The Gurkha Museum – The Savage Wars of Peace

A virtual lecture to mark the 78th anniversary of VJ Day

The war in the Far East ended abruptly, violently and chaotically following the nuclear bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  While the Imperial Japanese Army had been defeated in Burma and was losing the war in the Pacific, her army in Malaya, Hong Kong, French Indo-China, the Netherlands East Indies, Manchuria and Siam was undefeated.  Many of these countries saw the end of the war as their chance for independence and Gurkha, Indian and British troops became responsible for restoring colonial rule and became locked into open combat.  The Allies’ most pressing task was recovering their prisoners of wars and civilian internees knowing little about their condition or locations in camps across South East Asia, China and Japan.  Japan’s sudden surrender created a seismic resetting of the political and social order in the Far East as power vacuums were exploited for political gain and rapid decisions were made with consequences which reverberate today.

The lecture will be delivered by Lieutenant Colonel Mike Tickner who is a serving officer with a long term interest in the British Army in India and particularly the Far East campaigns.  His lecture will be streamed on The Gurkha Museum’s webpage.

We are delighted to deliver this, and our other online lectures, free of charge, however, please consider a donation to support the Museum. The Gurkha Museum Trust is a charity that relies on your support. Every donation large or small enables us to continue celebrating, honouring and promoting the history and culture of the Gurkha Soldier and their continuing service to Britain. Thank you for considering donating. If you wish to keep up-to-date with the Museum’s events and lectures subscribe to our newsletter.