Families' tribute to secret agent heroes of 'Forgotten War'

RELATIVES of Britain’s secret agent heroes in Burma have gathered to mark 80 years since the brutal campaign.

- By James Knuckey

The actions of the Special Operations Executive were crucial to ending the Second World War, with one expert saying that without them, the US bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki would not have succeeded in bringing Japan to surrender.

The Burma campaign became known as the Forgotten War. But in London, almost 60 relatives of the SOE got together to ensure the actions of their loved ones deep behind enemy lines in some of the harshest conditions of the conflict are not forgotten.

Among those in attendance was Robin Gardiner, who was carrying the original operational maps that belonged to his father, Lt Colonel Ritchie Gardiner, who was Head of Force 136 Burma section.

Robin said it had been “unreal” to connect with people whose relatives served so valiantly alongside his father.