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John Masters
Lieutenant-Colonel John Masters, DSO, OBE (26 October 1914 – 7 May 1983) was a British army officer and novelist. During World War II, he served with the Chindits behind Axis lines in Burma, and became the GSO1 (chief staff officer) of the 19th Indian Infantry Division. Masters is principally known for his historical novels set in India, notably Bhowani Junction, which was turned into a successful 1956 film. He also wrote a three-volume autobiography, which was positively received by critics.
Masters was the son of a regular soldier, a lieutenant-colonel whose family had a long tradition of service in the British Indian Army. He was educated at Wellington and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. On graduating from Sandhurst in 1933, he was seconded to the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) for a year before applying to serve with the 4th Prince of Wales's Own Gurkha Rifles. He saw service on the North-West Frontier with the 2nd battalion of the regiment, and was rapidly given a variety of appointments within the battalion and the regimental depot.
In 1938, he organised a hunt for a leopard reported to be roaming the depot at Bakloh, only to find himself facing a full-grown tiger (which killed one of the Gurkhas acting as beaters). He later commented that whatever rank and decorations he was awarded, he was always known to the Gurkhas as "The Sahib who shot the Bakloh tiger".
In early 1939, he was appointed the Adjutant of the 2nd battalion of the 4th Gurkhas. During the Second World War his battalion was sent to Basra in Iraq, during the brief Anglo-Iraqi War. Masters subsequently served in Iraq, Syria, and Persia with the battalion, before being briefly seconded as a staff officer in a Line of Communications HQ. In early 1942, he attended the Indian Army's Staff College at Quetta. Here he met the wife of a fellow officer and they began an affair. Even though they later married, there was something of a scandal at the time.
After passing the Staff College, Masters next served as brigade major in the 114th Indian Infantry Brigade before being "poached" by Joe Lentaigne, another officer from the 4th Gurkhas, to be brigade major in the 111th Indian Infantry Brigade, a Chindit formation. From March 1944, the brigade served behind the Japanese lines in Burma. On the death of General Orde Wingate on 24 April, Lentaigne became the Chindit commander and Masters commanded the main body of the 111th Indian Infantry Brigade.
In May 1944, the brigade was ordered to hold a position code-named 'Blackpool' near Mogaung in northern Burma. The isolated position was attacked with great intensity for seventeen days and eventually the brigade was forced to withdraw. Masters felt obliged to order the medical orderlies to shoot 19 of his own men, casualties who had no hope of recovery or rescue. Masters later wrote about these events in the second volume of his autobiography, The Road Past Mandalay. In recognition of his "gallant and distinguished services in Burma", he was in October awarded the DSO.
After briefly commanding the 3rd battalion of his regiment, Masters subsequently became GSO1 (the Chief of Staff) of the 19th Indian Infantry Division, which was involved in the later stages of the Burma campaign. Near the end of the war he was offered command of an Indian airborne brigade but the Japanese surrender intervened. On 17 January 1946 he was awarded an OBE for his service in Burma.
After a spell as a staff officer in GHQ India in Delhi, he then served as an instructor at the British Army Staff College, Camberley. He left the army in 1948 with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and moved to the United States, where he set up a business promoting walking tours in the Himalayas, one of his hobbies. The business was not a success and, to make ends meet, he decided to write of his experiences in the army. When his novels proved popular, he became a full-time writer.
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John Masters
Lieutenant-Colonel John Masters, DSO, OBE (26 October 1914 – 7 May 1983) was a British army officer and novelist. During World War II, he served with the Chindits behind Axis lines in Burma, and became the GSO1 (chief staff officer) of the 19th Indian Infantry Division. Masters is principally known for his historical novels set in India, notably Bhowani Junction, which was turned into a successful 1956 film. He also wrote a three-volume autobiography, which was positively received by critics.
Masters was the son of a regular soldier, a lieutenant-colonel whose family had a long tradition of service in the British Indian Army. He was educated at Wellington and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. On graduating from Sandhurst in 1933, he was seconded to the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) for a year before applying to serve with the 4th Prince of Wales's Own Gurkha Rifles. He saw service on the North-West Frontier with the 2nd battalion of the regiment, and was rapidly given a variety of appointments within the battalion and the regimental depot.
In 1938, he organised a hunt for a leopard reported to be roaming the depot at Bakloh, only to find himself facing a full-grown tiger (which killed one of the Gurkhas acting as beaters). He later commented that whatever rank and decorations he was awarded, he was always known to the Gurkhas as "The Sahib who shot the Bakloh tiger".
In early 1939, he was appointed the Adjutant of the 2nd battalion of the 4th Gurkhas. During the Second World War his battalion was sent to Basra in Iraq, during the brief Anglo-Iraqi War. Masters subsequently served in Iraq, Syria, and Persia with the battalion, before being briefly seconded as a staff officer in a Line of Communications HQ. In early 1942, he attended the Indian Army's Staff College at Quetta. Here he met the wife of a fellow officer and they began an affair. Even though they later married, there was something of a scandal at the time.
After passing the Staff College, Masters next served as brigade major in the 114th Indian Infantry Brigade before being "poached" by Joe Lentaigne, another officer from the 4th Gurkhas, to be brigade major in the 111th Indian Infantry Brigade, a Chindit formation. From March 1944, the brigade served behind the Japanese lines in Burma. On the death of General Orde Wingate on 24 April, Lentaigne became the Chindit commander and Masters commanded the main body of the 111th Indian Infantry Brigade.
In May 1944, the brigade was ordered to hold a position code-named 'Blackpool' near Mogaung in northern Burma. The isolated position was attacked with great intensity for seventeen days and eventually the brigade was forced to withdraw. Masters felt obliged to order the medical orderlies to shoot 19 of his own men, casualties who had no hope of recovery or rescue. Masters later wrote about these events in the second volume of his autobiography, The Road Past Mandalay. In recognition of his "gallant and distinguished services in Burma", he was in October awarded the DSO.
After briefly commanding the 3rd battalion of his regiment, Masters subsequently became GSO1 (the Chief of Staff) of the 19th Indian Infantry Division, which was involved in the later stages of the Burma campaign. Near the end of the war he was offered command of an Indian airborne brigade but the Japanese surrender intervened. On 17 January 1946 he was awarded an OBE for his service in Burma.
After a spell as a staff officer in GHQ India in Delhi, he then served as an instructor at the British Army Staff College, Camberley. He left the army in 1948 with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and moved to the United States, where he set up a business promoting walking tours in the Himalayas, one of his hobbies. The business was not a success and, to make ends meet, he decided to write of his experiences in the army. When his novels proved popular, he became a full-time writer.