In memoriam: John Hutchin

Remembering John Hutchin, RBLI Village supporter, who passed away in March, age 97. A WW2 veteran, John served in the Far East, fighting in Burma with the Chindits.

John served in Burma during WW2 as part of the Chindits – a special force group tasked with working behind enemy lines to disrupt Japanese communications and supplies.

He recounted during his time supporting RBLI and ensuring his story lived on throughout the nation.

“One of three things happened when we were in the Far East” John said. “You were shot and killed, you were wounded and carried on as best you could, or you were left behind. I was left behind.”

Severely malnourished and unable to travel after a shrapnel wound to his shoulder, John was left by his fellow Chindits on a roadside in Burma with nothing but a few days’ rations, a gun and a few bullets. John only survived by getting to his feet, and marching for four days and four nights through the Burmese jungle.

Japan finally surrendered shortly after the United States detonated two nuclear bombs over the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing more than 100,000 people. To this day, it remains the only use of nuclear weapons in armed conflict.

“We told the Japanese, who were dug-in in Indonesia, that the bomb had been dropped.” John explained “We drove up as close as we could with a loudspeaker and told them. But they shot as us because they didn’t believe the war was over – they thought it was a trick.”

“I was horrified when I heard the news the bomb had been dropped. I knew the war was coming to an end. I would have fought another two years in the jungle if they hadn’t dropped the bomb – I thought it was a dreadful thing to do. Luckily no-one’s done it since.”

Approximately 70,000 British and Commonwealth troops died during the Far Eastern Campaign, with more than 10,000 taken as prisoners of war. Conditions were horrific, with many suffering from malaria, typhus and severe malnourishment. As victory was declared in Europe, the efforts of this ‘Forgotten Army’ were largely overlooked as they continued to fight on until Japan finally surrendered in August, 1945.