238348 Pte. Robert Hansel Norman British Army 10th Btn. Lancashire Fusliers from:22 Church Str. Head, Elvet, Durham City Robert Norman disembarked at Bombay, on the 28th Oct 1944 under Ranchi, India Command.
Due to heavy casualties within each regiment Robert was moved from regiment to regiment and served with Cameronian Highlanders, King's Own Scottish Borderers,
1st Btn. Royal Scots Fusiliers, 10th Btn Lancashire Fusiliers 11th of Jul 1945 and 12th Sherwood Foresters. He embarked from Bombay on the 19th of May 1946.
Robert was my maternal uncle and I have all his photographs, ranging from when he was baptised, through being a schoolboy, and then when in Burma. He was awarded the Burma Star. The dark side was that his eyes show no emotion and stare into space, as if
frozen in complete shock of what he has seen and experienced. In his regiment photo in Bombay he is wearing a Chindit hat.
Post war he never spoke one word of his war-time experiences, as was the case with my father and uncle Jack Norman of the Durham Light Infantry.
He never married, although a tall handsome man of excellent physical stature for his entire life. He retained that 'strange stare', although after several pints his eyes did relax with a twinkle. How many young men
like Robert came back from Burma in that strange trance like stance? The Forgotten Army?
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