100-year-old Sheffield WWII veteran shares harrowing wartime memories for the first time on VJ Day anniversary
A 100-year-old army veteran has spoken for the very first time about his wartime experiences.
Edward Hadfield, originally from Chesterfield, but now living in Harthill, Rotherham, spoke to the Royal British Legion (RBL) ahead of this year’s 80th anniversary of VJ Day.
Edward will join the King and Queen alongside 33 fellow VJ veterans as The Royal British Legion, in partnership with the UK Government, hosts a commemorative event at the National Memorial Arboretum (NMA) in Staffordshire on Friday, August 15 to mark the occasion.
VJ (Victory in Japan) Day marks the moment when Japan formally surrendered to the Allied forces, bringing the War to an end.
Edward said: “I’ve never really had the opportunity to speak about my time in the War, I just didn’t think anyone would be interested!”
Whilst Edward is proud of his achievements in the Far East, he also has dark memories of his time based in Sumatra, when tensions were high immediately after the Japanese surrender.
He said: “One night, some local Indonesians captured our Brigade Major, who had disappeared in his jeep for the evening with a local girl. We had our suspicions about his fate, so the MPs (Military Police) went to the local village and grilled everyone until eventually two of them broke and led us to the bodies of the major and the girl, mutilated and buried.
“Our brigadier ordered me to kill the pair of them. I had no choice but to follow his orders, I just killed them where they stood, and it’s been in my mind ever since, I can’t get rid of it. I know they were going to be killed anyway, but it was me that had to do it.”
After leaving Chesterfield Grammar School, Edward was always destined to serve his country and initially wanted to be a pilot.
He said: “I tried to join the RAF with two of my mates, but because I’m colour blind I failed the admission test – sadly both of my mates were killed, they were both shot down during the war.”
Edward joined the army instead and, after training in London, boarded a troop ship at Liverpool called the Athlone Castle, destined to join the Indian Army where he quickly rose to Lieutenant with the 8th Punjab Regiment.
He said: “I was only 19 and a bit overawed, to be honest. I would go into meals and hardly speak, but they were kind to me, although I was still learning, and I was quite shy at the time, but I knew I had to get over it.”
Edward was involved in battles with the Japanese near Coxs Bazar but it was also the location for one of the best moments of his life.
Edward said: “One vivid memory I have is getting front row seats to watch Vera Lynn in the jungle in Burma, near Coxs Bazar.
“Ironically, I was sitting right at the back, but then the Commanding Officer got up on stage and ordered the front two rows to swap with the back two rows, so all the top brass were relegated to the rear, and we ended up in prime position. They must have been fuming, those colonels, they thought they had the best seats! I’ll never forget her singing We’ll Meet Again. She could’ve earned big money staying in London, but she came out to see us.”
The 100-year-old can still remember hearing when the war was over: “We were anchored off Malaya when we heard the news,” said Edward.
“I remember when that tannoy announcement came over, you could probably hear the cheering back in England, it was raucous.”
Edward says he is looking forward to attending the RBL’s commemorations at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
“It’s important that we mark the occasion and pay our respects to those that got killed and left behind,” said Edward. “It always preyed on my mind when I was out there, that if troops died in Burma, we weren’t allowed pens or paper to communicate with anyone, so people back home wouldn’t know anything about it.
“I remember when I came back, I’d been away for five years and bumped into a woman I knew in Chesterfield, and she was moaning like hell about the rationing being awful! Nobody back home knew what it was like in the Far East.”
After running a hotel in Pitlochry, Scotland, managing a pub near Ripon and living in Spain for three years, Edward settled in the hills outside of Sheffield. Despite numerous operations for skin cancer, he says there is no big secret to his long life.
Edward said: “I am 100 years old, and I put it down to our wonderful NHS, they’ve been superb with me, I can’t thank them enough. My mum, dad and grandmother all lived into their 90s, so maybe I’m just lucky.”
Mark Atkinson, Director General of the Royal British Legion, said: “The 80th anniversary of VJ Day is likely to be one of the last opportunities as a nation to thank those veterans still with us today for their service and sacrifice, and it is more important than ever that we pay tribute whilst they are still with us.
“ It was wonderful to see the nation come together for VE80 – now we owe it to all those with a connection to VJ Day to do the same, to pause and reflect on their contribution and legacy, including those across the Commonwealth who helped shape the world we live in today.”