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Letters brought comfort to many. For some soldiers communication was easy but for soldiers from India it was not straightforward.
By the end of 1945 troops were back home in the UK. But a UK that looked very different from the one they’d left when at the outbreak of war.
The Fourteenth Army not only faced the dangers of the Japanese forces in WW2 but also the danger of tropical disease. Their first line of defence was prevention from wearing long trousers and sterilizing water to the use of insect repellents and insecticides.
By 1945 Allied service personnel in SEAC totalled an incredible 1,304,126; 954,985 of this number were from Commonwealth and Empire forces.
There are many reasons, historical, political, cultural and social for why so many veterans of the war in the Far East have felt forgotten.
Australian, New Zealand, Canadian and a number small Pacific Islands, such as Fiji were involved in the war in the Pacific.
After VE Day many Britons began to think about rebuilding their lives, but prior to VJ Day thousands remained prisoners of war in the Far East.
The Fourteenth Army played a vital role in victory over Japan. During the Burma campaign, they faced the danger of tropical diseases, as well as Japanese forces.
Read the stories of three soldiers who contracted malaria when they served in the Far East during the Second World War.
An essential part of maintaining morale was keeping troops entertained. Most units had a joker, and larger units would stage pantomimes.
For millions of pre-partition Indian Army soldiers who had fought in the Far East, peace brought a number of challenges.
Commonwealth forces outnumbered British forces in the Far East, and they were essential in bringing the war against Japan to an end.
As African men from the Fourteenth Army returned home in 1945, they found the war had brought subtle and profound change to the continent.
Despite the vital role of Commonwealth forces in WW2, many of the contributions of the men and women from those nations remains unknown or ignored.
The war in the Far East has never been seen to hold the same importance as the war in Europe, with many who fought in the Far East considering themselves forgotten.
In the UK there has been a huge increase in funding to help communities understand and celebrate the fight for recognition of Commonwealth soldiers.
