The Army in Burma Reserve of Officers ( A.B.R.O.)
A Project by Vivian Rodrigues
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Introduction The Army in Burma Reserve of Officers (ABRO) was a British colonial army formation of volunteers that saw service during the Second World War (WW2) in South East Asia (particularly India and Burma). Appointments, promotions (to Captain, Major etc), and Citations for Valour, were approved by King George VI, and published in the London Gazette. The commencement of the ABRO is not on record; a suggested date is the separation of India and Burma in 1937. Prior to then, there was the “Army in India Reserve of Officers”, which co-existed during the Second World War and whose officers also served in the India and Burma. The Army in Burma Reserve of Officers (ABRO) did not serve as a single fighting unit, but were distributed across the British/Indian fighting formations, including the Burma Regiment, The Burma Rifles, the Kachin Levies and the Chin Levies. Many were engaged in support of the fighting forces, in line of communications tasks, including in Military Intelligence, Field Security, Transport and Medical services, Radio Communications, Road and Bridge building. Others officered Force 136 (Burma Section), supported V Force and acted as liaison officers to the American forces (OSS Detachment 101) that was active in North Burma. The Army in Burma Reserve of Officers ceased to exist on 4 January 1948 - the day of transfer of power to Burma (London Gazette 2/1/1948). This is a comprehensive list of the Army in Burma Reserve of Officers that includes; their names, appointments & relinquishment dates, citations for valour and pre-war occupation (if they were Class1 officials as listed in the India & Burma Civil Lists of 1939). A memorial page lists ABRO officers who lie in Commonwealth War Grave Cemeteries in South East Asia. This data was transcribed from the London Gazette, The Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the India & Burma Civil Lists (1939).
Dedication This work is dedicated in memory of:
© Vivian Rodrigues. 11/12/2011.
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Historical Context The Second World War in the Asia Pacific Region commenced in December 1941 by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and then the Philippines, Malaya, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia and lastly Burma. The British / American / Dutch / Australian response was initially ineffective resulting in the Japanese extension of their war gains into Burma which was generally completed by June 1942. Between about February 1942 and June 1942 the British Army in Burma (including elements of an American /Chinese army) fought a losing battle to stem the Japanese advances but went on to hold the frontier at the border state of Assam and the Chin Hills in North Western Burma. The retreat from Burma resulted in a civilian population seeking refuge in India by an evacuation of epic proportions. Army in Burma Reserve of Officers mainly consisted of civilians: · Senior personnel from commercial organizations, for example:
© Vivian Rodrigues. 11/12/2011.
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Arrangement of data sets The data sets are arranged in the following manner: APPOINTMENT LIST actual date of appointment to a command). Karen and similar, the full name has been used.
social standing and demographics of the cohort that comprised those appointed to the ABRO). RELINQUISHMENT LIST and similar, the full name has been used. GALLANTRY AWARD LIST NOTES: Names may appear on multiple occasions. This is because of the method of publishing the award in the London Gazette. For example an officer “Mentioned in Dispatches” may later be granted a Military Medal (MM) or an MBE/OBE at a later date.
© Vivian Rodrigues. 11/12/2011.
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MEMORIAL LIST and similar, the full name has been used.
Demographics - General An immense quantity of books and publications has been written about the WW2 in Burma. In the 1950’s and 60’s, these books were the reflections and narratives of the Generals, Brigade and Battalion Commanders of the regular army (British and Indian Army), and as a consequence there is little written about the Army in Burma Reserve of Officers. The role of the Force 136 -Burma Section; (the name by which Special Operations Executive was known in SE Asia) is not so well documented as its counterpart the Malaya Section. Louis Allen’s “Burma the Longest War 1941-45”, published in 1984, and was unique in bringing together both the British and Japanese perspectives, the Burmese political scene at the time and a brief narrative of Force 136 -Burma Section. Force 136 -Burma Section was commanded by John Ritchie Gardiner, OBE, Lt. Colonel, and ABRO 624. Below is a brief resume of demographics of the Army in Burma Reserve of Officers. Demographics – Recruitment and Occupation (1939 - Civil Service Class1 and Other)
The Class 1, Public Service Officers were identified from the Combined India and Burma Civil List – 1939. This was an elite service consisting mainly of graduates from British Universities and to a lesser extent from Indian or Burmese Universities. The following table taken from the same data set shows the participation rate for Class 1 Burma Public Service Officers. Medical professionals have been excluded (see Demographics - Medical). Burma Public Service – Class 1 Officers – September 1939
© Vivian Rodrigues. 11/12/2011.
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Demographics – Medical Services Medical professionals (doctors and surgeons) in the ABRO numbered about 163 personnel. While we have no statistics of the number of medical practitioners in Burma at the time, the number enrolled in the ABRO is substantial and enough to conclude that the British Authorities must have made a significant effort to extricate as many medical professionals as possible, and to the extent that this must have had severe implications to the health and welfare of the population that remained under Japanese occupation in Burma from 1942 to 1945.
Demographics – Other Approximately 80% of ABRO officers are classified as “other” because their occupations are not currently verifiable. We would expect that they were employed in commercial and technical roles that included: · The Subordinate Civil Lists for:
· Those employed by commercial firms; some examples are:
Demographics – Ethnic Distribution The grouping is quite general, for example it is impossible to distinguish between British / European and Anglo – Indians or Anglo-Burmese etc.
© Vivian Rodrigues. 11/12/2011.
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Relinquishment of Command The London Gazette lists which is duplicated in this study of the Army in Burma Reserve of Officers, lists some 590 names, which is about 33% of the names in the recruitment list (about 1763). Notable in this list of officers relinquishing their command are those officers granted Honorary Military Titles of Lt Colonel, Major, Captain, etc. The reasons for Honorary Military Titles are obscure, but may be related to the order of appearance before the Governor of Burma during official functions. (Refer to Combined India and Burma Civil List for 1939 – Warrants of Precedence). Below is a summary of the annual attrition rate from the Relinquishment of Command data record. The relinquishment of command of 100 officers in 1942 may be attributed to age (the majority) and those that perished during the retreat and evacuation of Burma.
Awards for Valour and Distinguished Service The London Gazette lists 189 names of officers in Army in Burma Reserve of Officers who were given awards for distinguished service. Approximately 10% of those enrolled in the ABRO were awarded for services. The table below shows the awards list statistics.
SOE Force 136 (Burma) The purpose of SOE - Force 136 in South East Asia, was to carry out sabotage and subversive operations behind enemy lines. ABRO officers included: Major James Russell Nimmo, DSO (ABRO 274), Captain Eric John McCrindle, MID (ABRO 459), Kumje Tawng Wha, OBE, BGM (ABRO 835), Lt. Ba Gyaw, MID (ABRO 888), Saw Butler, MC, DSO, MID (ABRO 626), among others. REFERENCES: http://www.burmastar.org.uk/136hist.htm
© Vivian Rodrigues. 11/12/2011.
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US ARMY OSS Detachment 101 The United States war effort in Northern Burma is variously described in published documents as “China Burma India Theater of Operations” and by early 1942, the Office of Strategic Services was established for clandestine operations. The principal US Army officers responsible for Detachment 101 were Capt. Carl W. Eifler and Lt. William R. "Ray" Peers. ABRO officers included Captain Jack Barnard, MC, (ABRO 672), Captain Patrick "Red" Maddox, MC, (ABRO 83). REFERENCES: http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/70-42/70-425.html Rpt, Eifler to Donovan, 24 Nov 42, OSS, History Office Files; Roosevelt, War Report of the OSS, 2: 372-73; Peers, "Guerrilla Operations in Northern Burma," 28 June 1948): 14-15; History of OSS Detachment 101, OSS, History Office Files, Entry 99, Box 50, Folder 403, RG 226, NARA; History of Communications for OSSSU Detachment 101, OSS, Special Forces, Entry 103, Box 1, Folder 1, RG 226, NARA; Peers and Brelis, “Behind the Burma Road”, pp. 60-63; Dunlop, “Behind Japanese Lines”, pp. 122-23, 132.
2nd Burma Rifles Battalion The Second Burma Rifles was considered elite among the locally recruited volunteers of the Burma Rifles and the Burma Regiment. In August 1943, the 2nd Burma Rifles joined 3 Indian Infantry Division (Special Force), and provide reconnaissance sections for each Chindit Column. The Battalion was at the time commanded by Lieut. Colonel Wheeler. From December 1944 to the end of WW2 in 1945, the battalion provided three detachments to join Special Force for operations in Burma and was under the command of Lieut. Colonel Peter Carstairs Buchanan, MC (ABRO). Of the 56 officers in 1944, 30 were ABRO and among those included, Major William Douglas Griffiths, MC, Major Walter Rigby Andrews, Captain William Dare Hardless, MC, Captain Saw Lader and Captain Sein Tun. The Anglo Burmese Library website has a photo of these men taken 1944.
Civil Administration Service – Burma (CAS-B) The Civil Affairs Service -Burma (CAS-B.) came into being in February 1943, with the appointment of a Chief Civil Affairs Officer. Lt General Sir George Giffard reported as below: “Originally under the control of the Commander-in-Chief, India, it was transferred to the South-East Asia Command, as part of 11 Army Group, on the 1st January 1944. On 1st January 1944,the Supreme Allied Commander, South-East Asia Command, assumed full judicial, legislative, executive and administrative responsibility for all the territories of Burma which were then occupied, or might at any future time be occupied, by the forces under his command, and he delegated to the Chief Civil Affairs Officer, full authority to conduct on his behalf the military administration of the civil population in these territories.” The replacement of the Government of Burma Directorate of Supply by a CAS(B). Lines of Communication organization became effective in November 1943. Only in exceptional cases is this organization allowed to purchase locally in the open market; normally, it obtains its requirements from Army depots. Early in 1944, the Inspector General of Police, Burma, joined the CAS (B) as Chief of Police, bringing with him a large part of the organization he had built up since the evacuation. The Intelligence Bureau, established for the collection of information concerning civilians in enemy occupied territory, was absorbed into the CAS (B), but the Burma Police Depot (in India) remained for the time being under the Government of Burma. REF: Supplement to The London Gazette 13th March, 1951, Operations in Burma and North East India from 16th November, 1943 to 22nd June,1944 - GENERAL SIR GEORGE J.GIFFARD, G.C.B., D.S.O., A.D.C., Commander-in-Chief, 11 Army Group, South-East Asia Command. © Vivian Rodrigues. 11/12/2011.
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ABRO officers who participated in CAS (B) at executive level include: Brigadier Kenneth James Hume Lindop (ABRO 956), Brigadier Frank Siegfried Vernon Dennison (ABRO 1071), Brigadier Richard Gordon Bathgate Prescott, CGM, OBE, (ABRO 981) Lt. Colonel Ernest Gordon Stackhouse Apedaile (ABRO 958), Lt. Colonel James Barrington (ABRO 1092)., among others. ABRO Officers - After the Transfer of Power to independent Burma in 1948. Below is a list of examples.
© Vivian Rodrigues. 11/12/2011.
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