RIB RIP.
Private Ronald Ivan Birt The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment)
General Service Medal 'Palestine'. 1939-45 Star. Africa Star '8th Army'. Burma Star. War Medal 1939-45.
The Man Little detail is known about Ronald Ivan Birt, except that he was born in Wandsworth, London in the fourth quarter of 1917. It seems his mother was not married, and it is likely Ronald may have been placed into a home or taken onto a care due to prevailing opinions at this time. He enlisted into The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) with service number 6285275, subsequently serving within the 2nd Battalion. If it is assumed Ronald served with the 2nd Battalion throughout his career, he would have served in Palestine when the unit were dispatched to the country in 1936 following a rebellion that had broken out. He would have remained there for two and a half months before returning home and subsequently awarded the General Service Medal with clasp 'Palestine'. Following the outbreak of World War II the 2nd Battalion were one of the first to disembark in France and landed there in September 1939. In April 1940 it joined the 44th Home Counties Division and with them moved forward in Belgium to help stem the German assault. It was heavily engaged on the river Escaut, losing 13 officers and 170 men. Later on 28th - 29th May the battalion was near Meteren when the orders to withdraw failed to reach their headquarters, and as a result following some desperate actions a large number of men were taken prisoner. The survivors were withdrawn to Dunkirk and upon arrival back in England were re-equipped and re-organised. On 30th May 1942 Ronald would have sailed with the 44th Division, aboard the SS Laconia to Egypt, landing at Port Tewfik on on 26th July. He was aboard the same ship as Charles Frederick Best andit is interesting yo ponder they could conceivably have met each other during the long voyage. Ronald first saw action in the defensive battle of Bare Ridge when Rommel attacked and was decisively repulsed, he was then involved in the Battle of El Alamein. The Battalion was subsequently moved back to Egypt and then Syria and Iraq as part of Persia & Iraq Force (Paiforce). Travelling by way of Damascus & Baghdad they arrived at Khaniqin, northern Iraq close to the Persian border in the middle of January 1943. On 23rd November orders were received to move immediately to Tehran to guard the British Legation and airfield for the period of the Three-Power Conference at which Marshal Stalin, President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill were to be present. On 29th November when Winston Churchill presented Stalin with the Sword of Stalingrad, the Guard of Honour and escort to the sword were furnished by the 2nd Battalion. In 1944 the Battalion was moved to India for intensive jungle training and in early 1945 was moved up to Ledo in North East India, from here it was flown, complete with equipment and mules to Myitkyana where it joined the 36th Division. The Battalion had its first heavy fighting against the Japanese at the River Shweli, and it was here on 15th February 1945, that Ronald Ivan Birt was killed in action. He was subsequently buried in Taukkyan War Cemetery in Burma. For his war time service Ronald was awarded the 1939-45 Star, Africa Star with 8th Army clasp, Burma Star and War Medal 1939-45. It is interesting that on all of the memorial notices and Ronald's grave, no mention is made of parents or relatives, this perhaps confirming the assumption that his mother had either died or that he had been placed into a care establishment before joining the Army. If indeed Ronald was attached to the 2nd Battalion, he would have been present at many important stages of World War II. Part of the original British Expeditionary Force, evacuated from Dunkirk, fighting at Bare Ridge and El Alamein, the Tehran Conference and finally in Burma, where after so long and so many scrapes with danger he met his end just five months before Victory over Japan Day.
The Story The group of medals awarded to Ronald Ivan Birt, were acquired in an unusual manner. I had planned a visit to Myanmar (Burma) whilst on holiday during the early part of 2013, and although had previously visited the Commonwealth War Graves in Thailand several times, was un aware of any in Burma. Perusing through Norman W Collett’s web site a few days before departure I came across Ronald Birt’s group, and noticed he had been killed in action whilst crossing the Shweli River in 1945, and had been buried in Taukkyan War Cemetery, about 20km north of Yangon (Rangoon). Although the medals did not fall within my usual collecting interest, it gave a focus to the time in Burma, as it was likely that Ronald’s grave had not been visited for many years, if at all. A taxi was hired to visit the cemetery and his grave on a beautifully hot, sunny Sunday morning in January 2013. A poppy cross was laid at Ronald’s grave and photographs taken; followed by a visit to the smaller but equally moving Rangoon War Cemetery. Having visited his grave and again conscious that I may have been the first for many years, it seemed logical that Ronald’s medals should fall under my custodianship. A few days were then spent deliberating, and eventually the decision taken to purchase them. Normally medals are acquired first and the research undertaken afterwards! The medals were duly received and now form an interesting addition to the collection, but perhaps most importantly, are looked after by someone who has actually been to his grave in far-away Burma.
The Story The group of medals awarded to Ronald Ivan Birt, were acquired in an unusual manner. I had planned a visit to Myanmar (Burma) whilst on holiday during the early part of 2013, and although had previously visited the Commonwealth War Graves in Thailand several times, was un aware of any in Burma. Perusing through Norman W Collett’s web site a few days before departure I came across Ronald Birt’s group, and noticed he had been killed in action whilst crossing the Shweli River in 1945, and had been buried in Taukkyan War Cemetery, about 20km north of Yangon (Rangoon). Although the medals did not fall within my usual collecting interest, it gave a focus to the time in Burma, as it was likely that Ronald’s grave had not been visited for many years, if at all. A taxi was hired to visit the cemetery and his grave on a beautifully hot, sunny Sunday morning in January 2013. A poppy cross was laid at Ronald’s grave and photographs taken; followed by a visit to the smaller but equally moving Rangoon War Cemetery. Having visited his grave and again conscious that I may have been the first for many years, it seemed logical that Ronald’s medals should fall under my custodianship. A few days were then spent deliberating, and eventually the decision taken to purchase them. Normally medals are acquired first and the research undertaken afterwards! The medals were duly received and now form an interesting addition to the collection, but perhaps most importantly, are looked after by someone who has actually been to his grave in far-away Burma.
TAUKKYAN WAR CEMETERY
Is in Taukkyan town in the township of Mingaladon, Yangon greater area, on the main highway No 1 Pyay Road. From the centre of the city of Yangon, it is 21 miles north and 11 miles from the international airport, 45 minutes drive from the centre of Rangoon and 24 minutes from the International airport. Exact location of the cemetery is North (17º02'08.24") and East (96º07'55.28"). It is the largest of the three war cemeteries in Burma (now Myanmar). It was begun in 1951 for the reception of graves from four battlefield cemeteries at Akyab, Mandalay, Meiktila and Sahmaw which were difficult to access and could not be maintained. The last was an original 'Chindit' cemetery containing many of those who died in the battle for Myitkyina. The graves have been grouped together at Taukkyan to preserve the individuality of these battlefield cemeteries. Burials were also transferred from civil and cantonment cemeteries, and from a number of isolated jungle and roadside sites. Because of prolonged post-war unrest, considerable delay occurred before the Army Graves Service were able to complete their work, and in the meantime many such graves had disappeared. However, when the task was resumed, several hundred more graves were retrieved from scattered positions throughout the country and brought together here. The cemetery now contains 6,374 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, 867 of them unidentified. |
In the 1950s, the graves of 52 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War were brought into the cemetery from the following cemeteries where permanent maintenance was not possible: Henzada (1); Meiktila Cantonment (8); Thayetmyo New (5); Thamakan (4); Mandalay Military (12) and Maymyo Cantonment (22). Taukkyan War Cemetery also contains: The RANGOON MEMORIAL, which bears the names of almost 27,000 men of the Commonwealth land forces who died during the campaigns in Burma and who have no known grave. The TAUKKYAN CREMATION MEMORIAL commemorating more than 1,000 Second World War casualties whose remains were cremated in accordance with their faith. The TAUKKYAN MEMORIAL which commemorates 45 servicemen of both wars who died and were buried elsewhere in Burma but whose graves could not be maintained.
Medal Details:
- General Service Medal: 6285275. PTE.R.I.BIRT. THE BUFFS.
- 1939-45 Star: Unnamed as issued
- Africa Star: Unnamed as issued.
- Burma Star: Unnamed as issued
- War Medal 1939-45: Unnamed as issued.
This page last updated 21 Jun 14