The Kohima Educational Trust is delighted to announce our first webinar of 2025! We welcome our trustee Dr Robert Lyman MBE and our guest speaker, historian, teacher and author Dr Richard Duckett.
Many of our supporters will know of Kohima’s twin battle which took place 'down the road' at Imphal. Many will have heard also of Britain’s top secret organisation, the Special Operations Executive (SOE). The SOE was established in the summer of 1940, some seventeen months before Britain went to war against Japan, but it was very quickly decided that the organisation should send a mission to Singapore and India to prepare for conflict in the Far East.
What has never been properly appreciated is that the SOE had an active role across the Indo-Burmese border ahead of the battles of Kohima and Imphal, and more besides.
In an exclusive for the Kohima Educational Trust, Dr Richard Duckett showcases his brand new research for the first time. Collating five years of research for this presentation, Richard reveals all his latest findings on another forgotten aspect of the 14 Army’s campaign to defend India and liberate Burma from Imperial Japan.
The recording of the talk is now available to view below:
Speakers:
Dr Robert Lyman MBE - Military Historian, Author and Trustee of KET Born in New Zealand in January 1963 and educated in Australia, Robert Lyman was, for twenty years, an officer in the British Army. Educated at Scotch College, Melbourne he was commissioned into the Light Infantry from the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, in April 1982. In addition to a business career he is an author and military historian, publishing books in particular on the war in the Far East. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Robert is married to Hannah, has two sons, and lives in Berkshire. For information about Robert's publications please visit his website: robertlyman.com
Dr Richard Duckett is an historian, author and teacher. He has taught History and Politics for twenty years in both the state and independent sector. Richard read History at the University of Essex before moving on to the University of Reading to complete a Masters degree. After starting his teaching career, Richard studied for a doctorate on a part time basis with the Open University while continuing to teach full time. Since finishing his PhD, Richard continues to research and write, with a fourth book due for publication in June 2025. Richard also maintains a website www.soeinburma.com where he publishes original archival research.
Sylvia May - CEO of The Kohima Educational Trust Sylvia May was born in New Jersey, USA in 1957. Her parents moved to England in 1963. Educated at High Wycombe School for Girls, she decided to pursue a career in the world of books. Sylvia worked for HarperCollins for 37 years, the last eleven of which she headed up their UK-based International Sales team. Sylvia May is the daughter of the late Gordon Graham, Founder and President of the Kohima Educational Trust. She is proud that her father has inspired many people to share his vision to commemorate those who fought and died in Kohima, and the wonderful Naga people who have done so much for the British in the past. She first visited India in 1994 with her husband Robert, and has returned on numerous occasions, staying in Kohima several times. In 2000, they followed the WWII route of the Queens Own Cameron Highlanders, her father’s regiment. The regiment’s first main engagement in this theatre of war was at Zubza shortly before the Battle of Kohima.
