Image: Wounded British troops disembarking. Public Domain Image.
Reflections on the importance of forgiveness
By Lt Col (Retd) Dr Martin Gliniecki QGM, Executive Director
In the summer of 1989, my wife Sue and I were guests at a friend’s wedding in London. On our table was a World War II veteran wearing a Burma Star patch on his blazer pocket. As a young officer, I wished to hear some of his story and reflections, should he be happy to share any. What I witnessed was a man deeply affected by his harrowing experience of war and scathing of his former Japanese adversary. The following forty-four years had not tempered him and he was aghast that Brits could purchase Japanese cars and electronic goods. Whilst I felt that his reaction towards contemporary Japan was harsh, I sympathised with him, having listened to his account.
His Christian faith released the power of unconditional forgiveness
Fast-forward to 2005. Sue and I were attending Holy Trinity Church, Wandsworth, where we met another Burma campaign survivor, Richard ‘Dick’ de Channer, a Military Cross holder. Dick felt and acted differently following his wartime experience. After the war, he began working with a movement for post-war reconciliation and forgiveness and made five visits to Japan. In 1995 he was one of thirty British veterans from the Burma Campaign Fellowship Group who, along with Japanese veterans, paraded jointly at the Commonwealth War Cemetery in Yokohama. Dick’s Christian faith released the power of unconditional forgiveness, thereby living a more joyful life than the veteran I had met sixteen years earlier. The gospel was the difference.
The faith of many that gave them strength, purpose, and resilience.
Image: Richard ‘Dick’ de Channer.
Let us remember and honour those of the British Fourteenth ‘Forgotten’ Army that defeated the Japanese in Burma and the faith of many that gave them strength, purpose and resilience.
Image: The British Army in Burma, 1945. Public Domain Image.
For General ‘Bill’ Slim, faith influenced his leadership style, marked by humility, compassion and doing the right thing. He believed in the value of every soldier and his moral convictions helped build unity and trust within his diverse warriors.
Inner strength drawn from faith was necessary to sustain the morale and resolve
Faith was sustained by chaplains and SASRA’s forebears — Army Scripture Readers and the Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Christian Association (ASR & SACA) — who served alongside troops, offering spiritual support, prayer and hope in brutal conditions.
New strategy, equipment and logistics alone could not win the battles; the inner strength drawn from faith, both personal and shared, was necessary to sustain the morale and resolve that led to the eventual defeat of Japanese forces in Burma.
Upon disembarkation he engaged fully with his most important role in Burma — that of evangelising.
As in Europe, our Association deployed with troops in East Asia. In late 1944, ASR & SACA member Sgt J. Nkekcocha was serving in Burma and praising the work of the Lord. WO1 E. H. Paddon REME served for four years in India and Burma and writing in the Autumn of 1945, he shared the significance of our Association’s discipleship during his time. After the war he reached out to maintain contact with colleagues. Scripture Reader T. J. Weaver was deployed to Burma, sharing the gospel with those on board his troopships and upon disembarkation he engaged fully with his most important role in Burma — that of evangelising. Another Reader who travelled from India into Burma was ASR Alf Brockies. He had served as a soldier in India a decade before the start of the war, returning home to UK demobilised. He became a full-time Scripture Reader at the start of the war, first working around Wiltshire before deploying to India and then Burma.
Image: Mr T. J. Weaver and Mr A. W. Brockies are the only Scripture Readers SASRA is aware of that served in Burma and received the Burma Star. They are pictured here at the Third Readers Conference, Ready Magazine July-Aug 1948. ©SASRA
Humble, courageous and godly men sought to fulfil their callings and share the gospel
The work done by our Association in the Far East, particularly during the Burma campaign and with returning troops was remarkably profitable. Humble, courageous and godly men sought to fulfil their callings and share the gospel so that God could convert. Today, we thank them for their evangelism, likewise the supporters that prayed for them and funded their work, so that more would return and live like Dick de Channer.
Our current Scriptures Readers deliver the same gospel message, with the same purpose; they similarly need prayer and financial support from our supporters in order to continue. New and current partners, please support us regularly as we do God’s work among our troops and their families.
Will you join us in praying for our service personnel and Scripture Readers as they proclaim the gospel message to them?
PRAY WITH US
- Praise God for the healing power of the gospel and the difference that it makes to our lives.
- Praise God for the faith shown by the Chaplains and Scripture Readers who served alongside troops in Burma and the spiritual role that they played.
- Pray for our Scripture Readers today as they continue to share the gospel with serving personnel behind the wire.
- Pray for those who fought in the Burma Campaign and may still be troubled by their memories. May the Lord open up their hearts and minds to His saving grace and the power of forgiveness.
