National Army Museum: Marking 80th anniversary of VJ Day
The National Army Museum’s recently unveiled a special exhibition exploring the multinational military force that fought in some of the toughest conditions of the Second World War.
Featuring more than 180 objects, this will be the first national museum exhibition on the Burma Campaign in the 21st century.
Through personal objects, diaries, artworks, oral histories, weapons, uniforms and photographs, the exhibition explores the retreat from Burma in 1942 together with the transformation and resurgence of the British and Indian forces in India during 1943.
It also explains the history of the campaign against the Imperial Japanese Army during 1944 – 1945. Burma, now Myanmar, became a vital battleground between British India and Imperial Japan.
Often overlooked by the contemporary press, it became known to many of those who fought there as a ‘Forgotten War’ fought by the ‘Forgotten Army.’
Known collectively as the Fourteenth Army, the soldiers were a multinational force drawn across Britain, India, Africa and Burma.
They were joined by American and Chinese soldiers to resist, and ultimately defeat, the formidable Imperial Japanese Army.
The exhibition reflects on their efforts to keep the peace in the aftermath of victory – and on the campaign’s legacy for the people of India, Burma and beyond.
‘Highlighting the campaign in Burma and those who fought there’
‘We’re proud to be marking the anniversary of VJ Day by highlighting the campaign in Burma and those who fought there,’ explains Justin Maciejewski, Director of the National Army Museum.
‘We believe that their efforts and achievements should never be forgotten, and seeing their personal objects, artworks and writing up close is a powerful reminder of their extraordinary stories.’
Organisers say the displays will shine a light on the soldiers’ voices and stories as this is an area which tends to remain underrepresented in the narrative of the Second World War, as contemporary news stories focused primarily on events in Europe.
The exhibition focuses not only on those who served, but the pioneering methods developed by troops to overcome the challenges of unfamiliar jungle terrain, monsoon rains, deadly creatures and tropical disease.
The Army also made major medical advances under these challenging conditions. By the last two years of the conflict, malaria casualties were treated at Malarial Forward Treatment Units.
Treated within 24 hours of an attack, patients could return to their unit within weeks rather than months. In the exhibition, two simple objects that survive from the time, a bottle of Army anti-mosquito cream, and a vial of anti-malarial tablets, depict this work.
The campaign began in defeat, with around 130,000 allied soldiers taken prisoner after the fall of Singapore in February 1942, who then endured the trauma of captivity long after the Second World War had officially ended.
The medal group of Subedar Makhmad Anwar also demonstrates the human sacrifice and horrifying conditions as a prisoner of war.
‘A pivotal period of military history’
Human stories of experiences in prisoner of war camps are captured by the personal items of Gunner Moss Simon, who was a prisoner of war for three years.
A tin identity bracelet and food bowl, which he carved with the Star of David, are in the exhibition. After the war he kept the bowl on his mantelpiece.
Also on display will be a Military Medal awarded to Corporal Dogo Manga who served with the 1st Battalion, Nigeria Regiment, Royal West African Frontier Force.
In the Arakan on 5 March 1945 Corporal Manga’s section was attacked but their machine gun jammed after firing two rounds. He rushed across and fixed it. When he was ordered to withdraw, he was the last to leave carrying a wounded comrade.
More seemingly ordinary objects show the impact of world-altering events on those who served in the global conflict. A visual example is a glass bottle contorted and flattened by the force of the atomic bomb dropped in Hiroshima in 1945.
Visitors will discover how a diverse mix of soldiers from across the world came together to achieve ultimate victory, with interactive elements, oral histories, film and maps illustrating how the Burma Campaign helped shape the modern world.
‘This exhibition will bring to life a pivotal period of military history from the Second World War,’ says Dr Alan Jeffreys, Exhibition curator.
‘We are grateful for the oral histories that feature in the exhibition and tell the stories of soldiers and their families in their own words.’
‘We are pleased to display and have on loan John Randle’s Victoria Cross, which is only one of two Victoria Crosses awarded during the Battle of Kohima.’
Image provided by the National Army Museum
Telling ‘the stories of soldiers and their families in their own words’
The exhibition tells the story of the campaign through four sections: Defeat in the Jungle, Transformation of the Indian Army, Victory in the Jungle and Beyond Burma.
Exploring the early catastrophic campaigns in Malaya and Burma, Defeat in the Jungle covers a series of heavy defeats in Hong Kong, Malaya, Borneo and Burma where Indian and Burmese troops suffered huge losses.
Transformation of the Indian Army explores the sweeping changes to command that were made to improve military effectiveness.
Under leaders such as General William Slim and General Claude Auchinleck, the Indian Army became a well-trained force that adapted to jungle warfare.
They found a number of medical advances which meant the army could fight the terrain, the climate, the diseases and the Japanese.
Victory in the Jungle highlights the critical role of logistics and air supply in these successes. It includes the Chindit operations.
The Chindits numbered 23,000 British, African and Gurkha soldiers trained to survive behind enemy lines.
They functioned as a long-range penetration force, disrupting Japanese supply lines and gathering vital intelligence.
Shaping the region’s geopolitical landscape for decades
The Fourteenth Army defeated the Imperial Japanese Army for the first time in the jungle at the Battle of the Admin Box, in the Arakan in 1944, followed by the decisive battles for Kohima and Imphal.
After the Japanese surrender in August 1945, large numbers of British and Indian soldiers were deployed to French Indochina (Vietnam), the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), and across Southeast and East Asia, serving as occupation forces.
They faced a range of complex challenges, from repatriating prisoners of war and civilian internees to disarming Japanese troops and conducting counterinsurgency operations against nationalist movements.
Beyond Burma examines how the Burma campaign contributed to the end of British colonial rule in Burma and India. The impact of the Second World War across South and Southeast Asia shaped the region’s geopolitical landscape for decades.
The exhibition runs until April, 2026.
Breaktime News has previously reported on the experiences of British POWs sent to Auschwitz in WW2.
