Miscellaneous Correspondence

Scope and Content

Very miscellaneous correspondence. The letters have been partly arranged in alphabetical order and a basic index of contents created to the letter 'H' (probably post-transfer to Library.

Correspondents include:

  • Agazarian (Wingate's ADC?) n.d. reminiscences of working with Wingate;
  • Air Marshal Sir John Baldwin 28 Feb 1957, re Slim's account of the fly-in, 13 Feb 1962, air support during Operation Thursday and circumstances relating to the air crash in which Wingate died (Baldwin was the last person apart from air crew to speak to Wingate);
  • Arthur Barker 16 Jan 1964, 24 Jan 1964, 10 Feb 1964, 17 Feb 1964, 23 Feb 1964, 2 Mar 1964, opinions of Mutaguchi and his relations with other Japanese generals in 15th Army. Mutaguchi's views of Wingate (Barker had written a study of the Imphal campaign The road to Delhi);
  • Michael Calvert, 21 Sep 1969 copy letter to Major Ellis, Cabinet Office Historical Section, discusses misrepresentations in the official histories; includes comments on the follow up operations during Operation Thursday, jealousy of Indian Army towards Wingate, believes Slim and Harding may have been involved in his own discharge from the Army;
  • F A E Crew, 25 Oct 1966, 28 Nov 196627 Mar 1969, medical matters, and comments on John Masters' claim that some Chindit wounded were shot [Masters was a Chindit officer and later novelist, who briefly took over 111th Brigade, after Lentaigne's promotion](see also TOW/2/6/1);
  • Bernard Fergusson, 21 Dec 1957, says his memory of what was said between Wingate and himself at Aberdeen base is vague and "Some of the dates in the Wild Green Earth are adrift"; also refers to Michael Calvert's alcoholism; 4 Sep 1959, praise for Christopher Sykes' biography of Wingate: "You seem to fear that the book is not pro-Orde enough. My fear was that it might be too pro. I think it is absolutely fair...". , 16 Jan 1962, regrets not being able to undertake a LRP operation against retreating Japanese, comments "I might well have won the Indaw battle if I had done what Orde told me to do: march my six available columns along the crest of the Kyadaung ridge". Describes a recent visit to Burma and adds: I sometimes feel that out of your loyalty to Orde, you brood too much on the past, glorious and frustrating as it was". Also included is a questionnaire of Fergusson's answers to Tulloch concerning the involvement of 16 Brigade in the Indaw operation and support from 14 Brigade(see also TOW/2/6/6);
  • Alice Hey, 3 Mar [1972, her views on Lorna Wingate (her daughter) and the Wingates' home life, also comments on Wingate's attempted suicide;
  • Ted Kelly 13 Apr 1965, deployment of aircraft for different options in Burma; sceptical about Ledo Road offensive; use of flame-throwers; feels Wingate went out of his way to be offensive to colleagues; does not feel efforts of the Chindits yielded the results they "deserved". Believes artillery was important in defeating the Japanese in 1944-5.
  • Lord Mountbatten, photocopy only of letter of 6 April 1965, concerning Churchill's proposal to promote Wingate to lieutenant general; his view was that Wingate needed to demonstrate success during the campaign (which was also Wingate's view);
  • L E C Perowne (Chindit commander, 23 Brigade) 16 Jan 1967, re. the tracks between Kohima and the Chindwin; memories of Wingate at Royal Military Academy; includes a memo by Perowne on close-air support.
  • Sybil Wingate, 25 Oct, 8 Nov, 8 Dec 1962, several letters of personal recollections;
  • Correspondence with Japanese military personnel, includes a transcript of Mutaguchi's views of Wingate's campaign (including the original Japanese); Lt Col. Hiroshi Futa and Gen Mitsusuke Tanaka's answers to Tulloch's questions about the impact of Operation Thursday; also present is a copy of a G W Symes assessment of Japanese views of Chindit operations, dated 27 Jan 1946 (Symes was deputy commander of the Chindits until Wingate's death);
  • unidentified letter relating to the deployment of 14 Brigade (folder 2).