3526058 Private George Bimson, 1/Manchester Regt

[dean67]

If anyone has any information about Pte Bimson I would be pleased to hear from them. I know he served in Palestine pre-war, was taken prisoner at the fall of Singapore and died of cholera on 23rd June 1943.

[harribobs]

Hi Dean

and welcome to the forum

I will move this over to the WW2 section first

cheers

chris

[rafboy]

Hi Dean and welcome.
Can I ask what your interest in Cunliffe and Bimson is, are they relatives of yours?

I have a number of POW Record Cards and Liberation Questionairs provided by Roy (themonsstar) but unfortunately I don't have these 2.  Both would have POW Record Cards but only Cunliffe would have a QL card.  These records are held at the National Archive at Kew and are available for viewing.  The POW Record is mainly in Japanese but when translated will tell you where the men were held.

Cliff

[rafboy]

Hi again Dean
If you have any more information on where Bimson is buried it is very likley that I have a photo of his headstone.  In fact it would be nice if you could share with the Forum any further information you have on these 2 men.
Cliff

[dean67]

Cliff,

Thank you for your replies. I know that Pte Bimson is buried at the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery. Other than that I do not know anything.

My interest in Bimson and Cunliffe is as a medal collector. I have the medals of both men.

Regarding the Manchester Regiment I have copies of the Palestine and Burma 1930-32 medal rolls, the 1922-48 History and Arthur Lane's books. I have a number of other more general medal related works which cover the Manchester Regiments entitlement to campaign medals and decorations. If I can help others on the forum with queries in this area I would be happy to assist. So, for example I can see that your father served in Palestine from 14th January 1938 - 25th September 1938 as a Lance Corporal in the 1/Manchesters and was taken prisoner as a Corporal at the fall of Singapore on 15th February 1942.

Thanks for your help.

Dean

[rafboy]

Thanks for your reply and offer of help on the Forum which is much appreciated.  I will check through the headstone photos that I have and get back to you.
Yes you have the right information on my father, he ended up in Taiwan (Formosa), survived and stayed in the Army with the 1st Bn Manchesters, you will find photos of him and me as a child in the photo section of the Forum.
Regarding Cunliffe, from my contacts with Taiwan I am sure he did not get sent there, you will need his POW Record Card translated to identify where he was held.
Cliff   

[Wendi]

Hi Dean, and Welcome to our Forum!

I do hope we can help with your query, but as you probably know limited info is available regarding WW2 Service Men, and I know that rafboy will help where he can.

Can I ask what you may think is a silly question, but I am looking to learn about WW2 and if you have their medals, I presume by some manor you know they are theirs.

If I understand the procedure right this can only be by 2 means, either you obtained them with Provenance or they came with or are Honour medals which have their names on them

Please excuse my chatter, I have little knowledge and am looking to learn? if its not too much trouble.

Wendi 

[dean67]

Hello Wendi,

You are right that WW2 medals are unnamed. In order for there to be interest for someone like me there must be a named medal or documentation. I have the pre-war general service medals of both men. They both served in Palestine. Long service medals, territorial medals and gallantry awards are all named and provide the opportunity for research on the individuals.

If I can be of assistance please let me know.

Regards,

Dean

[Wendi]

Hi Dean and thanks for the info !

I tend to agree with you, if I were a medal collector, they would have to be named, as I would want to have the opportunity to research their owners    Presumably these men also had WW2 medals, it's such a pity that they got split from the ones you have  anyway.....

I'm sure your offer of assistance to others will come in handy ! Thank you.

Wendi