Lt. Eric Talbot Shakespear Miles
British Army 4 Troop, B Squadron 25th Dragoons
from:Buenos Aires, Argentina
Eric Miles was a volunteer from Argentina. He joined the 25th Dragoons and was the troop leader of three M3 Lee tanks in the Battle of The Admin Box in February 1944. His troop of Lees of B Squadron provided support and covering fire to the West Yorks in recapturing the main dressing station on the 9th February after it was attacked by Japanese and JIF forces, who savagely murdered thirty-one patients and four doctors during the night of 7th of February 1944.
On 11th of February, a tank of Lt. Miles's troop was hit above the hatch of the 75mm loader's position, which ignited the cordite laid out for firing and fatally burnt the crew. Whilst attempting to tow out the disabled tank, Lt. Miles's tank caught fire and exploded just after the crew had bailed out. One of its crew, John Monger, was awarded the MM for his part in securing the tow. Following the relief of the Admin Box on 24th of February, 5,000 dead Japanese were counted and perhaps more unaccounted for. It was the first defeat of the Japanese in Burma. Afterwards, the 25th Dragoons converted to Shermans and prepared for an amphibious attack on Malaysia in DD Shermans with rubber skirts, but the attack never happened.
Lt. Miles was released from service on 21 October 1946 and returned to England, where no one was interested in The Forgotten Army. Afterwards he returned to Argentina, where he found a fascist government in power and discovered that all the jobs had long been taken by those who had stayed behind.
