Veterans' Stories from the Burma Campaign

Jeremy Archer shares first-hand accounts from veterans who served in one of the Second World War's most arduous campaigns.

Published in 2022, Jeremy Archer's book ‘The Final Curtain: Burma 1941-1945’ comprises interviews with some of the very few surviving veterans of this most gruelling of campaigns. In their own words, soldiers, sailors and airmen vividly recount the experiences they endured more than 80 years ago.

This is oral history at its best, from officers and men of the Fourteenth Army - a formation which comprised some 100,000 British and other Commonwealth personnel, 340,000 from the subcontinent, and 90,000 East and West Africans.

The interviewees include individuals from all these groups. Their accounts cover the retreat from Burma, the Chindit operations behind Japanese lines, the hard-fought struggle in the Arakan, the crucial battles at Kohima and Imphal, and the final advance to Rangoon, culminating in a decisive victory.

About the speaker

Jeremy Archer served with The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment for a decade, before working in the City for almost 30 years. He has been a Trustee of the Burma Star Association since 2012, focusing on fundraising and also bringing Burma veterans’ stories to a wider audience. His numerous military history publications include co-editing ‘The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment 1958-2007’, ‘The Old County Regiments: from Plassey to the Somme’, and ‘A Military Miscellany’.