Private James F Brotheridge

Private James Fearon Brotheridge served with Airborne Forces in India in 1945 with 15th (Kings) Parachute Battalion.

OBITUARY

James Fearon Brotheridge

James Brotheridge died peacefully at his home in Lancaster on 12th June 2014 at the age of 92. Born in Lancaster he left school and became an apprentice upholsterer at the Waring and Gillows furniture makers. He joined the 350/88 Field Battery, Royal Artillery (Territorial) in 1938 and was mobilised at the outbreak of the Second World War into an anti-aircraft regiment. During the London Blitz in 1940 he served in the 161 (City of London) Anti-Aircraft Battery of 54 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment around Clapham Common.

In 1942 he was shipped to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and defended Trincomalee as part of 63 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA but was transferred to India in July 1943 with 70 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RA. Due to the demand for more infantry in the Burma Campaign he was posted first to 1st Battalion North Staffordshire Regt. then to 7th Battalion South Lancashire Regt. in 1944 and finally to 1st Battalion The King’s Regt, depleted after their Chindit campaigns.

James volunteered for parachute training with the newly formed 44th Indian Airborne Division in March 1945 and after qualifying for his parachute wings with day and night jumps at the Rawalpindi Airborne Depot his unit became the 15th (King’s) Parachute Battalion, part of 77th Indian Parachute Brigade and moved to Bilaspur. The Indian Airborne Division was preparing for the recapture of Malaya when Japan capitulated and the war in the Far East ended.

Arriving back in England in November 1945 James spent the next few months at the Army Air Corps depot in Chesterfield before being released in May 1946 and taking up his pre-war trade as upholsterer with Waring and Gillows in Lancaster until it closed in 1962. Marrying Margaret in 1947 and raising five children he enjoyed a full life, spending holidays in his second home of Connemara, Ireland and working as a nursing assistant at Lancaster Moor Hospital. Margaret passed away suddenly in 1996 and he enjoyed the support of his family thereafter. Despite operations in his later years he was not one to complain and was keen to maintain his independance. Speaking rarely about his wartime experiences he was nevertheless proud of being part of the Airborne Brotherhood, earning the Burma Star and wearing the Parachute Regiment badge on his blazer. James contributed to the Pegasus Journal with photographs over recent years and added to Paradata. He will be missed by all his family and friends. His funeral took place at Lancaster Cathedral on 27th June 2014.