Captain J A Anscombe was part of the First Battalion of the Assam Regiment, a new battalion, raised in June 1941 to face the ever-growing threat from Japan in the East.

By February 1944, he was the Battalion’s Intelligence Officer and was serving under Lt Col W F Brown at Jessami. Both men had attended Dulwich School in London.

The unit had been sent forward from their previous task of defending the oil fields at Digboi in Assam to patrol the hills to the east of Kohima, into the Somra Tracts, bordering on Burma.

The main battalion base was at the village of Jessami. In early March, the Japanese began their move into India and, as a result, according to “The History of the Assam Regiment” by Peter Steyn, ‘a continuous stream of lengthy cipher messages demanding information and yet more information at all hours of the day and night plagued the Intelligence Officer, Captain J A Anscombe.”

The Assam Regiment’s bases at Jessami and Kharasom lay directly on the path of one of the main Japanese thrusts into India.

A fierce battle started at Jessami on 28th March, where the men had received the orders from HQ in Delhi to ‘fight to the last man and the last round’.

The Assam held the Japanese for 5 days and nights of continual onslaught. It was only with the arrival, on foot, through enemy territory, of one of the other Assam officers, Lt John Corlett, that the revised orders to withdraw on Kohima were received.

Anscombe and a small party evacuated the perimeter around midnight on the night of 1st April, making their way down the very steep ridge and then across the Lanyie River.

The following morning, they met another group of the Assam Regiment who were trying to make their way back to Kohima, having become split from the main column. This group was led by Captain Williamson.

In the Regimental History, Williamson recounts how none knew where they were and had no food.

Initially, they followed the flow of the river which took them southward, towards the Japanese. They therefore decided to climb the next hill again.

None of the group were in a good way, especially Anscombe who confided to Wiliamson that he felt his heart was seriously affected by the strain and exhaustion.

At dusk, they had still not reached the top of the hill. They decided to light a fire, they were so desperate.

Sleep still evaded them and Anscombe whispered to Williamson that he could go no further and begged to be left. He said he would rather be shot than slow up the party any more. He was obsessed with the idea that he was endangering too many lives.

Williamson would have none of this. He left two reliable men with Anscombe and ventured to the nearest village to seek help for the party.

Sometime after Williamson had left, Anscombe ordered the 2 sepoys left with him to make their way back to Kohima.

They obeyed their senior officer’s order. Whatever happened after that, it is difficult to be sure as he lay incapacitated in enemy held territory.

The Regimental History says he had the determination and the means to sell his life dearly, if required.

‘Annie’ was always a perfect gentleman and a brilliant intellect. He was sorely missed by the Regiment.

He now lies in Taukkyan cemetery in Yangon, near to his Commanding Officer, Lt Col W F Brown.