Expeditions. They were Burmese Soldiers, lead by British Officers, and were drawn largely from the Burmese Hill People, though they also had Punjabi & Nepalese troops in their ranks. They were valuable translators and guides.

5307^th Composite Force (Galahad) better known as “Merrills Marauders” In August 1943 Churchill, Roosevelt and the Combined Chiefs of Staff met in Quebec at the Quadrant Conference, the American Government sanctioned the formation of an American Chindit Style force. And “Operation Thursday” thus became a joint Allied Operation. Drawn from units across the Pacific, it was a volunteer unit, much as all the first American Special Forces.

RAF Liason, There was a contingent of RAF in each and every one of the columns, and in all of the battles, and marches of, the Chindit Expeditions. They were RAF Officers, drawn from the ranks of experienced pilots , with a radio section of RAF NCOs and Airmen to assist them.

There primary role was to co-ordinate the air supply, and recovery for the column. The supplies being anything from ammunition to new boots. There were also frequent medical evacuations, and even post calls!

Royal West African Frontier Force, There were African soldiers in the second Chindit Expedition. They were lead by British Officers and Senior NCOs, and contained Nigerian Other ranks, and Junior NCOs. There were also their fellow force members fighting in the Arakan, alongside the Essex and other Regiments, these other African Soldiers also included soldiers from Gambia, Sierra Leone and the Gold Coast.

Female Sections, There was a contingent of Female Soldiers all over the world during WW2, and as a result of research, we have found that the “home base” staff had women on strength as Medics, Clerks & Cooks.

Our displays are intended to be educational, giving some idea of how the soldier of the period lived through the war. We use original training manuals and other archives to ensure we are as accurate as we possible can be, bearing in mind that individual units interpreted directives in their own manner.

Our female section Portrays WAC(I) , ATS & TANS

Why Far East?

We believe that the soldiers who have, literally, served on the other side of the world, deserve recognition for their toils.

We had not come across any groups who portray the period in a Far Eastern Context, except as a Third/Fourth portrayal, or, do so alone. So we decided to found this group. We are also, without question, the first to have Asian Re-enactors, portraying Indian Army, and are amongst the first to feature African re-enactors, as mainstream Living Historians. The Chindits featured men from every corner of the empire, and we have information on troops, so far, from: -

RECRUITING NOW!

We are always looking for more new members.

If you would like to join us please see our Membership Section.

Why Do We Do It?

Many people, coming across groups like ours for the first time, ask why we do this. This at first appears to be an easy question to answer, but is in fact complex.

Thousands of people in the UK take part in various historical re-enactments of many periods - we have a unique consideration over most of them - many people alive today lived through this period. Veterans who fought and civilians who lived through the period and endless years of suffering. So we term ourselves, Living Historians.

We also have the ability to gather together actual items from the period, relying less on replicas. This means we must ensure that we are as correct as we possibly can be.

Why do it at all? There is a quote which says 'without a past, there can be no future'. The period was made up of a series of achievements and disasters, a period where the final innocence of the world ended. A period encompassing so much; the death of an empire (Japan), and the fall of fascism, the rise of communism, and a whole list of other major events. This period also lead to the fall of the British Empire, the rise of India, Pakistan & Bangladesh as separate states. We learn from history in an attempt to prevent it repeating, by interpreting the period through living history our aim is to assist with this understanding and the individual achievements of the period.

We do not glorify war or any aspect of it, but we honour those who served their country, and are so often forgotten. In order to ensure we achieve our aims we work with the veterans of the units we portray.

We do not regard this as just a hobby - it is voluntary work, the rewards are achieving an accurate portrayal. As a society we do have a social side, but it is separate from the work of educating.

Why do we do it? Because we believe remembrance without understanding is not enough.