George Albert Cairns

Fought on with an enemy sword after losing his left arm

George Albert Cairns earned a posthumous Victoria Cross for continuing to lead an assault after suffering a devastating wound during the Chindit campaign in Burma. On 13 March 1944, at Henu Block, the lieutenant fought at the forefront of an attack on a Japanese-held hill, refusing to stop even after an enemy officer severed his left arm with a sword.

Cairns served with the Somerset Light Infantry, attached to the 1st Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment. His battalion formed part of the 77th Independent Infantry Brigade, which landed by glider at Broadway on 5 March 1944 to operate behind Japanese lines.

On 12 March, troops from the South Staffordshire Regiment and the 3rd Battalion, 6th Gurkha Rifles established a road and railway block at Henu, disrupting Japanese communications. The following morning, Japanese forces launched a heavy counterattack. The South Staffordshires were ordered to capture the hill from which the enemy attack was being directed.

During the fighting, a Japanese officer struck Cairns with his sword, severing his left arm. Cairns killed his attacker, seized the fallen officer’s weapon and continued leading his men. Fighting with the captured sword, he killed or wounded several enemy soldiers before collapsing. His determination inspired his comrades to press their attack and drive the Japanese from the position.

Born on 12 December 1913, Cairns was 30 when he died of his wounds on 19 March 1944. He was later buried at Taukkyan War Cemetery in Burma, now Myanmar.

His Victoria Cross was announced in The London Gazette on 20 May 1949, more than five years after the battle. It was the last Victoria Cross awarded for Second World War service to be gazetted. His citation recognized both his extraordinary courage and the decisive example he set for the soldiers fighting beside him.