The Elephant Company – Intermission Story (14)

Cuneo Estate; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation
James Howard “Billy” Williams went to Burma in 1920, fresh out of the service for WWI, for a position as a ‘forest man’. It was there he became increasingly educated on the intelligence, character and welfare of elephants.
When Japan invaded Burma in 1942, Williams joined the elite British Force 136. [a unit that today would compared to Rangers, SEALs and Delta Force]. Being older and wiser in the ways of the jungles, Williams’ tale of war and daring would become legendary.
In 1944, Lt.Colonel Williams, along with his Karen workers, uzis, elephant tenders, and the animals themselves made the stairway in Burma. They go upward, a sheer rockface escarpment, narrowly escaping the Japanese hot on their trail, through the mountains of Imphal.
While many times the massive beasts stood on their hind legs to scale an ascent that surpassed Hannibal in the Alps. All 53 elephants were successful and the workers and refugees alike followed close behind to the ridge and eventual safety.
Years later, General Slim would say of the climb, “This is the story of how a man, over the years, by character, patience, sympathy and courage, gained the confidence of men and animals, so when the time of testing came – that mutual trust held.”
Williams and his company would continue in Burma to alter history with the 270 bridges built and erected to create the largest known Bailey bridge across the Chindurin at Kalewa in December.
James “Billy” Williams was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1945. He would forever cherish his memories of the animals and the jungle, as shown in his memoir, “Elephant Bill” published in 1950. (originally titled, “1920-1946, Elephants in Peace, Love and War”)
Williams passed away on 30 July 1958, at the age of 60, during an emergency appendectomy operation. His son, Treve, had gone to Australia for veterinary school a year previous.
This information and pictures were derived from “Elephant Company” by Vicki C. Croke.
Click on images to enlarge.
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CBI Roundup – Military Humor –
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Farewell Salutes –
Kevin Bushell – MD; US Navy, USS John McCain, Electrician Tech 2nd Class, KIA
Timothy Eckels Jr. – MD; US Navy, USS John McCain, Information Systems Tech 2nd Class, KIA
Charles N. Findley – MI; US Navy, USS John McCain, Electrician Tech 1st Class; KIA
James L. Hutchinson – CA; US Army Air Corps # 1014403, WWII, PTO, POW, KIA (Bataan, Camp O’Donnell, Section # 4)
Cory G. Ingram – NY; US Navy, USS John McCain, Information Systems Tech 2nd Class, KIA
Abraham Lopez – El Paso,TX; US Navy, USS John McCain,Interior Communication Electrician 1st Class, KIA
James McMillen – Jonesboro, GA; US Army, Korea & Vietnam, 11th and 101st Airborne Divisions, CO for 16th Battalion, Lt.Col.
Peter Roper – London, ENG; RAF, WWII, ETO / Korea, aviation medicine
Alan Sayers (102) – NZ; RNZ Navy # 1/15/2685
Louis Vetere – Brooklyn, NY; US Army, WWII, PTO
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Posted on August 28, 2017, in Book Reviews, WWII and tagged Burma, Elephants, History, Military, Military History, Pacific War, Tributes, veterans, WW2, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. 112 Comments.
Reblogged this on Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News.
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Thank you, Ned.
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Truly amazing, GP. Marvelous to see a photos of the actual book too. Wow, what an extraordinary story/event. Hugs on the wing!
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Thanks for taking a look, Teagan. Such amazing animals – but – spoiler alert – it’s a sad book.
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I appreciate that heads-up. I haven’t been able to deal with sad or “heartwarming” for many years.
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No problem, believe me, I understand!!!
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What a cool post! This was so far from anything that I could have thought happened during WWII, wow!
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This is a great book – history IS more interesting than fiction – stranger things happen!! I wish the schools would teach stories like these rather than having the students memorize names of generals and dates!
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A good story to get motivation . I also have just started a blog which is full of some good poems and articles which i think you will like . So plzz follow my blog and give any suggestions if required , it will be very helpful for me !!
https://bleedingthoughtsweb.wordpress.com
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I’ll stop into your sight and read, but I doubt if I’ll comment. I am not a professional writer or poet.
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But i like your way of writing ….your suggestions can help me a lot !!
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I’ll try.
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I’ve tried. Hope I didn’t upset you.
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Thanks …do follow my blog …so that i will be receiving suggestions from you !! 😊
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Due to time constraints, I doubt there will be many comments. My apologies. My primary concern is researching the Pacific War.
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I can’t remember how I know this story because I haven’t read the book, it’s a lovely true story.
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He was one of your British gentlemen, Charlotte. Perhaps a class in school sometime touched on it.
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Or my Grandad perhaps. We did The Tudors, Medicine through the ages, and the Wild West America in History. My brother did Modern World History at A level though.
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I’m very glad to hear that.
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You never cease to bring me never-heard-before stories. Thanks for sharing!
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I love to find these stories. This book was recommended to me [wish I could remember who, it might have been Hilary Green or Gwendoline] and I was so glad to find a copy second-hand.
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This is a very interesting account of what elephants are capable of doing, which goes far beyond what one gets to see in a circus performance. Thank you for sharing, GP!
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Here, the elephants had trust with Williams, they weren’t bullied into doing anything. Thanks for stopping by, Peter.
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Here is an interesting WWII story for you, GP:
It is a pay site, but you can sign up and read free articles.
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An amazing woman, Michael. Thank you for sending it. With each sad passing we loss another valuable connection to that generation. Just how many lives she must have saved with her passing off intel.!
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Feels like there’s a great movie in there somewhere. Wouldn’t be easy to make though.
Amazing what some of these guys did.
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Agreed!
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I have always thought of elephants as special creatures. Gentle giants, perhaps. The book sounds most interesting!
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It is sad at times, especially the ending, but all in all I highly recommend it.
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I like that 😊
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Thank you.
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Take a look on my last post and follow me if you like it 😀.
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I’m afraid that has never been one style I’ve liked, that’s why I skipped over it and went to another. Have a great day.
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I just bought a used copy of “Elephant Bill” and can’t wait to read about this very special man saving very special animals.
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I am really glad you did!! As you read, you not only learn more about the CBI theater, but about animals themselves. Enjoy!!
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Reblogged this on KCJones.
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Thank you very much, Penny. The man not only teaches us more about the war in the CBI theater, but love and trust with animals.
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A wonderful story!
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Thank you, Jennie. It teaches us more than just the effects of war.
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Yes it does. Best to you, GP.
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Very good information. Burma is today “Myanmar”. Right? Do you think this will again be the “playground” for the USArmy? ;-(
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Burma was mainly a British operation, which may be why it has become the forgotten war.
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Oh, thank you for this information. 😉
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Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
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Thank you very much. This book teaches more than just war, it shows us Character!
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Yes, i will try to read. Since some months i am very interested in all the things happend and will happen in the asia region. Mid of the 1990th i was invited to a very special meeting. This time no one of the civilians thought about a crisis in Irak, Afghanistan, but these persons did. Best greetings, Michael
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This post reminded me of General Sir William Slim, who finished up as Field Marshall The Viscount Slim, and was Governor General of Australia from 1953-60.
Once had a photo of Sir William as he then was inspecting the troops at Puckapunyal in Victoria, with yours truly in the pic.
My mother destroyed the photograph along with my slouch hat in a moment of anger.
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What a treasure of the past that would have been, Beari. Your mom must have really been angry!
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Yes she was. I go married and she didn’t approve! 🙂
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She didn’t want her ‘little boy’ leaving home.
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Amazing that the elephants could climb along those ledges with their great size and weight. They would certainly have been a big help in carrying building supplies. Thanks for sharing!
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You are very welcome, Bev. As I told John Cowgill, it isn’t just a war story, but an animal/human learning experience.
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Reblogged this on John Cowgill's Literature Site.
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Thank you, John. It’s a book well-worth reading, not just for the war story, but for understanding and respecting animals.
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You are very welcome.
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I read the book a long time ago. As I can’t remember much more than the the title it’s well overdue a reread … you’ll keep …
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It end kind of ends sadly, non-fiction doesn’t have the advantage of a guarantee for a ‘everyone lives happily ever after’ ending.
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A fantastic story and a very special man”Billy”He understood elephants
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I am very happy you liked it Mary Lou. You and i do love our Nature!!
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I’m always amazed at how intelligent elephants are.
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Agreed. We keep putting ourselves above animals, but many times i believe they know far more than we do.
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Thanks for another great Intermission story. I clicked my heels when the circuses stopped using the elephants!
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It is heartbreaking to me to see an animals forced to do things beyond their nature just for our entertainment.
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Funny- I’d just been reading this and considering reviewing it! Yours is better 🙂 Thanks for another great read.
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Thanks, Anne, but I sincerely doubt that. I am certainly no pro in writing!! Go right ahead and write it, the more people we reach the better. This portion of history has been quite neglected.
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I have to politely disagree with the first- your articles always seem well done:) We’ll see- I may give it a try once I can get my head out of lesson planning for a while…
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What a fantastic read this was, always appreciate your posts!
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I’m very glad you find them interesting. Thanks for commenting.
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Another fascinating post…thank you!
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It was quite a group – yet so many have never heard the story.
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what an interesting story. I love it when animal and perseverance are both told in the same story
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They have more stamina than humans and are often twice as smart!
Thanks for reading here today.
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a good story is always worth reading. thanks for sharing.
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Wow! Quite a story. “Elephant Bill” must have had amazing empathy with the animals for them to do what they did.
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He actually loved them and they knew it. He was one of your guys, John!!
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This doesn’t surprise me but I sure didn’t know it. Great read. I’m looking into his book.
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I know you’ll like it. I found a copy for you…
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&an=croke&tn=elephant+company&kn=&isbn=
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Elephants are fascinating creatures — so smart, and so accepting of human companionship. The people who take the time to understand them are pretty neat, too. This was a great read!
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Thank you for taking the time, Linda!!
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Very interesting story. I also noticed your recognition of our sailors killed on the USS John McCain. Seems even during times of relative peace, the military can be a risky job.
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At all times it is, yes. Unfortunately with 57 different upheavals going on right now and a replay of the Cold War developing, I wouldn’t exactly call this peace.
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Good point. I did use the term “relative”. I’m really not sure what our war/peace status exactly is at the moment.
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You’re not alone!!
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Terrific post GP. I wonder if this (or something very similar) was the inspiration behind Colonel Hathi and the Elephant Patrol in the 1967 Disney movie The Jungle Book?
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It would be nice to think so, but I looked it up and the movie was inspired by a book of the same name by Kipling.
Thank you for reading the article, Rich.
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Of course! I am a fool. Kipling lived in India and wrote the book in 1894 (I cheated and looked it up!) – great post and thanks for filling a gap in my education GP.
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It sure seems odd that you are thanking me.
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Great story! “Elephant Bill”….What a wonderful person. In my mind, there is a special place for those who care for animals in that way.
I actually LOVE elephants. They are so devoted to their group. I’ve even heard that they actually shed tears when one of their own dies. One of the saddest pictures that I’ve ever seen was of a baby elephant standing “sadly’ over the body of his mother. Very touching.
Thanks for the post 🙂
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Thank you, Lady G. I saw something similar on TV when a mother stood over her dead baby that couldn’t make their long migration. One by one each member went by the baby, stood a moment and then left.
Frankly I get pretty ‘teed-off’ at people who use the term, ‘dumb animals’!! We can learn a lot from them!
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You’re welcome GP and I agree, we certainly can learn a lot from animals 🙂
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What a story! As I’ve written before, the story of the war in Burma is all too often forgotten today. Amazing stories of heroism under unthinkable hardship came out of the Burma theater. Three cheers, GP! 🙂
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Thank you. After reading the book, I knew I had to review it, even though I am not all that swift doing reviews!!
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What an incredible story! I can’t believe I did not know about this as much WW II history as I have read. I am going to have to read the book! Thanks for sharing!
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No problem. That’s what we’re here for – all of sharing information. I think you’ll enjoy it.
I located a copy here…
https://www.biblio.com/cart.php?bid=988843187&country=1¤cy=1&aid=bkfndr&add=1&refresh=1
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When I went to Kenya, there was a remnant of the British colony. There are also ivory smuggling.
The elephant was majestic in Africa!
I hope these elephant here are reborn in Africa’s extensive ground!^_^
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It’s up to people who understand to teach the ignorant to save the elephant and not abuse and kill them. You are very lucky to have seen these majestic creatures in the wild!!
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Roll over Hannibal, indeed!
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That statement really puts it into perspective for me.
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I can’t imagine elephants doing that kind of climb. One thing I wasn’t clear about—were they using the elephants to carry gear and people or were they just trying to protect the elephants from the war? (I assume the first, but I wasn’t sure.)
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The elephants worked the entire time they were with the Army.
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Staggering
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One your men, Derrick!!
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What an experience that had to be for those men. This is a story you’re not likely to hear when people talk about that war. Thanks again.
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It’s always a pleasure to find stories that have been hidden away. We can’t truly understand what these people and animals went through.
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What a great story, and I never heard of him. Thank you for sharing. I just bought the book.
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That is an area of the war that for some reason has been left to fade into history. One reason why I get so annoyed with people who try to purposely erase history. Thanks for dropping in.
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That’s a great story indeed. Elephants are such majestic creatures, it seems a shame that they have been trained for war down the centuries.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Their strength and subdued nature have made them easy targets for abuse. Nowadays they need our help for survival.
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what an amazing man and amazing story. i would love to read the book. thank you for sharing this –
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No problem. The book covers an area of the war few hear much about.
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Thank you for sharing this memorable story with your readers.
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