FOR ALL WITH AN INTEREST IN THE HISTORY
OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY AND THE BRITISH RAJ
The British in India Historical Trust presents live and online lectures by authors of recently published books of interest to descendants of the British in South Asia between 1600 and 1947 and all who want to know more about the East India Company and the British Raj. The proceeds from lectures fund annual book prizes for excellence in non-fiction historical writing on British India.
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Online lectures run from November to April and this year's programme is here. They are broadcast via Zoom and are available UK-wide and to an international audience. Lectures from the 2021-22 and 2022-23 series have been uploaded to YouTube as a free resource for all who are interested in the history of the British in South Asia. The playlist is available here.​​​
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The British in India's third live event for 2025 will be an evening lecture on The Chindits on Friday 3 October at the Army and Navy Club. A two-course meal will be available afterwards for those who would like to stay. Further details are available here.
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If you would like to be informed when booking opens for live and online lectures, and are not already on our mailing list, please sign up for news of lectures at the foot of this page.
FEATURED LECTURE
FRIDAY 3 OCTOBER 2025 5.00pm -9.00pm (LIVE)
The Chindits
Robert Lyman MBE
​Army and Navy Club, 36-39 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5JN
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The Chindits were special operations units formed by Brigadier Orde Wingate as long range penetration forces against the Japanese in Burma. In 1943 some 3000 men entered Burma in an operation codenamed Longcloth, cutting the north–south railway and disrupting communications. A third were killed, taken prisoner or succumbed to disease but their exploits provided a tremendous boost to Allied morale. Operation Thursday, in 1944, involved over 20,000 men, assigned to support General Stillwell’s advance in northern Burma by harassing the rear of the Japanese 18th Division and cutting communications. In ferocious fighting the Chindits repulsed attacks on their strongholds and under Stillwell launched attacks on Japanese positions, taking heavy casualties. By August fewer than 5 per cent were judged medically fit to continue and they were withdrawn.
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The Chindits won a name for fighting at the outer limits of human endurance but what did they achieve strategically? Distinguished military historian Robert Lyman will evaluate their contribution to the defeat of the Japanese in Burma.
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Dr Robert Lyman MBE is the author of A War of Empires: Japan, India, Burma and Britain 1941-45. Commissioned into the Light Infantry from Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1982, he left the army as a major. His other books include Kohima 1944 and Slim: Master of War and he has accounts of Operations Longcloth and Thursday in the pipeline. His lecture for The British in India on A War of Empires can be found here.​
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The lecture will be preceded by drinks from 5.00pm in the Pall Mall Room, where drinks can be purchased from the pay bar. The lecture will take place in the Pall Mall Room at 6.00pm. For those who would like to stay, an optional two-course meal (main course, dessert and coffee) will follow at 7.30pm in the Drawing Room. Drinks can be purchased from the pay bar. Dress code: jacket and collared shirt, tie optional (men); dress or smart separates (women). Dietary requirements accommodated where notified. All welcome.
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Tickets for the lecture cost £20 and for the lecture and meal £65. Drinks can be purchased separately.
BOOK PRIZES
Proceeds from lectures fund annual prizes for non-fiction historical writing on British India: The British in India Book Prize and The British in India Military History Book Prize. The result of The British in India Book Prize 2025 is given here and the shortlist here.
