Private Cecil Edward Hurford
1st Battalion, the Devonshire Regiment 5629315
Killed in Action
Date of Birth: 26th of January 1911
Place of Birth: Richmond, Surrey
Date of Death: 23rd of March 1945, aged 34
Buried: Taukkyan War Cemetery, Burma (Myanmar).
Grave reference 25. F. 21.
Awarded the 1939-45 Star and the War Medal 1939-1945
Husband of Ivy A Hurford (née Pickles) of Teignmouth, Devon. Cecil mother's maiden name was Soper.
In the 1939 register, Cecil and Ivy were living at 18, Hutchings Way, Teignmouth, Devon. Cecil was a 'Builders Labourer Heavy Worker'. Ivy A Hurford, born on the 18th of February 1916.
1st Battalion, the Devonshire Regiment
At the outbreak of war, the Battalion was in India. It spent the entire war in India, Ceylon and Burma.
By October 1943 the Battalion was in action near Tamu, patrolling the Kabaw Valley and the line of the River Chindwin until the Japanese offensive began in March 1944. During the next two months, the Devons played a notable part in defending the hills along the Tamu road, which included the notorious Nippon Hill.
The Devons’ part in the successful assault on Nippon Hill cost them 20 killed and 67 wounded. When the Japanese offensive was defeated and General Slim’s Fourteenth Army began to drive their enemy southwards the Devons’ role was to advance up the Iril Valley and cut the Kohima-Ukhrul road behind the retreating Japanese.
Here the 1st Devons faced strong enemy resistance as they conducted sweeps through the jungle to remove pockets of resistance. In a series of actions, the Battalion lost 13 killed and 37 wounded until the road was cleared for the British advance south. In mid-July, they were withdrawn to Imphal to recuperate and prepare for the long advance to Mandalay.
Burma - 14th Army: The Battle of the Sittang Bend. Men of the Queen's Own © IWM Art.IWM ART LD 5617
In November 1944, the Battalion rejoined the advance south and excelled in the bitter battles between the River Irrawaddy and Kyaukse, south of Mandalay. On New Year’s Day, they crossed the River Chindwin. On the 22nd of February 1945, they assaulted and captured Kanlan.
In early March they fought at Sinbyugan before advancing to and attacking Gyo. Late in March, they attacked Letpanpin without success but within two days it was taken and, by the 1st of April, the Devons were in position below Mandalay astride the road to Rangoon.
Cecil was killed in action at Burma, or Myanmar, on the 23rd of March 1945.
Private Cecil Edward Hurford, 1st Battalion, the Devonshire Regiment, 5629315
