Act of Remembrance: Indian Signals WWII

Remembering Signalmen who served in Imphal, Kohima, Chindits and Burma War

On Sunday those members who were able travelled by car to the National Memorial Arboretum to attend the 1100am Act of Remembrance. At the end Lt Col Pat Soward told the congregation about the ceremony to follow and invited those not in our party to join us if they wished. He explained the
significance of the day, 65 years almost to the day (2 Sep 45) since the signing of the ‘Instrument of Surrender’ aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay which formally ended the Second World War.
Led by L/Cpl Samir Rai, a piper from 22 Sig Regt, standard bearers carrying the AFSA, Indian Signals Association and Birmingham Branch standards processed to the Far East Air Force Grove where Rev Jim McManus, Chaplain to the AFSA, blessed a tree and dedicated it to all those who had served in 19 (Air Formation) Sig Regt. It appeared that most of those in the chapel had taken up the offer and a goodly number followed to watch. A wreath was laid by Mr Charles Little MBE, who had served in India and Burma with the Regt and after the Exhortation a bugler signalled a silence.
The procession then continued to the Far East area to the tree ‘Planted for all ranks, Royal Signals and Indian Signals, lost in Burma in WW2’ where a new plaque had been installed. The tree was re-dedicated and wreaths laid by Maj Tom Bewsey OBE, chairman of the now disbanded Indian Signals Association, and Lt Col Pat Soward, on behalf of Lt Col Robin Painter in memory of his comrades in the Chindits and at the siege of Imphal who
didn’t return.
After the Exhortation and Kohima Inscription the bugler signalled a further silence after which the parade dismissed. The Indian Signals Association Standard was carried by Mr George Hedge for its last outing before being laid up in the Blandford Garrison Church. George’s father had served in Burma in WW2 and George proudly wore his Burma Star and other medals.
Extracted from: The Wire of Royal Signals

IGNOU’s satellite teaching centre for Army Launched in Leh

The Army in alliance with IGNOU today inaugurated a satellite connection with Leh for facilitating distance education to its staff in remote areas, apart from announcing the setting up of an Information Technology Academy together with Microsoft India. Army Chief General V K Singh inaugurated the IGNOU satellite connection with a military base in Leh, thus extending the university’s educational online resources to the army troops set up in the Ladakh region.

This ability, as part of the university and the Army’s combined project Gyandeep, will be simulated soon in other parts of the nation, the Army announced in the occurrence of IGNOU Vice Chancellor Prof Rajashekaran Pillai, Microsoft India chairman and vice president Ravi Venkatesan and Army Western Command chief Lt Gen S R Ghosh.

The IT Academy, which is part of the Army- Microsoft’s ‘Kshamta’ project of the last 1 year under the umbrella of ‘Samarth’ initiatives, would teach Army personnel in IT courses of a variety of levels to authorize them with skills to discover an option post-career retirement.

The flagship plan under ‘Samarth’ is ‘Gyandeep’, which recognizes ‘in service’ training done by soldiers and makes them entitled for the award of guarantee by IGNOU.

Under this plan, over 68,000 soldiers have been registered so far and over 2,300 of them have been awarded diplomas and degrees by now.

‘Kshamta’ was an result of a thoughtful collaboration with Microsoft India aimed at imparting specialized skills like Information Technology and spoken English to soldiers.
IGNOU’s satellite teaching centre for Army Launched in Leh

Gurkha Corps of Signals

31: Gurkha Corps of Signals Badges
History 31: Gurkha Corps of Signals- click here

Royal Corps of Signals (March Past Music)

The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals - abbreviated to R SIGNALS, is one of the combat support arms of the British Army.
The march past music is called, "Begone Dull Care".
Performed by the Band of the Royal Corps of Signals.
Lyrics:
Begone, dull care!
I prithee begone from me;
Begone, dull care!
Thou and I can never agree.
Long while thou hast been tarrying here,
And fain thou wouldst me kill;
But i' faith, dull care,
Thou never shalt have thy will.

Too much care
Will make a young man grey;
Too much care
Will turn an old man to clay.
My wife shall dance, and I shall sing,
So merrily pass the day;
For I hold it is the wisest thing,
To drive dull care away.

Hence, dull care,
I'll none of thy company;
Hence, dull care,
Thou art no pair for me.
We'll hunt the wild boar through the wold,
So merrily pass the day;
And then at night, o'er a cheerful bowl
We'll drive dull care away.

Visit to 2 STC

BEVERLY EX BOYS ASSOCIATION
Chairman Mick Teague Secretary Tony Hull as reported in The WIRE
Whilst on holiday in Goa, India, we were travelling back from a visit to a waterfall, when we passed a military establishment and I saw young recruits with a “Jimmy” on their singlets. I made the taxi driver stop so that I could take a photograph of a young recruit.

He stood so proudly to attention for me. He belonged apparently to 3 Trg Regt, Indian Signals, near the city of Margao.
After 2 weeks in South Goa, we moved up to the capital, Panjim. On our journey we passed another building displaying “Jimmies”. I found out that this was 2 Sig Trg Regt, and decided to pay them a visit.
We were taken into a secretary’s office, and explained the reason for our visit. When the Adjt heard that I was an ex-boy, he called us in immediately.
We were given tea and had a long chat with him. He explained that they have a “Raising Day” on 15 February every year and every unit celebrates this. He said the CO would like to meet us and we were taken upstairs, where we were greeted, very cordially, by Brig K A Cariappa and treated with the utmost courtesy.
The first thing that the Brig said to me was that he would like to confiscate my straw hat, which has the Corps colours and the RSA badge. He went on to explain that they have 4,562 recruits in trg. The recruits used to be taken in at sixteen and a half, but the age has been raised to seventeen and a half, due to an international ruling.
The Army is very important in India because of all their borders and they often have to deal with areas of unrest. The Army has over a million soldiers.

Brig Cariappa presents Indian Signals Corps tie to Tony Hull

Brig Cariappa very kindly presented me with their Corps tie and also a copy of The Signalman, their magazine which is equivalent to The Wire.
Extracted from The WIRE of Royal Signals

Original Treaty of Surrender is displayed in 2STC

Goa Liberation: Goa publicising wrong Treaty of Surrender doc
PTI, PANAJI | 05 July 2011 13:54 IST



The original historic `treaty of surrender’ signed between Indian Army and Portugal Government while liberating Goa, 50 years back, is not with the state government, who are publicising the `letters during surrender’ as the treaty, historians claimed today.

In what could be startling revelation, the historians, who researched the incidents during December 19, 1961, when Goa was liberated after 450 years of Portuguese rule, have said that the original treaty remains to be out of bound of state government.

Sanjiv Sardesai, a historian, said that the original copy is with the Indian Army’s 2STC office in Panaji displayed on the wall. “What we are showing to the public as treaty of surrender is not the original one,” he said.

He pointed out that state government’s official diary has printed an unsigned letter by then Portuguese Chief Commandant of Armed Forces General Manuel Antonio Vassalo e Silva as the treaty.

The confusion over the treaty continues as another different letter in Portuguese signed by Silva is displayed in the Goa state Museum’s gallery on `Goa Freedom Struggle.’

Sardesai said that the actually original treaty has signatures of Major General K P Candeth, who led Operation Vijay to liberate Goa and Silva, who was commandant of armed forces of states of Portuguese India. “It is in Portuguese and same text is translated in English below it,” he explained.

Another historian, Rohit Falgaonkar, said that `the original copy should have been displayed in the Goa state museum so that the people know about it.’

Falgaonkar said that state government should do activities that would bring people closer to the history of the state.

Director of Goa State Museum, Radha Bhave, said that the copy on display was a facsimile from the book on a freedom struggle, which was put as an exhibit since 2004.

“If there is an original copy available, which is different from that, we will surely try to procure it,” she said.

The confusion about the events preceding Goa’s liberation has also percolated to the students. As per the Secondary School Certification examination book `History of Goa’, the treaty was signed between both the parties below the headlights of car of the Governor.

“The document of surrender was signed at 7.30 p.m. on a street at Vasco-da-Gama under headlights of the Car of Portuguese Governor General and submitted to Brig, K S Dhillon,” the para in the book reads.

Sardesai, pointing out at the original treaty, has said that it was signed in Panaji city and that too at 8.30 p.m.
Goa publicising wrong Treaty of Surrender doc

Comment: The Original Treaty of Surrender needs to find its place in the Corps Museum, before it vanishes

US Army Signal Corps Invents Glass Fiber Optics

The Inventors of Glass Fiber Optics at the US Army Signal Corps
The following information was submitted by Richard Sturzebecher, it was originally published in the Army Corp publication "Monmouth Message."
In 1958, at the US Army Signal Corps Labs in Fort Monmouth New Jersey, the Manager of Copper Cable and Wire hated the signal transmission problems caused by lightening and water. He encouraged the Manager of Materials Research, Sam DiVita, to find a replacement for copper wire. Sam thought glass fiber and light signals might work, but the engineers who worked for Sam told him a glass fiber would break! In September 1959, Sam DiVita asked 2nd Lt. Richard Sturzebecher if he knew how to write the formula for a glass fiber capable of transmitting light signals. (Sam had learned that Richard, who was attending the Signal School, had melted 3 triaxial glass systems, using SiO2, for his 1958 senior thesis at Alfred University under Dr. Harold Simpson, Professor of Glass Technology.)

Richard knew the answer. While using a microscope to measuring the index-of-refraction on SiO2 glasses, Richard developed a severe headache. The 60% and 70% SiO2 glass powders under the microscope allowed higher and higher amounts of brilliant, white light to pass through the microscope slide into his eyes. Remembering the headache and the brilliant white light from high SiO2 glass, Richard knew that the formula would be ultra pure SiO2. Richard also knew that Corning made high purity SiO2 powder, by oxidizing pure SiCl4 into SiO2. He suggested that Sam use his power to award a Federal Contract to Corning to develop the fiber.

Sam DiVita had already worked with Corning research people. But he had to make the idea public, because all research laboratories had a right to bid on a Federal contract. So, in 1961 and 1962, the idea of using high purity SiO2 for a glass fiber to transmit light was made public information in a bid solicitation to all research laboratories. As expected, Sam awarded the contract to the Corning Glass Works in Corning, New York in 1962. Federal funding for glass fiber optics at Corning was about $1,000,000 between 1963 and 1970. Signal Corps Federal funding of many research programs on fiber optics until 1985, thereby seeding this industry and making today's multibillion dollar industry that eliminates copper wire in communications a reality.
Today, at age 87, Sam DiVita still comes to work at the US Army Signal Corps every day.
The Inventors of Glass Fiber Optics at the US Army Signal Corps