‘Remember Lt. Jack M. Young – Ken Fyfe’

Please click here to view this documentary from the homepage of Moving Image Archive, National Library of Scotland.

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Ken Fyfe wasn’t old enough to be directly involved in WWII, but he was old enough to be interested to follow its progress. His childhood interest in the war has remained with him. As a member of Wellington Church, Glasgow, for many years, he was one of the church members who investigated the lives of those named on the church’s war memorial plaques. Lt. Jack M. Young is one of them.

In March 1944, Kohima, India, was Britain’s defence line to protect India against the Japanese coming from the Burmese side. Jack Young was given a command to take 100 men from Kohima 40 miles to Kharasom, to stop or delay the Japanese because the British defences of Kohima weren’t complete. He was given an order: “Fight to the last man, last bullet.” The order was later cancelled, but this didn’t reach him because his radio had been damaged. He succeeded in ambushing the Japanese, but they came back in a big numbers. While sending his men back to Kohima, he remained in Kharasom to fight all alone and was killed. “The Japanese were so impressed with the tenacity of Jack Young and they gave him a military funeral.” Ken concludes his talk by explaining why it is important now to remember him.

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Camera: Fumi Nakabachi
Directed and edited by: Yushin Toda
Produced by Fumi Nakabachi and Yushin Toda, Japan Desk Scotland
13 minutes
In English
© 2019 Japan Desk Scotland

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This is part of Japan Desk Scotland’s documentary films production.  This has been screened:

(1) on Tuesday 4 June 2019 at University of Glasgow Chapel, Glasgow, Scotland, as part of ‘Japanese Craft Documentaries’ co-organised by University of Glasgow Chaplaincy and Japan Desk Scotland as part of the West End Festival;

(2) on Wednesday 6 November 2019 at Moving Image Archive, National Library of Scotland, Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland, as part of ‘Voices heard (documentaries); and

(3) on Sunday 10 November 2019 in the Library, Wellington Church, Glasgow, Scotland, after the morning service on the Remembrance Sunday.