Ernest John Bennett

His death occurred on 5 September 1945—just three days after the formal, official surrender of Japan was signed aboard the USS Missouri on 2 September 1945, bringing World War II to its absolute conclusion.

At this time, the 1st Battalion was stationed between the frontline areas of the Burma Campaign and the Jungle Warfare Training Camps in India (such as Gudalur), handling the immediate, chaotic aftermath of the ceasefire, managing Japanese surrenders, and dealing with widespread tropical illnesses.

Many soldiers who died in the weeks immediately following the surrender succumbed to the delayed physical toll of jungle combat, injuries, or severe tropical diseases like malaria and dysentery.

In September 1945, the 1st Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment (The Duke of York's Own) was transitioning into its post-war role following years of demanding service in the Far East.
Having spent the majority of the Second World War stationed in British India and fighting through the brutal Burma Campaign, the end of global hostilities in August 1945 completely shifted their operational environment.

Operational Context & Status

Following the Japanese surrender in August 1945, the immediate operational phase of the Burma Campaign concluded.
• Jungle Warfare Training: According to regimental war diaries, after intense combat during the advances along the Rangoon Road and the Sittang River earlier in the year, elements of the battalion spent August and September 1945 at the Jungle Warfare Training Camp in Gudalur (located in the Mysore jungle of India). Here, they were receiving further training, reorganising, and absorbing reinforcements.
• The Repatriation and Leave Phase: By September 1945, with the war officially over, the British Army initiated massive logistical efforts to repatriate long-serving overseas troops under the "Age and Service" demobilisation scheme. Photographic records from late summer 1945 show columns of East Yorkshire soldiers arriving back at the regimental depot at Victoria Barracks in Beverley and parading through Hull city centre after years away.
• The 17th Indian Division: The battalion remained officially attached to the 99th Indian Infantry Brigade (part of the famous 17th Indian Division, known as the "Black Cats"). While parts of the division prepared for post-war garrison and occupation duties in the region, the 1st East Yorkshires technically remained assigned to the Burma/India theatre into 1946 before officially returning to the UK late that year.

Post-War Reorganisation

September 1945 marked the definitive end of the battalion's wartime composition. Over the coming months, the battle-hardened regular soldiers who had fought the Japanese were progressively demobilised and replaced by younger conscripts.
Shortly after their Far East deployment finally wrapped up, the 1st Battalion was sent to Europe to serve as part of the Allied occupation forces in Austria (where they would eventually merge with the 2nd Battalion in 1948).
If you are tracking a specific soldier from the 1st Battalion, sharing their service number or rank can help pinpoint if they were demobilised back to Yorkshire in the autumn of 1945 or remained with the garrison units.