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965AI
Captain
James Lough Flynn
1916/07/25 - Born Ballymena, Ireland
Next of kin: T.T. Flynn, Preston, Lancashire
14th Punjab Regiment
2nd Battalion
Service
1933 - James enlisted with the Queen's Royal Regiment
Photo - James is second row from top, the tallest in the middle.
He was selected from the ranks to attend Sandhurst.
1937 - Graduating Sandhurst with Mohammed Ayub Khan, was a classmate.
Joined the 14th Punjab Regiment.
Posted to India Northwest Frontier.
1939/10/05 - The 2nd Battalion moved to Mhow, India to begin training with a war brigade and to mechanise, although its main duty was internal security.
1940, July - Orders were received for the Battalion to move to Hong Kong to replace a battalion as part of normal rotation of duties.
1940/10/31 - Sailed from Calcutta on the SS Ellenga to Hong Kong.
1940/11/11 - Arrived Hong Kong and replaced the 1st Kumaon Rifles at Whitfield Barracks in Kowloon on the mainland.
1941/12/08 - The Japanese entered the war attacking Hong Kong.
1941/12/25 - Hong Kong surrendered to the Japanese.
Japanese PoW
1941/12/25 - Captured Hong Kong
Argyle Street Camp
PoW No. 3399
Japanese Index Card - Side One
Japanese Index Card - Side Two
1944, May - Shamshuipo Camp
1945/09/05 - Liberated Hong Kong
Liberation Questionnaire
Repatriation
1945/10/05 - Departed Hong Kong to Madras, India in the SS Takliwa, which was a converted hospital ship.
1945/10/16 - The SS Takliwa ran into a southwest gale in the Bay of Bengal and in the early hours she grounded on Parsons Point, Great Nicobar Island. Fire broke out in the stokehold an hour later and caught fire.
The HMS Sainfoin answered a distress call from the SS Takliwa and changed course immediately, but were four hours away from the sinking ship. The HMS Sainfoin eventually arrived and rescued all 1,083 people on board, transporting them to Bombay.
James lost what little possessions he still had.
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Pacific Star
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War Medal
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1939-1945 Star
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Post War
Annie Donaldson Anderson met James when he was convalescing from his years as a FEPOW, and her first thoughts were, he weighed not much more than 100 lbs - he was 6'3" - and was the colour of parchment paper.
1946 - James married Annie Donaldson Anderson in Northumberland.
During the war Annie served as a weather analyst for the RAF.
Married, he returned with Annie to the 14th Punjab and northwest frontier patrol duties.
Damdil Northwest frontier 1946
James in the middle (tallest), Harry Harpham to his left
School of Frontier Warfare - Abbotabad September 1946
James and Annie travelled back to the UK and de-Indianized 1947, he was transferred as a Captain to the Royal Artillery.
As his son Patrick understands, James was part of the Mountbatten Partition Commission since he spoke and read one or more of the languages.
The commission was created on July 1947 by Lord Mountbatten, the final viceroy of British India, consisted of four members from the Indian National Congress and four from the Muslim League and was chaired by Sir Cyril Radcliffe.
The work of the commission was to recommend how the Punjab and Bengal regions of the Indian subcontinent were to be divided between India and Pakistan shortly before each was to become independent from Britain.
James and Annie returned to the UK and moved to Sidcup.
They were blessed with son Patrick Noel Lough born 25th December 1948.
After Patrick was born James was with the War Office.
They were again blessed with son Michael James Wyndram born 17th December 1951.
James retired from the Royal Artillery as a Major in 1953.
The Flynn family emigrated to Toronto, Canada and were greatly aided in Canada by the Price/Glassco families. James was in a POW camp with Charlie Price, who was an officer in the Royal Rifles. The Montreal regiment had been dispatched to Hong Kong in 1941 along with the Winnipeg Grenadiers by the Canadian government.
James and Annie returned to the UK in 1972, settling in the Borders - Berwick on Tweed, Chirnside and finally Ninewar just outside Duns.
Died
James age 68
1984
Buried Edrom Churchyard, Berwickshire, Scotland
PROUD TO HAVE SERVED
Information
Patrick Flynn - Son
Liberation Questionnaire
KEW Files:- WO 345/18, WO 361/1971, WO 361/1974, WO 392/24,
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