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Private letters from the Governor of Burma to LSA, 1941-05 - 1945-08

 File
Reference Code: GBR/0014/AMEL 2/3/21

Scope and Contents

Letters from Sir Reginald Dorman-Smith to LSA on subjects including: his impressions of Burma [later Myanmar] and his meetings with officials from the Government of India; the political situation in Burma, including Chinese immigration; local hostility towards Indians; setting up a Government in exile following the Japanese invasion; poor relations between Dorman-Smith's staff and the Army; the future of post-war Burma; meetings with General Sir Archibald Wavell [Commander-in-Chief, India] and Dorman-Smith's concerns about Wavell's attitude to the Burma campaign; news of the Japanese occupation; a suggestion that U Saw [Premier of Burma] should be smuggled back into the country; the use of Indian fifth-columnists by the Japanese; immigration policy; the Chin troops; reconstruction; help given to Major-General Orde Wingate's columns by the Burmese; the future of the Governorship and Dorman-Smith's own career; the need to separate the operational command from General Headquarters; the Anglo-Burman and Burman-Indian Conferences; difficult relations between the Governor and the Burma Office; the Indian National Army; food distribution; priorities on Dorman-Smith's return to Burma and difficulties with the attitude of the Treasury and Cabinet; constitutional alternatives, including direct rule and self-government; reasons for a new Governor to be brought in; the Rangoon meeting on the future of Burma (June 1945).

Dates

  • Creation: 1941-05 - 1945-08

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

From the Fonds:

The papers are open for consultation by researchers using Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge.

Extent

2 file(s)

Language of Materials

English

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Fragile.

Former / Other Reference

Box 169

Related Materials

See also AMEL 1/6 for LSA's official India Office papers.

Bibliography

For correspondence between LSA and the Governor of Burma, see also "Burma: the struggle for independence, 1944-1948: documents from official and private sources", edited by Hugh Tinker (HMSO, 1983).

Finding aid date

2004-10-19 15:21:46.513000+00:00

Repository Details

Part of the Churchill Archives Centre Repository

Contact:
Churchill Archives Centre
Churchill College
Cambridge Cambridgeshire CB3 0DS United Kingdom
+44 (0)1223 336087