LETTER:Figures for army brigades in Burma

From Mr David Jordan

Sir: Your correspondent David Cooke (Letters, 24 August) says that he met U Aung San when serving in Burma and that Lord Mountbatten addressed a son of Aung San as "Your excellency". As the last British Assistant Resident, Putao, I myself met Aung San in 1946 in Myitkyina when he was 29 or at the most 30 and certainly had no son old enough to be addressed thus.

As for honouring the Burmese guerrillas here in Britain for their part in defeating the Japanese I would remind Mr Cooke that Aung San became at one time a major-general in the Japanese army and only brought himself and his Burmese friends to the side of the allies when he realised that he had been duped by the Japanese promises of independence for Burma and that the Japanese were about to be defeated.

It would certainly have been more to the point had we invited to the VJ Day celebrations representatives from Burma hill tribes whose men such as the Kachin Rifles always supported the allies.

Yours faithfully,

David Jordan

Llanfarian, Dyfed

26 August