Silk map and compass issued to the Chindits

Claude John Wilkinson, born 1903, attended Gresham school in Holt, Norfolk. He was commissioned in 1924 at the Royal Military College and joined the Norfolk Regiment. During the Second World War he commanded the 1st Battalion The Leicestershire Regiment in North Africa. In 1944 he led one of the long- range penetration columns in Burma during Operation Thursday, the second Chindit Expedition. Chindit was the name given to members of the Allied forces fighting behind the lines against the Japanese. All Chindits were issued with the map and compass to enable them, if lost or captured, to find their way back to safety. The compass was easy to hide if you were searched. The silk map, printed with different areas each side, was unaffected by water and could be worn as a scarf or scrunched up for concealment. Brigadier C.J.Wilkinson was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his leadership in action at Indaw, Burma in March 1944. He then commanded the Indian 77th Parachute Brigade. In 1951, he was appointed Colonel, The Royal Norfolk Regiment, until their amalgamation with the Suffolk Regiment in 1959.