Fusilier Albert Lane

Hi Nigel. Have you applied for his service record? His service number was 6734809. Killed on the 7th May 1944. If you are correct about him joining in 1932, he would have had an interesting service. I wonder if he was at Dunkirk with the 1st Bn?

On the period of his death. The 1st Bn were involved in a bitter fight with the Japanese at Kohima in Nagaland. This essentially was a scene of close quarter fighting that centred around the District Commissioners Bungalow and some prominent local features. The Bn was involved in attacks against two of these positions Kukis Piquet and FSD commencing on the 4th May 1944. This attack was a bloody affair and continued until the 6th May, it took a heavy toll in RWF casualties. By the 7th May the battalion had lost 5 Officers and 33 other ranks. Additionally a further 24 all ranks were missing and 127 were wounded. The feature was not captured until the 12th May.

As a taste of the sort of fighting they were engaged in, an edited extract from Red Dragon:

In one action at Kukis Piquet on the 5th May. 2 sections and Pl HQ of 12 Platoon D Company lead by Lt Trigger was caught in MG fire. The rear section was killed to a man. The members of the other section and PL HQ's were never seen again, other than one Fusilier who managed to get back to Company lines under cover of darkness.