“To my daughter, one of the two things worth fighting for.”

In the run up to the 75^th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, a heart-breaking final letter from a Liverpudlian soldier to his daughter is among the moving tributes left on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s newly created digital Wall of Remembrance.

On 15 August, the country will mark the 75^th anniversary of VJ Day (Victory over Japan) which finally brought the Second World War to an end. More than 600,000 Commonwealth servicemen and women died in the conflict but with many of the traditional ceremonies planned for this momentous anniversary unable to take place due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Commission is urging the public to pay tribute virtually to the generation who served to secure our peace, on its Wall of Remembrance at www.cwgc.org.

To mark the anniversary, Valerie Gornell shared the last letter her father, Lance Corporal James Ambrose, wrote to her and her mother from India before departing on a mission behind enemy lines that would ultimately cost him his life. She was just 19 months old when the letter was written but would remain unaware of its existence for almost sixty years.

Valerie takes up the story: “My father James was from Liverpool and a member of the Kings (Liverpool) Regiment but he underwent specialist training to become a “Chindit”, an elite Commonwealth force who fought behind enemy lines in the jungles of Burma. In 1942 he set off on a mission but was captured by the Japanese. He died as a prisoner of war in Rangoon Jail, Burma in November 1943. He was just 29 years old.”

“It wasn’t until after the war was over that my mother was informed of his death. She was so distraught and never remarried. I learnt from an early age never to mention the war.”

“And then suddenly, almost sixty years later, mum handed me a box in which she’d kept a birthday card my father had sent from India and his last letter. Inside the birthday card he had written “To my daughter, one of the two things worth fighting for.” The box also had letters and a form from the Commission, asking my mother to complete certain details and return it, but it had obviously been too painful for her and she just filed it away with the rest of her treasured possessions.”  

The letter from James to Val, his baby daughter reads:

‘To my darling daughter,

How sorry I am to be away from you, missing all your roguish pranks, but never mind I shall be home in time for the age when you will be big enough to go on walks with me; ride on bicycles together, then on an evening sit by a nice fire and I’ll read you a story out of your story book and then tuck you into bed, and be there at morning to wake you up and take you down to breakfast, which your mummy will have ready for us. How nice it will be when we get to know each other properly…. but cheer up my dear the day is not far off when your mummy will say “daddy is coming home today”

Till then my dear, may God watch over you and your mother.’

In 2003 Val managed to visit her father’s grave in CWGC Rangoon War Cemetery, the final resting place of 1,381 Commonwealth servicemen of the Second World War.

“It was wonderful to finally visit his grave and see how beautiful the cemetery is. This year being able to leave a tribute on the Commission’s Wall of Remembrance means the world. Just a reminder that my family will never forget dad or his comrades.”

Liz Woodfield, Director of Information and Communications at the CWGC said:

“We are pleased to be able to make Valerie’s story available as a piece of World War history which can help deepen our understanding of how the Second World War impacted those who were left behind. We want to give people a way to honour those brave men and women who gave their lives in the World Wars by creating this virtual Wall of Remembrance. Whether it is a simple thank you, a picture or a few lines of text, we want to collect as many tributes as possible. Despite trying circumstances, we will ensure that these men and women are remembered in perpetuity”