Lance Serjeant 3392615 John Ashall

Census details:
1939 Register. Not positively identified. Possibly transcribed as ASHULL and living at 69 Link Avenue, St Helens with wife Anne.

Born 1913 to George Ashall and Jane Bamber, in 1921 lived at 44 Bentick St with parents & siblings (Frances b.1915 is with them). Ann Drought was his wife, they married in 1937 in st Helens and in 1939 were living at 69 Link Avenue and he was a colliery drawer. The CWGC entry shows he was 'Attached to 7th Indian Division Royal Signals' and given his Date of Death as 'On or shortly after 6 Feb 1944' that says he was killed when the 7th Indian Division HQ was overrun at the start of the battle of the Admin Box. He is on the Casualty List of 20 March 1944 as 'Wounded and missing, believed killed' (CL #1398) and then on 5 July 1944 (CL #1490) this was amended to 'Now reported Died of Wounds'. That suggests that he was seen wounded at some point but his body was never found. There is no correspondence about him in the file as there is for the other three Missing. This battle was horrendous, fought in torrid jungle conditions and much of it being hand to hand. The battle takes its name from the "administration area" of the Indian Army's 7th Division, which became a makeshift, rectangular defensive position for the unit. Their divisional headquarters was overrun on 7 February. To put this into perspective, on the night of 7 February, some Japanese troops captured the divisional Main Dressing Station. In what was undoubtedly a war crime, thirty-five medical staff and patients were murdered. Royal Signals records state:- Wounded on 6 February 1944 during the attack on the headquarters of 7th Indian Division during the Burma Campaign, he died of wounds the same day. Eight Royal Signals and 18 Indian Signal Corps all ranks were lost in the action.