As thoughts turn to remembrance this month, a new documentary by explorer Levison Wood and filmmaker Alex Bescoby will shed light on a widely forgotten chapter of the Far Eastern campaign of the Second World War – the contribution of the indigenous troops who fought for the British.
The Last Burma Star charts the duo’s mission to track down a 100-year-old veteran of the Chin Levies forces, former corporal Con Herh, to deliver a letter from King Charles plus his long-overdue campaign medal.
Having joined the war effort at the age of 17, Herh now lives in a remote corner of Mizoram, India, as a refugee of Myanmar’s ongoing civil war.
The geo-political sensitivities saw the production team initially blocked from approaching the border area, but their ultimately successful quest to find Herh becomes the emotional crux of the film.
At the same time, the journey took on a personal dimension for Wood, a major in the reserves, as it gave him the chance to trace the route taken by his grandfather – Levison Hopkin Wood – who fought in the same theatre with The Royal Welch Fusiliers (Soldier, August).
The officer described the moment he and Bescoby handed over the letter and medal as “humbling”.
“I feel my grandfather would have been both amused and proud by the journey Alex and I made,” he went on.
“Corporal Herh is part of a generation whose contributions have too often been overlooked, and it’s vital that we recognise and remember their role in shaping our shared history.”
Meanwwhile Bescoby, a trustee of Help 4 Forgotten Allies, a British charity that supports Herh and other surviving veterans from Myanmar, described the story as a “powerful reminder of the courage and sacrifice shown by so many during the Burma Campaign, our deep connection to the people of Myanmar, but also of the enduring legacy of that conflict today.”
Due to be shown on Sky History on Remembrance Sunday, The Last Burma Star promises to be a historically resonant film that poignantly bridges past and present.
Herh represents not only a generation fading from view, but a link to a conflict still shaping lives in the here and now.
The documentary pays rightful tribute not only to one remarkable veteran, but to all those whose actions in the Far East have too long gone unrecognised.
Report: Becky Clark, Soldier
