British Indian Army Book recommendations sought, autobiographical best

Discussion in 'British Indian Army' started by davidbfpo, Mar 3, 2023.

  1. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

    A friend based in the USA asked:
    I have a few books, nearly all except the John Masters books are not autobiographical.
     
    Last edited: Mar 3, 2023
  2. Tom OBrien

    Tom OBrien Senior Member

    Quartered Safe Out Here by George Macdonald Fraser might be of interest to him.

    Regards

    Tom
     
  3. idler

    idler GeneralList

    Randle's Battle Tales from Burma?
     
  4. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles

    Beyond the Chindwin by Bernard Fergusson.

    Even the Brave Falter
    by E.D. Smith.
     
  5. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    Maybe borderline for the criteria, but Robert Lyman's Slim book is very readable, and he was certainly BIA at core.

    Screenshot 2023-03-03 172338.jpg
     
  6. Rothy

    Rothy Well-Known Member

    "China Dragons, a rifle company at war, Burma 1944-45", Hill J., Blandford (1991)

    From the cover: “China Dragons is the story of the 196 officers, NCOs and men of B Company, The Royal Berkshire Regiment, who waged war against the Japanese in Burma as the spearhead of the 14th Army’s victorious offensive between November 1944 and June 1945.

     
  7. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

    Looked through the British Indian threads (300 plus) and found these three useful threads:

    Worth a peek as he researches obscure matters: Request Rejected In two parts.

    A few titles appear in: A little help finding personal memoirs etc please

    Then online histories: Short online histories

    Not surprisingly this thread: Books on operations on the North-West Frontier

    Even with my interest in the British Indian Army, mainly 1939-1947 I only have four books:

    Very pre-WW2 Kabul Catastrophe - The Retreat of 1842 by Patrick Macrory, (Pub. 1986 (equal to the retreat from Burma 1942)

    A Matter of Honour: An account of the Indian Army its Officers and men by Philip Mason (Pub. 1974), a classic.

    The Indian Army:and the KIng's Enemies:1900-1947 by Charles Chevenix French (Pub. 1988)

    The Frontier Scouts by Charles Chevenix French (Pub. 1985)

    Long ago I read two books about Slim, though not his classic of service before WW2.
     
    Last edited: Mar 3, 2023
  8. Charley Fortnum

    Charley Fortnum Dreaming of Red Eagles

    If your friend is interested in going back pre-ww2, The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1930) by Major Francis Charles Claypon Yeats-Brown DFC is probably the most famous book ever written on the Indian Army.

    It is his autobiography:
    Francis Yeats-Brown - Wikipedia
     
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  9. Waddell

    Waddell Well-Known Member

    If he is willing to read an autobiography thinly disguised as fiction then David Piper's Trial By Battle is worth reading. Piper was sent to India for officer training around 1940/41 and ended up serving with the 9th Jat Regiment in Malaya before becoming a POW in early 1942. The novel follows the lead characters time training as a signals officer in India before moving on to Malaya. Plenty of detail about Indian soldiers and the IWM Wartime Classics version is easy to find.

    Scott
     
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  10. sol

    sol Very Senior Member

    Autobiographies from the Indian Army are not easy to find. There are not many and some are pretty rare so they are both difficult to find and could be quite expensive. Some of those easily available simple because they are available for Kindle on Amazon and quite cheap are:

    Mountain Battery by Pat Carmichael. Author served in the Indian Mountain Battery in Burma 1942, under command of the 1st Burma Div, and it was one of the best, if not the best, personal experience of the First Burma Campaign. Highly recommended.

    The Brave Shell Inherit the Earth
    by D.O. O'Leary. Author served with 3rd/6th Rajputna Rifles (19th Indian Div) in Burma during 1945. Very good book

    As idler already mentioned, Battle Tales from Burma by John Randle. Author served in 10th/7th Baluch Regiment (17th Indian Div) in Burma and India from 1942 to 1945, so through all war. Keep in mind this is collection of the stories from that period, he is not covering his whole war story just some parts of it.

    Some others that could be find for acceptable prices are:

    A Child at Arms
    by Patric Davis. Author served in 4th/8th Gurkha Rifles (7th Indian Div) in Burma 1945. Very good book.

    Prender's Progress: A Soldier in India 1931-1947 by John Prendergast. Author served the Indian Army before the war, in Norway in 1940 and later in Burma during 1943-45. He was 2IC of the 1st/15th Punjab Regiment until fall of Mandalay and promoted to CO of 3rd/6th Rajputana Rifles (both units were part of 19th Indian Div) until the end of war and after it. Another good book.

    Chhe-Saat: Memoir of the Officer of the 6th/7th Rajput Regiment
    by Stuart Ottowell. Author served in the 6th/7th Rajput Regiment (17th Indian Div but often under 255th Tank Brigade) in Burma during 1945.

    There are many more, if he is interested in some particular topic or period or unit I could recommend some others.
     
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  11. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

    From my friend in the USA, after viewing all the posts:
     
  12. Staffsyeoman

    Staffsyeoman Member

    Anything/everything written by my friend Alan Jeffreys formerly IWM now NAM.

    Alan Jeffreys
     
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  13. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

    Via his substack circular Dr. Robert Lyman refers to his forthcoming work, 'The General Wondered Why: Tales of the British Empire & Army' by Bill Slim. He opens with:
    The Chuck tale is about the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in WW1, from the UK to Iraq; the Indian Army do get a mention.

    Link: Private Richard Chuck, aka The Incorrigible Rogue

    Yes, I have updated my friend in the USA.
     
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  14. Green Ridge

    Green Ridge Member

    Hello, I am a new member and would like to thank those who have contributed book suggestions. I have read Masters - A Bugle and a TIger which was a brilliant book to read.
     
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  15. Green Ridge

    Green Ridge Member

    Another great title which covers the Indian State Forces in Malaya is Durrani - The Sixth Column. Captain (later Lt Col) was from Kabul and was a member of the 1st Bahawalpur Infantry Battalion ISF. Durrani was awarded the George Cross for bravery in resisting efforts to recruit him and others to the INA. This is an inspiring brook from a courageous solider.

    Another very interesting book is "Battle for Malaya: The Indian Army In Defeat 1941-42 by Roy Kaushik. It is a relatively new publication dealing with the British Indian Army units in Malaya. One of the significant differences with this book is Kaushik relies upon primary sources for his information. I enjoyed reading it.
     
    Last edited: Apr 14, 2023
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  16. Green Ridge

    Green Ridge Member

    This may not fall within the scope of the books requested but I recall a book I own titled -

    Peter Ward Fay - The Forgotten Army - the INA.

    What is very interesting about the book is the information it contains about what Indian Army Officers experienced in pre-war British Malaya. It provides some insight into why the INA were successful in their recruitment.
     
  17. davidbfpo

    davidbfpo Patron Patron

  18. Uncle Target

    Uncle Target Mist over Dartmoor

    Battle Tails from Burma
    Pen & Sword Books bought on Kindle so it should be easy to get in the USA.
    Long time since I read it.
    The author served with the 7th Battalion 10th Baluch Regt.

    Baatle Talesfrom Burma.jpg
    Battle Tales from Burma.jpg
     
    Last edited: Oct 31, 2023

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