Second World War

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FIBIS resources

  • "Indian Army Prisoners of War in the Second World War" by Hedley Sutton FIBIS Journal, No 12 (Autumn 2004). For details of how to access this article online, see FIBIS Journals.
An alphabetical listing by surname of nearly 900 Indian Army personnel who became prisoners of war between 1941 and 1945 is available at the British Library. Most were held by the Japanese, with some held by the Italians.The vast majority are Europeans, but a handful of Indians are recorded; plus a few Indian Medical Service nursing sisters

Also see

Service Records

British Library holdings

India Office Records

  • IOR/L/MIL/14/143 3 Sep 1939-30 Jun 1948. Indian Army Officers Casualty Returns: Alphabetical lists of casualties by death among British officers and warrant officers of the Indian and Burma Services 3 Sep giving rank, age, unit, date, place and cause. Possibly may provide information additional to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database information (refer below).
  • IOR/L/MIL/17/5/4247-4285 Indian Army: Second World War 1932-1947

Other

The History of the Second World War is a 75 volume official history published by HMSO 1949-1976, consisting of 28 volumes in the United Kingdom Civil Series, 21 volumes in the United Kingdom Medical Series and 26 volumes in the United Kingdom Military Series . Details are set out in this Wikipedia page and the link Hyperwar: British Official Histories.

A subcategory of the United Kingdom Military Series is the 5 volume series War Against Japan

  • War Against Japan, Volume 1: The Loss of Singapore, Kirby, S. Woodburn et al. London: HMSO, 1957.
  • War Against Japan, Volume 2: India's Most Dangerous Hour, Kirby, S. Woodburn et al. London: HMSO, 1958.
  • War Against Japan, Volume 3: The Decisive Battles, Kirby, S. Woodburn et al. London: HMSO, 1961.
  • War Against Japan, Volume 4: The Reconquest of Burma, Kirby, S. Woodburn et al. London: HMSO, 1965.
  • War Against Japan, Volume 5: The Surrender of Japan, Kirby, S. Woodburn et al. London: HMSO, 1969.

Part of the United Kingdom Medical Series is the publication The Army Medical Services, Campaigns, Volume 5: Burma, Crew, Francis A. E. London: HMSO, 1966

Regimental Histories

  • Fourth Indian Division by Lieut-Colonel GR Stevens OBE, published c 1948. "The 4th was one of the most celebrated Divisions of WW2, combining some of the most illustrious Regiments of the British and Indian Armies. It travelled 15,000 miles and suffered 25,000 casualties during its five years of service in Eritrea, Syria, the Western Desert, Tunisia, Italy and Greece. It particularly distinguished itself at Cassino".

Also see Historical books online below.

Medals

External links

  • Indian Army July 1939 by Dr Graham Watson. indianmilitaryhistory.org, now an archived website.
  • Order of Battle Indian Army Beginning 1940 Nafziger Collection, cgsc.edu. The information is referenced as: Kirby, Stanley, Woodburn, The War Against Japan, London, Her Majesty's Stationary Office, 1961.
  • Commonwealth War Graves Commission includes searchable database.
  • WW2Talk Forum. A Message Board for most aspects of the War.
  • World War II Forum, an American site. A Message Board for most aspects of the War, with an American focus.
  • WW2 People’s War "An archive of World War Two memories-written by the public, gathered by the BBC". Written between June 2003 and January 2006. www.bbc.co.uk. If you can't find an article you are looking for, Google "BBC-WW2 People's War" and your search term.
  • The Indian Army 1939-47: Experience and Development. The Second World War Military Operations Research Group
  • "Contribution of the Indian Armed Forces to the Second World War": IDSA Special Feature January 2013 download pdf IDSA-Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi. Includes the advice that twenty five volumes in the Official History series were published.
  • British Formation Badges 1939-1945. They were worn on the upper sleeve in pairs, on epaulets, on head gear etc. petergh.f2s.com. Also known as a flash, or a tactical recognition flash.

Middle East and North Africa

  • Refer Historical books online, below
  • An Indian POW in Italy Satyen Basu, a doctor from Calcutta, joined the Indian Medical Service early in the Second World War and served with the Allied forces in Iraq, Syria and North Africa. His unit surrendered near Tobruk in 1942 and he was transported to a POW camp in southern Italy, not far from Naples. amitavghosh.com. Scroll to the bottom of the page for Part 1. A Doctor in the Army by Satyen Basu (Calcutta 1960) is available at the British Library
  • Several Pakistani Generals were Italian POWs Officers of the 3rd Indian Motor Brigade during the Battle of Ghazala 1942 were captured when their brigade was overrun by the Afrika Korps on the very first day of the battle, and sent to POW camps in Italy, and later Germany. (retrieved 26 May 2014)

China-Burma-India (CBI)

Photographs

Singapore and Malaya

  • "The ‘Singapore Strategy’ and the Deterrence of Japan: Winston Churchill, the Admiralty, and the Dispatch of Force Z" by Christopher M Bell originally from English Historical Review, vol. 116, 467 (June 2001), 604-34. academia.edu
  • Fall of Malaya and Singapore from The Rising Sun, part of Ron Taylor’s Britain at War website
  • FEPOW Community Far East Prisoners of War, part of Ron Taylor’s Britain at War website
  • Singapore National Library e book entry They Died For All Free Men by Surjan Singh available to read online as Limited Preview. The tags for this book include include India. Army; Sikhs- Singapore; World War, 1939-1945--Registers of dead—Singapore; World War, 1939-1945--Registers of dead--India; Soldiers' monument--Singapore. This book is also available at the Imperial War Museums, with this catalogue entry
  • IWM catalogue entry with details of the service history of Lieutenant J Gordon Smith platoon commander in the 2nd Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (12th Indian Infantry Brigade, 11th Indian Division) from (?) July 1941 in Singapore and Malaya, his eventual capture in late January, 1942 and his time in the camps on the Burma - Siam railway. His memoir is War Memories: A Medical Student In Malaya And Thailand
  • Eric Lomax obituary (1919-2012) The Guardian 10 October 2012. A member of the Royal Signals, he was in Singapore at the surrender and became a POW working on the Burma-Siam railway. His memoir is The Railway Man, now also released as a movie of the same name.
  • Obituary: Ron Burton 09 October 2013 The Telegraph. He was Sergeant, 125 Anti-Tank Regiment Royal Artillery (125 ATR), taken prisoner after the fall of Singapore.
  • "Cover-ups and the Singapore Traitor Affair" by Peter Elphick 28 November 2001- presented at the Fall of Singapore 60th Anniversary Conference, National University of Singapore, 16-17 February 2002. A Captain in the Indian Army, Patrick Vaughan Heenan was executed on Friday 13th February 1942, two days before Singapore surrendered, for being a traitor. ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission)

Borneo

Indonesia (Sumatra)

  • Chapter 9: "The Last Voyage and End of My Sea Career" from his autobiography Lest I Forget by Khwaja Sayeed Shahabuddin. In March, 1942 he was a Cadet on the 'Chilka' on the way to Padang in Sumatra to evacuate families and troops from Sumatra when it was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. He subsequently became a POW until the end of the war. His story continues to Chapter 20.

Hong Kong

French Indo-China

Miscellaneous

Historical books online

  • Despatches Published in the London Gazette includes a number relating to Burma and South East Asia, in addition to the Middle East, North Africa, Malaya, etc. from "HyperWar: World War II on the World Wide Web", section "The United Kingdom in the Second World War".
  • India in World War II. Details of the Official History of the Indian Armed Forces In the Second World War by the Combined Inter-Services Historical Section (India & Pakistan), published in the 1950s and 1960s. From "HyperWar: World War II on the World Wide Web". HyperWar describes two volumes in the Medical Services series, however there are seven in total. The complete Medical Services series is v. 1. Administration.--v. 2. Medicine, surgery and pathology.--v. 3. Campaigns in the Western Theatre.--v. 4. Preventive medicine (nutrition, malaria control and prevention of diseases).(1961)--v. 5. Statistics (1962).--v. 6. Medical stores and equipment. (1963)--v. 7. Campaigns in the Eastern Theatre. Further details of the series generally in the Book Survey by Stone&Stone. A set of eight volumes was reprinted in 2012.[2] Many of the Official History publications are available at the British Library. The online transcription publications on HyperWar are
It appears that a total of 25 Official History volumes were published, series General Editor Dr Bisheshwar Prasad, seven volumes in the Medical Services series above, together with: Campaigns in the Eastern theatre: [v.1] Campaigns in South-East Asia, 1941-42 (Hong Kong, Malaya, Borneo).-[v.2] The retreat from Burma, 1941-42.-[v.3] Arakan operations, 1942-45.-[v.4,5] Reconquest of Burma, 1942-45.-[v.6] Post-war occupation forces : Japan and South-East Asia. Campaigns in the Western theatre [v.1] North African campaign, 1940-43.-[v.2] Campaign in western Asia (Iraq, Syria, Iran and Paiforce).-[v.3] Campaigns in Italy.-[v.4] East African campaign 1940-41. General war administration and organisation: [v] The Royal Indian Navy 1939-1945. [v] History of the Indian Air Force, 1933-45. [v] The Corps of Indian Engineers, 1939-1947. [v] Technical services: ordnance and I.E.M.E. [v] Expansion of the armed forces and defence organisation, 1939-45. [v] Defence of India: Policy and Plans. [v] Indian War Economy: Supply, Industry & Finance. [v] India and the War.
The following volumes may be viewed online on the Digital Library of India website, with TIFF format for single pages, or as pdf downloads.
  • Series: Campaigns in the Eastern Theatre
Restricted access Hathi Trust Digital Library, probably only available through a University or similar: The Retreat from Burma, 1941-42, History of the Indian Air Force, 1933-45, India and the War, Expansion of the Armed Forces and Defense Organization, 1939-45 Medical Services: 7 volumes
  • The Tiger Strikes : India's fight in the Middle East by W. G Hingston may be viewed online on the Digital Library of India website, catalogued as The Tiger Strikes. Pdf download. Alternative title: The Tiger Strikes (A record of the exploits of troops from India in the theatre of war of the Middle East during 1940-41.) The narrative of the Eritrean campaign, the battle of Sidi Barrani, and the Syrian campaign. Published for the Government of India.
  • The Tiger Kills: The story of the Indian Divisions in the North African campaign by Lieut.-Colonel-W. G. Hingston and Lieut.-Colonel G. R. Stevens may be viewed online on the Digital Library of India website, catalogued as The Tiger Kills, barcodes 99999990824648, 99999990848542. pdf download 1944, barcode 99999990795891. The Western Desert from 1941 onwards, and the Tunisian campaign. Also available as a reprint by Military Library Research Service Ltd (Jun 2004)
  • The Tiger Triumphs: The Story of Three Great Divisions in Italy Published by His Majesty’s Stationery Office for the Government of India 1946 "The Fourth, Eighth and Tenth Indian Divisions will forever be associated with the fighting for Cassino, the capture of Rome, the Arno Valley, the liberation of Florence and the breaking of the Gothic Line". Transcribed by Chris Gage ibiblio.org. Alternative version from ourstory.info AFS [American Field Service]
  • Four short histories, from a series of at least ten,[3] published under the authority of the Director of Public Relations, War Department , Government of India Archive.org . Note: Original pages have been filmed two to each digital page, and you may need to adjust settings to read all the pages. Select the single page viewing option.
  • Eastern Epic Volume I 1951. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Full title: Eastern Epic Volume I September 1939 - March 1943 Defence by Sir Compton Mackenzie. "The story of India's efforts during the war" Includes the activities of Indian forces in the various theatres-North Africa, the Near East and Southeast Asia. Volume I appears to have been the only volume published.
  • The March On Delhi by A J Barker 1963. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. The title refers to Japanese plans for a "march on Delhi", following March 1944 when the 15th Japanese Imperial Army, supported by forces of the Indian National Army, crossed the Chindwin to invade India. Includes material supplied by Japanese commanders. The author served as an army air liaison officer during the siege of Imphal.
  • A Roll of Honour: the Story of the Indian Army by Major General J. G. Elliott. Full title appears to be A Roll of Honour: the Story of the Indian Army, 1939-1945, published 1965. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
  • The Indian Engineers, 1939-47 by Lieut Colonel E. W. C. Sandes 1956. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
  • Hyperwar: CBI Theater of Operations from "HyperWar: World War II on the World Wide Web".
  • Indian Army Triumphant in Burma by Dr Anil Chandra 1984. Full title: Indian Army triumphant in Burma : the Burmese campaign, 1941-45. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
  • Burma During Japanese Occupation Volume II 1944. A government Burma Intelligence Bureau report, published at Simla. Pdf file to download, Digital Library of India.
  • Crisis Fleeting. Original Reports On Military Medicine In India And Burma 
In The Second World War Compiled and Edited by 
James H. Stone. Office Of The Surgeon General 
Department Of The Army 
Washington, D.C., 1969. Website of the US Army Medical Department, Office of Medical History
  • Imphal: A Flower On Lofty Heights by Lieutenant-General Sir Geoffrey Evans and Antony Brett-James 1962 Archive.org
  • Trek Back From Burma by W G Burchett, first published c 1943. Two different pdf files to download: A, B Digital Library of India. The author was a journalist initially covered the Sino-Japanese War . Early in 1942 he covered the rout of British forces in Burma then from June travelled extensively through Kuomintang-controlled China and eventually returned to India through Burma.
  • Chungking Diary by D F Karaka. 1942. Pdf download, Digital Library of India
With The 14th Army by D F Karaka, War Correspondent, The Bombay Chronicle. 1944. A personal diary. Pdf download, Digital Library of India
  • Wings Over Burma by Kenneth Hemingway 1944. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
  • Wingate's Raiders. An Account of the Incredible Adventure that Raised the Curtain on the Battle for Burma by Charles J Rolo , first published 1944. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
  • With Wingate In Burma by David Halley 1945. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
  • Chindit Column 76 by W.A. Wilcox 1945. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
  • Wrath In Burma by Fred Eldridge 1946. Pdf download, Digital Library of India. Full title: Wrath in Burma : the uncensored story of General Stilwell and international maneuvers in the Far East.
  • Burma And The Japanese Invader by Christian John Leroy 1945. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
  • The War In Burma by Roy Mckelvie 1948. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
  • Defeat into Victory by Sir William Slim, 1956, about the Burma Campaign, is available to read online on the Digital Library of India website. Contents, computer page 9. Pdf download
  • From the field service [American Field Service AFS]
    • Ball Of Fire: The Fifth Indian Division in the Second World War by Antony Brett-James, 1951
    • Burma Diary by Paul Geren published 1943. In 1941 Paul Geren agreed to spend two years at Judson College in Rangoon, Burma, as a short-term missionary under the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society. Following the Japanese bombing Professor Geren's classroom became a field hospital as he offered his services as an ambulance driver to Dr. Gordon Seagrave, the famed Burma surgeon. He later trekked to India.
    • American Sahib by John Frederick Muehl 1946 He was with the American Field Service, attached to the British Indian Army. Also available on Archive.org
    • Victory in Burma published July, 1945 by British Information Services, New York
  • Text from Navvies To The Fourteenth Army by AH Pilcher c 1947 is available as pdf downloads from the Koi Hai website, located under Memories, the Henderson Family Scroll down to the item dated October 12, 2009; the direct link for the main text. Note: Depending on your browser, you may need to locate the downloads in your downloads folder. The downloads do not contain the illustrations and maps from the original publication. The author was Col. A H Pilcher who at the outbreak of the second world war commanded the Assam Valley Light Horse. In March 1942 he was put in charge of raising a labour force from the Tea Plantations to build the Manipur/Burma Road to evacuate the 14th Army and also the many civilians who were fleeing Burma. Eventually he raised and commanded a labour force of 82000 [4] This book (55 pages) was published in Calcutta for Private Circulation and was illustrated with black and white plates and line drawing maps. [5] The British Library has a catalogue reference Mss Eur F174/1316, but it is not stated whether this is the printed book, or a manuscript. The book is available at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Library, University of London.
  • Forgotten Frontier by Geoffrey Tyson, published 1945, may be viewed online on the Digital Library of India website, including as a pdf download. The book is about the escape of refugees from Burma in 1942 and the help provided by the tea planters of Assam in assisting the refugees from North Burma into India.
  • The following are available on Archive.org in the Lending Library (Only one reader may read at any one time, and you may need to reserve the book if it is on loan) Burma Surgeon by Gordon S Seagrave Lieut. United States Army Forces in China, Burma, India. 1943, and Burma Surgeon Returns by Gordon S Seagrave MD 1946. These two books are also available to read online on the Digital Library of India website - Burma Surgeon: Pdf download; Burma Surgeon Returns: Pdf download The missionary surgeon and his "Burmese Nurses". "Book one describes the walkout with Stilwell, who he calls "Uncle Joe" and their service for the refugees streaming out of Burma and with the Chinese army in India. Book two describes the return with the Chinese and American army while the Ledo Road is build and the north of Burma and the west of Yunnan are liberated and the combined Ledo Road & Burma Road are reopened"[6]
  • Burma under the Japanese : Pictures and Portraits by Thakin Nu, Prime Minister of Burma. Edited and translated, with introduction, by J.S. Furnivall 1954 Archive.org
  • Singapore And After: A Study Of The Pacific Campaign 1942. The author is stated elsewhere to be Joseph Montague Kenworthy, Hon., Baron Strabolgi. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
  • Last Flight From Singapore by Arthur G. Donahue 1943.The book tells the story of the battle, in particular the air battle for Singapore and the subsequent battle in the air over the jungle. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
  • Malayan Postscript by Ian Morrison,1943. The Malayan jungle campaign and the disaster of Singapore. Pdf download, DSpace, National Library of Malaysia.
  • Why Singapore Fell by Lieut Gen H. Gordon Bennett 1945. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
  • Why We Lost Singapore by Dorothy Crisp 1945. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
  • Percival and the Tragedy of Singapore by Sir John Smyth 1971. Pdf download, Repositori Digital, digital repository of the National Library of Malaysia.
  • Main Fleet To Singapore by Captain Russell Grenfell, R N. 1952. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
  • The Monastery. Full title: The Monastery. An account of the assault of the Abbey of Monte Cassino in 1944 by Fred Majdalany 1945. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
  • Neither Fear Nor Hope. Full title: Neither Fear nor Hope. The wartime career of General Frido von Senger und Etterlin, defender of Cassino. Translated by George Malcolm. 1963. The memoir of General Frido von Senger, first published in the German language in 1960 as Krieg in Europa. Pdf download, Digital Library of India.
  • One Hundred Years of Army Nursing : The Story of the British Army Nursing Service from the time of Florence Nightingale to the present day by John Hay Beith 1953 Archive.org. Contains chapters on WW2, including India and Burma.
  • Rank and Badges in the Army, Navy, R.A.F. and Auxiliaries edited by E C Talbot- Booth 1943 Archive.org

References

  1. ↑ London Gazette Tuesday 18 August 1942 Supplement: 35670 Page: 3601
  2. ↑ WW2Talk Forum post Official History of Indian Armed Forces in the Second World War reprints (retrieved 31 May 2014)
  3. ↑ WW2Talk Forum thread Short online Histories, category British Indian Army
  4. ↑ Scroll down to comments section Jungle Work: A Civil Engineer in Burma BBC ww2peopleswar
  5. ↑ marelibri.com, page no longer accessible
  6. ↑ The Burma Road tinyadventurestours.com

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