A Family Wiped-Out/Lost

Isobella Grinnol was my grandmother and she remained in Burma when we evacuated in 1942. She would not leave her home or her servants who had been with the family all their lives. When Rangoon fell to the Japanese and her home was looted and destroyed she and some of her house servants joined a group of people trying to escape from Burma by walking to India. They had a long a difficult march being straffed by Japanese planes and living rough off the land. They were taken prisoner on the banks of the Chindwin river. Isobella was a prisoer of war for three years and died three months after being freed. She had been living in a small hut the size of a dog kennel and had contracted cancer which had been left untreated. My mother lost all her family in Burma and found herself in England with four chidren to care for and alone. My grandmother was a fantastic lady, well respected and loved by all. I was the fifth generation of our family to be born in Burma.

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