Formby Commemorates Forgotten Heroes of World War 2

ON Saturday, 16 August 2025 a poignant 80th Anniversary of Victory in Japan Remembrance Service was held by the Formby Branch of the Royal British Legion to honour the soldiers of the 13th Battalion of the King's Regiment (Liverpool) who once trained at:- Harington Barracks, Freshfield, a site steeped in wartime history, but now largely forgotten beneath suburban development.

The ceremony took place beside the Chindit Memorial Plaque, discreetly mounted on the wall of an electricity substation on:-  (L371NZ), marking the approximate location of the barracks' former Guardroom. Local residents, military representatives, and civic leaders gathered to pay tribute to the men who departed from this very ground to fight in the Far East Campaign during the 2nd World War.

The plaque reads:- "13th King's Regiment were stationed here, before moving to India in 1942. They marched into Burma in 1943, with Burmese, Gurkha, and British units supported by the RAF. 1st Kings Regt were flown into Burma in 1944, with Indian, Nigerian, Gurkha, and British units supported by the RAF & USAAF. The Chindits, Myanmar (Burma). The boldest measures are the best."

A Royal British Legion spokesperson commented:- "For many of these soldiers, stationed at:- Harington Barracks, this would have been the very last time they stood on British soil, in 1942, before embarking for India. They later marched into Burma in 1943, as part of the Chindits, a multinational special operations force formed to disrupt Japanese supply lines deep in the jungle."

Further information about the plaque can be located online at:- IWM.Org.UK.

In 1944, the 1st Battalion joined the Chindits via airborne insertion, supported by both the:- RAF and USAAF, alongside units from the:- Indian Army, Gurkhas, Nigerians, and Burma Rifles, in Burma, which is now the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.

Today, the site of Harington Barracks is a quiet residential area, dotted with detached and semi-detached homes. Yet, the road layout still faintly echoes the original camp’s footprint. Without the memorial plaque, few would know of the site’s military significance.

The barracks were demolished in the 1950s and 1960s, and the rubble was used to construct the Victoria Road Beach Car Park. Over time, shifting sands have begun to expose remnants of the debris once more; a haunting reminder of the past emerging from the dunes. Ironically, the National Trust is now removing the rubble as part of a multi million pound dune restoration project aimed at reviving rare coastal habitats for species like Natterjack Toads and sand lizards! It is hoped that some of this rubble can be salvaged to create a more permanent memorial from it.

This 2025 Service of Remembrance, 80 years on from the end of World War 2, shows that despite the encampment being long demolished and the loss of the last remaining King's Regiment Chindit in Merseyside, the memory of the Chindit soldiers still lives on in the area. The last survivor on Merseyside was Philip Hayden, who sadly passed away in:- January 2016, . We must not forget their sacrifices and the area's connection to these mostly forgotten heroes.

Did you know? The name:- "Chindit" derives from the Chinthe, a mythical half-lion, half-griffin guardian of Burmese temples; a fitting symbol for a unit known for its daring and resilience.

Please click here to find out more about The Royal British Legion, a charity for the Armed Forces community:- .BritishLegion.Org.UK.

For more information on the Kings Regiment and the memorial, you can visit the King's Own Museum online:- KingsOwnMuseum.Com.

Additional information about the Chindits and the Burma Campaign can be found on the Imperial War Museums website:- IWM.Org.UK/Collections.

Plus a very interesting page can be found on the National Museums Liverpool website:- LiverpoolMuseums.Org.UK about the role of the King's Regiment, in South East Asia, during World War 2. Also related objects pictured here are all currently on display at the Museum of Liverpool’s City Soldiers gallery.

For more information on the dune restoration project, please visit:- NationalTrust.Org.UK, and our archived news  report about the project.

If watching the video, this is the order of service:-

• 'March On' - The Standard & Drums.
   

• Poem.
   

• Chindits & VJ Day Address/Prayers by Rev David Taylor.
   

• Doug Miller - read by Lynda Clarke Philip Hayden - read by Tim Petford Mirza Khan - read by Jenny Clarke.
   

• Poem: VJ Day - read by Lynda Clarke.
   

• The Exhortation:- “They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. We will remember them”
   

• The Last Post.
   

• 2 MINUTES SILENCE.
   

• The Reveille.
   

• Kohima Epitaph:- "When you go home tell them of us, and say For your tomorrow, we gave our today."
   

• Wreath Laying and Crosses.
   

• 'March Off' - The Standard & Drums.

Extra location information of the Chindit Memorial Plaque:-

• Memorial WM Reference is = 99506.
   

• OS Grid Ref:- SD 28405 07821.
   

• What3Words location ///points.search.water.
   

• Address:- Next to 33 Proctor Road, Formby, Merseyside, L371N, England, UK.

Quick fact:- While the UK commemorations  VJ Day on:- 15 August yearly, the Americans commemorate it on 2 September, The American do this because the US officially recognizes the date of the formal surrender signing on the USS Missouri as the end of the War, while the UK recognises the date of Japan's initial announcement of surrender.

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