Bill Smyly

Bill Smyly
Born
William Jocelyn Smyly

(1922-07-22)22 July 1922
Peking
Died16 May 2018(2018-05-16) (aged 95)
Bedford, England
Military career
Allegiance United Kingdom
Branch
 British Army
Service years
1942–1946
Rank
Captain
Units2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles), 3 Gorkha Rifles
Conflicts
AwardsMentioned in dispatches

William Jocelyn Smyly (22 July 1922 – 16 May 2018) was a soldier, journalist and educator. He was one of the last veterans of the two Chindit expeditions in the Burma campaign.

Early life

Bill Smyly was born in Peking and was educated at Wrekin College and joined the Army straight from school.

Soldier

Bill Smyly took part in two of the Chindits operations behind enemy lines in Burma. On the first one he made a hard-won escape after being separated from his unit.

After the war

After the war he went up to Clare College, Cambridge, reading History and English. He then became a journalist. After a stint in the UK he moved to Hong Kong working at the South China Morning Post. Then he took up Education, working at the Diocesan Boys' School, and eventually at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. After taking a post graduate degree at Leeds University he joined the British Council.

References

  1. ↑ "Captain Bill Smyly obituary". The Telegraph. 5 July 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  2. ↑ "Operation longcloth". The Chindit Society. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  3. ↑ Redding, Tony (1 October 2015). War in the Wilderness: The Chindits in Burma 1943-1944. The History Press; Reprint edition (1 October 2015). ISBN 978-0750962179.
  4. ↑ Smyly, W J (24 April 1945). "The London Gazette". The London Gazette (37051): 2215. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  5. ↑ Smyly, William (27 May 2011). "William Smyly 5th Column Gurkha Rifles WW2 1943-1944". Google. Retrieved 6 July 2018 – via YouTube.
  6. ↑ "From Burma to Bedford Pitch". chrissmyly.tv. Chris Smyly. Retrieved 6 July 2018.