कोशिश गोल्ड - मुक्त
Imperial 'muscle memory' set the tone for what came next
Daily Express
|August 15, 2025
And it doesn't always make for pleasant reading, admits historian PHIL CRAIG, whose new book examines the end of the Second World War and how decisions made to rebuild colonial empires gave rise to later conflicts
-
WHEN you set aside decades of myth-making about the Second World War you discover that some of the things the British state did in its final months were far from lovely. That includes little known actions in the Far East that do not sit at all easily with the publicly expressed war aims of both Winston Churchill and his successor Clement Attlee.
Those aims, first expressed in the Atlantic Charter of 1941, were bold and progressive: to banish dictatorships and give freedom and self-determination to the peoples of the world. But time and again, they ran into the realities of power politics and what I like to call “imperial muscle memory”.
In 1945, as the war in the Pacific was drawing to a close, Lord Louis Mountbatten ran the South East Asia Command (SEAC) on behalf of both Britain and the US. But in Washington they joked that a better title would be “Save England’s Asian Colonies”.
One such colony was Sarawak in northern Borneo and, in my latest book, 1945:The Reckoning, I tell the story of what happened there. In short, opportunities to save prisoners of war caught in disease-ridden Japanese camps, and scheduled for hellish “death marches”, were spurned in order to prioritise taking back control of profitable oil fields, tin mines and rubber plantations.
Now that’s a contentious statement and not every historian would agree with me. But if you look at the evidence it is hard not to see what happened here as a prime example of “muscle memory”.
Britain had lost prestige and money in Borneo and badly wanted it back, as the paper trail reveals. And so normal military priorities — and the chance to save thousands of British and Australian lives — were set aside in favour of shadowy missions with undeclared colonial goals, an operation that turned into a bloody disaster.
यह कहानी Daily Express के August 15, 2025 संस्करण से ली गई है।
हजारों चुनिंदा प्रीमियम कहानियों और 10,000 से अधिक पत्रिकाओं और समाचार पत्रों तक पहुंचने के लिए मैगज़्टर गोल्ड की सदस्यता लें।
क्या आप पहले से ही ग्राहक हैं? साइन इन करें
Daily Express से और कहानियाँ
Daily Express
FEEDING FRENZY
We've rounded up some of our favourite meal-time additions for your four-legged friends, whether it’s cute personalised bowls or tasty treats to see them through January
1 min
January 13, 2026
Daily Express
Family's battle to save Christmas Day pond fall toddler
THE family of a little girl who died after falling into a pond on Christmas Day desperately tried to save her with CPR, an inquest opening heard yesterday.
1 min
January 13, 2026
Daily Express
Who in the world can trust Starmer?
The voice of common sense
2 mins
January 13, 2026
Daily Express
'Tower of strength, mentor, friend... Sophie's bond with Kate is one of the monarchy's biggest strengths
WITH her 61st birthday just around the corner, Sophie the Duchess of Edinburgh's growing bond with the Princess of Wales is a sign of her soaring royal importance.
3 mins
January 13, 2026
Daily Express
Calming a scaredy cat
We rescued an adult cat a year ago that may have been badly treated as he only trusts us.
1 min
January 13, 2026
Daily Express
It’s lift off for Amazon as drone flights begin in UK
AMAZON has started to test drone flights ahead of launching its UK airborne delivery service later this year.
1 min
January 13, 2026
Daily Express
SHOCK AND AWE
The weekend that showed the FA Cup at its finest... now go and scrap extra-time
2 mins
January 13, 2026
Daily Express
ALLEN RISES TO THE OCCASION
Mark breaks from food poisoning with gutsy display to leave Williams feeling sick
2 mins
January 13, 2026
Daily Express
WINTER WALKS TO STROLL INTO 2026
Days out at some of the National Trust's most stunning locations will help get your New Year off to a healthy, mindful and sparkling start...
7 mins
January 13, 2026
Daily Express
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE
Awards night at risk for 3rd year running
1 min
January 13, 2026
Listen
Translate
Change font size
