‘I’d rather be shot at than blown up’: A Jungle Ambush

Photo: Production of Mills Grenades, August 1942. Getty Images The following is a report written by 2/Lt. Joseph Marlam.  Marlam was an Anglo-Indian who had been recruited by SOE to act as an interpreter at the SOE jungle training camp...

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The Burma Gallantry Medal: Havildar La Shi Naw

Photo credit: Steve Fogden's superb Chindit website The Burma Gallantry Medal (BGM) was established by Royal Warrant on 10 May 1940 to be awarded to Burmese personnel serving in the various units formed for the defence of Burma.    Former soldier,...

‘If funds short sell rifle’: A glimpse of Operation Heavy

This post was inspired by the record of Jemadar Kolu Ban.  Kolu Ban, it seems, had an alcohol problem, which made him unusual; in no other file (to date) is there a reference to a member of Burma's Force 136...

Airpower & Elephant Point: Taking Rangoon, May 1945

Gurkhas of 50 Indian Parachute Brigade get ready to emplane.  Photograph credit: Here  In early May 1945, it was the troops of 26 Indian Division who eventually reclaimed Rangoon from Imperial Japan.  Codenamed Dracula, the seaborne invasion forces defied the...

‘Monkey Nuts are Rotten’

    The Mergui Archipelago: Picture Credit Tom H Trip Advisor upload The title for this post comes from the identification password that was used to exfiltrate the Corton team from Elphinstone Island in October 1944.  The correct reply was...

Only Rohingya? Burmese Nationalists and Special Operations during the Second World War.

Map Credit The press has been full of opinions about the current crisis in Rakhine State having its roots in the Second World War.  Here is a sample of what has been said: http://statecrime.org/data/2015/10/ISCI-Rohingya-Report-PUBLISHED-VERSION.pdf ISCI’s fieldwork reveals a persistent memory...

The Problem with Charlie: A Chin on Special Operations

Map Credit: Chin Community Ministry Recorded variously as 'Charlie Thangkung', 'Thang Kung' and Lieutenant Thaung Kong, this post is all about the Chin W/T operator who was referred to by these names in the SOE files.  It is not clear...

On Leadership: the role of ‘Forgotten Allies’

The 'Men of SOE' Roll of Honour on this website has  112 men added to it as of 3 December 2017.  If you are one of the many visitors to this page, you will know that the aim is to...

SOE Tradecraft: advice for agents going behind the lines

Ramree island entered the Guinness Book of Records for being the place where the biggest crocodile feast upon human flesh is supposed to have happened.  After the Allies invaded in January 1945, the Japanese are said to have taken to...

Remembrance Sunday in Burma, November 2017.

On the anniversary of VJ Day 2017, the author Philip Davies published his long anticipated book, 'Lost Warriors', about the exploits of two extraordinary Second World War soldiers.  There are, of course, many extraordinary tales of heroism and bravery that...

‘Not very promising in appearance’: A Kachin on Special Operations

  In my attempt to reveal the diversity of those employed by the Special Operations Executive to help fight the war against Japan in Burma, this next post is all about a Kachin leader.  While his brothers have the 'lion's...

A Doctor on Special Operations

Frontispiece from Captain Duncan Guthrie's Jungle Diary Very often, on the TV and in books, the jungle conditions of Burma are given prominence for being so inhospitable.  Conditions certainly weren't easy, but perhaps it is all relative.  Special Operations in the...

[4min read] Mahout 2: The Frailty of Special Operations

This post follows on from Mahout 1 A Second World War Parachutist: Credit here After Sunil Datta Gupta (SDG) landed in June 1943, he was supposed to rendezvous with his fellow Mahout 1 agent, but after months of trying he...

Mahout 1: An Indian Agent in Burma

The work of Force 136 in Burma was not all about training Karens and Kachins to fight as guerrillas.  In an earlier blog post, the story of a Chinese agent called Li Jui was told.  Here is the story of...

The ‘Interrogation’ of Rifleman Bhimbahadur Rai

What follows is a transcription from the original found in the National Archives.  I have made no changes from the original except to add in square brackets where one word was unintelligible.  Afterwards, some context and issues with the source...

Of Mouse and Men: SOE in the Arakan, 1945

From The Royal Indian Navy, 1939-45, part of The Official History of the Indian Armed Forces in the Second World War, taken from a blog by @GibbinsDavid What follows after a brief introduction are excerpts from the report written by Captain Blathwayt about...

[5min read] A Far Eastern Dunkirk?

  'It was Dunkirk and the summer of 1940 repeating itself, but instead of the R.A.F. and the Battle of Britain the monsoon and the Assam mountain barrier gave us the time in which to recover for the second round.'...

[5min read] Li Jui – The Extraordinary Tale of a Chinese Agent in Burma

The 'Panda' Li Jui, TNA, HS 1/6 Li Jui was a Chinese agent who was parachuted into Burma on 29 June 1944.   Li Jui’s operation was designated Hensingham and he was tasked with making his way to Mandalay to find out...

Lysanders over Burma

Lysander over the Burmese jungle, photograph courtesy of Simon Leney, W/T Sergeant Leney's son: Operation Character, 1945. The Lysander, or 'Lizzie', is well known for its wartime service in Europe.  The aircraft entered service in 1938 and apparently holds the...

1min read: Publishing ‘SOE in Burma’

Thesis to Book #thesistobook What Have I learnt About Publishing So Far? Have a look at this blog post by @thomsonpat who has more advice than me.  @annerhanley has also written an excellent couple of blog posts about publishing her PhD...