2nd Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment

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THE ATTACK ON KIN-U VILLAGE
By
Lieut. C. Besly, M.C., B.A.
Page 9

 

the scuffle L/Cpl. Bailey collected together the whole of the remaining men who had not gone with me, and set off at the head of them. The four men who had been carrying Elwell in the blanket did not neglect him but picked up the blanket and bore him away with them, which reflects great credit on those concerned. At the back of this little party came Pte. Lees, with the injured shoulder. He was a tall, lugubrious man who, so far, had only distinguished himself by firing his rifle accidently at a crucial moment. The whereupon Lees sprang into life, snatched a Bren-gun from the man in front of him and, by a phenomenal chance shot both the Japs stone dead. Because it was our lucky day this shooting did not attract any more Japs towards us. L/Cpl. Bailey carried on, finding the way by the stars, which miraculously appeared at the right moment. Like me, he did his wounded beside a prominent land-mark. Then he went on himself to Company H.Q., fetched some stretcher-bearers, and brought the whole party back to our own lines about an hour after I got in.

....In this attack "B" Company killed 15 Japs, which was roughly equal to the number of our killed and wounded put together. But that was not the end of the matter. In the early hours of the morning the Japs evacuated Kin-U. The Gurkha battalion in our Brigade had gone round to the South of the village, and the entire battalion lay up in ambush for them. The Japs walked straight into the ambush, and the Gurkhas killed 57 of them in a few minutes, captured two guns and took a prisoner.

....For his work in this operation Pte. Dodd was awarded the M.M. later in the campaign he was recommended for a bar to the M.M. But most regrettably, he was killed before this second award could be granted. Unfortunately L/Cpl. Bailey was killed a fortnight later.

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