The wife of a Second World War veteran is backing a campaign to remember the 'forgotten army' with which he fought.

A newspaper in Bristol is calling for a statue of war hero General Bill Slim, whose army defeated the Japanese in Burma, to be built in his birth city.

And Jennie Oakley, whose late husband Ernest served under the General, is giving her full support to the proposals.

Ms Oakley, of Lawnside, Biggleswade, said: "My husband was proud to have served under the command of Bill Slim, who was widely respected by his troops.

"A statue would not only honour General Slim but would be a fitting reminder to ensure that the men who he commanded will not be forgotten either."

The General – later Field Marshall and Viscount Slim of Yarralumla and Bishopston – led a British and Commonwealth army to victory in a bitterly-fought campaign against the Japanese in Burma.

But Slim's troops were known as the Forgotten Army because back home most attention was paid to the war in Europe and North Africa.

Ernest Oakley, who died in 1981, was in the Second Battalion Beds and Herts Regiment and fought in Burma as a Chindit.

Mrs Oakley, who was sent the Bristol Post's article by her son, who is also called Ernest, said: "My husband said that he met Bill Slim when the General offered him a cigarette.

"I don't know why their campaign in Burma did not receive much attention here, particularly as they remained there long after the war ended in Europe."