GROUPS AND SINGLE DECORATIONS FOR GALLANTRY
troops: ‘On one of my visits to the salient I walked into a bombardment of Jap heavy mortars, and decided to make for the cover of the nearest machine-gun post, which had been dug into a clump of bamboo. To my surprise I found the gun crew sitting outside their trench, and asked Havildar Dalip Singh whether he was trying to get his men killed. He replied with a grin, “No sahib, there is a large snake hiding in the bamboo, and we prefer to risk the mortars.” That evening Dalip reported, “We have killed the snake, a large cobra, and all is well.”’
Java 1945-46 - O.B.E.
Following V.J. Day, Bristow landed with his Dogras at Singapore, restoring order to the dockyard before moving inland. In November, however, they were ordered to Java, to counter Indonesian rebels who were calling for a republic: it was the commencement of a bloody uprising, initial Indian Army casualties amounting to 400 men, among them Brigadier A. W. Mallaby, who was murdered by a mob while trying to arrange a truce. Bristow himself came under fire, and 40 of his Dogras were killed or wounded, prior to the arrival of the Dutch in April 1946. He was awarded the O.B.E.
Indian Independence
By now a Brigadier, he was given command of the 11th Indian Infantry Brigade, and quickly found himself embroiled in the tragic events of the Communal War at the time of Indian Independence - a chapter in his career to which he devoted half of the text of Memories of the British Raj: thus accounts of numerous close calls but above all his deep regret at how events unfurled: ‘When Independence Day was announced, I well remember assembling the V.C.Os at the Regimental Centre, and explaining how the country would be partitioned when the Raj ended in two months’ time. They expressed astonishment and the opinion that there would be serious disturbances and much bloodshed. While expecting freedom, they always thought the British would hand over in an orderly manner, rather then cut and run. The bewilderment of sudden change was a powerful factor in the panic and hysteria that followed Independence. Confusion and instability were the direct result of everything happening at once, without adequate time for preparation. While there were good reasons for haste, there were equally strong grounds for cautiously phasing the transfer of rule, particularly with regard to security ... ’
On a more personal note: ‘As a Brigade Commander during the Communal War my responsibility was confined to a relatively small area, and so the conclusions
I reach at the end of the book may be regarded as parochial. Nevertheless, consideration should be given to the views not only in high authority, but also to those on the spot and nearer events. Unfortunately there is a lack of eye-witness records by those who were present during the massacres in the Punjab. As historians cannot make fair judgments if secrets of the past remain untold, I have tried to add my own evidence before it is too late. My account is also a tribute to members of the British rearguard, who have received little credit for saving thousands of lives.’ Bristow returned to the U.K. in early 1948, sailing from Bombay on the day that news of Gandhi’s assassination broke. Placed on the Retired List in July 1948, he died in August 1982; sold with a copy of Memories of the British Raj (Johnson, London, 1974).
41
A Second World War Burma operations O.B.E. group of seven awarded to Hon. Lieutenant-Colonel C. H. K. Willans, Royal Army Service Corps, late Royal Artillery and Royal Indian Army Service Corps
THE MOST EXCELLENT ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE, O.B.E. (Military) Officer’s 2nd type breast badge, silver-gilt; INDIA GENERAL SERVICE 1908-35, 2 clasps, North West Frontier 1930-31, Mohmand 1933 (2 Lieut. C. H. K. Willans, R.A.); INDIA GENERAL SERVICE 1936-39, 1 clasp, North West Frontier 1936-37, M.I.D. oak leaf (Capt. C. H. K. Willans, R.I.A.S.C.); 1939-45 STAR; BURMA STAR; WAR MEDAL 1939-45; GENERAL SERVICE 1918-62, 1 clasp, Malaya,
G.VI.R., M.I.D. oak leaf (Major C. H. K. Willans, R.A.S.C.), together with a set of his original ribands, generally good very fine (7)
£500-600 O.B.E. London Gazette 17 January 1946.
Charles Harte Keatinge Willans, who was born in December 1907, was originally commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery in September 1927, in which capacity he served in the North-West Frontier operations of 1930-31, gaining advancement to Lieutenant in September of the former year and secondment to the Indian Army Service Corps in January of the latter year. Having then been present in the Mohmand operations of 1933, he was advanced to Captain in September 1936, the same year in which he participated in further operations on the North-West Frontier. He was mentioned in despatches (London Gazette 18 February 1938, refers).
Having then attended Staff College and been advanced to Major, he was appointed a Staff Officer in November 1940 and saw further action with the R.I.A.S.C. in Burma 1944-45 (O.B.E.). Willans reverted to the Royal Army Service Corps after Indian Independence and was awarded a second “mention” for his part in the Malayan Emergency (London Gazette 30 October 1953, refers). Subsequently placed on the Regular Army Reserve of Officers, he ceased to belong to the Reserve in December 1962, when he was granted the honorary rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
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