Remarkable Gamble

Walter Morris Felix Gamble had a remarkable military career – one that crossed continents, frontiers, and jungles, spanning the defining conflicts of his age. From the Gallipoli Campaign, where Gamble was among the last to evacuate the Peninsula; before serving with distinction on the Western Front in France, where acts of conspicuous gallantry saw him awarded the Military Cross in France. Between the wars, he was drawn toward the wilder edge of British India, serving with the 8th Punjab Regiment and the South Waziristan Scouts on the North-West Frontier. But it was Burma that shaped him most profoundly. Gamble returned there again and again – in 1918, 1930-34, and finally during the darkest days of 1942 through the end of 1944. As Japanese forces swept north, the British/Indian Army fell back in wholesale retreat. Yet, alone in northern Burma, Gamble commanded the Northern Kachin Levies – the only British force actively operating against Japan in Burma, at a time when the map of empire itself appeared to be collapsing. His previously unpublished first-hand account from that campaign forms the unvarnished core of this history. His actions in northern Burma earned him the OBE. He later commanded the Tripura Scouts in 1944 in the Arakan, building highly effective guerrilla operations for which he was Mentioned in Dispatches. A rediscovered voice from lost battlefields, A Remarkable Gamble is this story told at last – an unforgettable journey through war on different continents, remote frontiers, and the jungles of Burma where he successfully led guerrilla irregulars against the Japanese.

Dr Richard Duckett is an historian, author and teacher. He has taught History and Politics for over twenty years in both the Further Education and the 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, and also maintains a website where he publishes original archival research.  In his spare time, Richard can often be found enjoying a mountain or two somewhere in Wales.