About the contributor

I served in the 25th Dragoons (a tank regiment) of the 14th (the 'Forgotten Fourteenth') Army in Burma during World War II.

We, the 25th Dragoons, arrived in Burma (in 1943) shortly after Mountbatten took command as the Supreme Commander of South-East Asia (SEAC). The general objectives were to prevent any Japanese incursion into India, and to retake Burma (from the Japanese).

Being a conscript from London's East End, the jungle envirnoment was challenging, to say the least - and that was without the Japanese to contend with!

Following many experiences in Burma (the Battle of The Admin Box, being one), I trained on DD tanks ('swimming' tanks - a secret weapon at the time) for the impending invasion of Malaya to liberate Singapore.

I now live a quieter life in Essex, and, at the relentless pursuit of my son in trying to get me to pen a few stories, I have now recorded my experiences in 'Tell Them Of Us - the Forgotten Army, Burma'. I hope that this will serve as a tribute to all those who fought - and particularly to those who had given their lives - in that inhospitable, distant land.

John Leyin