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Lieutenant George Cairns VC at the Battle of Pagoda Hill, Burma
17 March 1944: In 1995 I watched a television programme about the Chindits, and my attention was riveted by a soldier called Hector Coulter describing how he followed Lieutenant Cairns leading his men in the attack against the Japanese at Pagoda Hill. A Japanese officer with a sword cut off the lieutenant's arm, but Cairns shot his assailant dead, picked up the sword and continued to lead and inspire his men, slashing right and left with his captured weapon and killing several of the enemy before sinking to the ground exhausted. I was so struck by his courage that I felt there ought to be a painting of his action.
With the help of the BBC, I contacted Mr Coulter. He had lost a leg in battle, and told me that his memories were so hideous he wanted to put them behind him. However, I said that it was important that such deeds should not be forgotten, and if I was going to do a painting it should be as accurate as possible. He relented, and was very helpful in answering my questions.
George A. Cairns was born in Tooting, London in 1913 and commissioned into the Somerset Light Infantry in 1941. He was later posted to the 1st Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment, which was part of Wingate's Chindits. The battalion landed by Dakota aircraft at the Broadway airstrip, and marched for six days through the jungle to reach its objective. On a flat-topped hill stood a pagoda and some huts, occupied by the Japanese. Brigadier Mike Calvert gave the order to charge, and the 1st South Staffords and the 3/6th Gurkha Rifles swept up to the top of the dusty slope to engage in hand-to-hand fighting. It was here that Lt Cairns was killed. I interviewed Mike Calvert, and he told me that after the fight was over, he knelt by the mortally wounded Cairns, who asked, "Have we won, sir? Was it all right? Did we do our stuff? Don't worry about me." He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
With the help of Regimental Headquarters The Staffordshire Regiment I was able to meet several veterans who had fought there, and they were all very helpful in describing their recollections. The Royal British Legion organised a visit to the battlefield by former Chindits (including Mike Calvert), and photographs of the location enabled me to portray the background accurately.
The painting was unveiled by Mike Calvert at the Annual Reunion of the Chindit Old Comrades' Association in Walsall, 1996.
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Printed image size(s): B2 only (58 x 38 cm)
Owner: Somerset Military Museum, Taunton
Price(s): £70
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