News

Remembering Sergeant Vic Knibb, Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment

Posted on 19th Jan 2021 by Sarah Gray

Victor (Vic) Brian Knibb was born on 4 January 1925, only child of Stanley Victor Knibb, a clerical officer with the Port of London Authority, of Ashcot, Hampton Court Way, Thames Ditton and his wife Marion Emma Alice, daughter of William Henry Lee, …

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Letter from Kushma Thapa, the second Burma Star scholar

Posted on 4th Jan 2021 by Sarah Gray

The Trustees of the Burma Star Memorial Fund are delighted to have received this heartfelt letter of thanks from Kushma Thapa, our second Burma Star scholar. We have her permission to share her kind words: "I would like to take this opportunity to e …

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THANK YOU FROM THE TRUSTEES TO ALL OF OUR SUPPORTERS IN 2020

Posted on 4th Dec 2020 by Sarah Gray

The Trustees of the Burma Star Memorial Fund would like to extend their thanks to all of our major supporters over the last year. We are extremely grateful for your generosity which has enabled us to continue our work of remembering all those who ser …

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Thanking our Burma Star veterans: the 'Not Forgot You' gift boxes

Posted on 24th Nov 2020 by Sarah Gray

The Burma Star Memorial Fund is supporting The Not Forgotten charity in its initiative to find and thank as many surviving World War II veterans as possible. The pandemic has denied these veterans the chance to properly celebrate the 75th anniversar …

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"Calling Blighty" films

Posted on 3rd Nov 2020 by Sarah Gray

"Calling Blighty" is a series of short films made between 1944 and 1946 of individual servicemen and women in the Far East sending personal messages home to their family and friends. These poignant filmed messages were shown in local cinemas to speci …

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“I Felt No Sorrow - This Was War: Burma 1942-45" by Gordon Heynes

Posted on 14th Oct 2020 by Sarah Gray

Gordon Heynes signed up as a World War II volunteer aged thirty-seven in late 1941. He trained as a tank gunner and was drafted overseas to join the Allied campaign in South Asia. After further training in India, his regiment, the 25th Dragoons, was …

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Burma Star Memorial Fund newsletter issue 3

Posted on 5th Sep 2020 by Sarah Gray

The VJ-Day 75 commemorative edition of our newsletter has just been published. You can read Major General Julian Thompson’s reflections on the Burma Campaign. There are also photos taken at the National Commemorative Service at the Arboretum with …

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A speech by our Patron, HRH The Prince of Wales for the 75th anniversary of VJ Day

Posted on 16th Aug 2020 by Sarah Gray

During the national commemorative service marking the 75th anniversary of VJ Day, our Patron HRH The Prince of Wales gave the following speech: "Today we remember and give thanks for the extraordinary bravery, resourcefulness and tenacity demonstrat …

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Welcoming our second Burma Star Scholar

Posted on 7th Jul 2020 by Sarah Gray

We have just awarded our second Burma Star Scholarship to Kushma Thapa. Kushma graduated from the Himalayan College of Engineering at Tribhuvan University in Nepal and then spent four years assisting with the reconstruction of her country after the d …

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Members of the Burma Star Association saddened by the passing of Dame Vera Lynn

Posted on 19th Jun 2020 by Sarah Gray

Burma Star members fondly remember Dame Vera Lynn who was one of the first, if not the first, ENSA act to arrive in Burma during WWII. Those who were privileged to meet her ‘in theatre’ recall her courage at being in that part of the world at tha …

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