British Modern Military History Society

THE British Modern Military History Society’s next talk will take place at Woodcote village hall on Wednesday, February 15 at 7.30pm.

The talk is called “After the atomic bomb — savage wars of peace” and will be given by Mike Tickner.

The war in the Far East ended abruptly, violently and chaotically following the nuclear bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

While the Imperial Japanese Army had been defeated in Burma and was losing the war in the Pacific, her army in Malaya, Hong Kong, French Indo-China, the Netherlands East Indies, Manchuria and Siam was undefeated.

Many of these countries saw the end of the war as their chance for independence and Gurkha, Indian and British troops became responsible for restoring colonial rule and became locked in open combat.

The Allies’ most pressing task was recovering their prisoners of war and civilian internees, knowing little about their condition or locations in camps across South East Asia, China and Japan.

Japan’s sudden surrender created a seismic resetting of the political and social order in the Far East as power vacuums were exploited for political gain and rapid decisions were made with consequences which reverberate today.

Mike Tickner has a long-term interest in the British army in India, particularly the Far East campaigns.

He regularly gives talks to military and civilian groups, clubs and museums, has led battlefield studies and writes the occasional article.

Please note that this talk replaces Saul David’s talk on the SBS. Saul asked us to re-schedule due to a book signing in America.

Thank you to Mike for stepping in at short notice.

The society was formed in early 2019 and we organise monthly talks for anyone interested in military history over the last 200 years from Nelson’s times to the present day.

We have top quality talks given by writers, academics, former military personnel and experts in their fields with a wide variety of topics.

We are based in Woodcote village hall and can accommodate up to 100 people at each talk in pleasant surroundings, offering a warm and welcoming evening out.