The Tragic Destiny of Basil Blackwood

April 2014

The 30 books in Basil's possession included thrillers by Agatha Christie and adventure novels by C. S. Forester as well as more serious works: Edward Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Robert Browning's poems, and Sir James George Frazer's The Golden Bough. His personal effects included a wooden box with letters, personal papers, and photographs of his wife and three children, English and Egyptian money, leather case with sporting guns, leather valise on wheels, tin trunk, kit bag and camp bed. He also had some useful smaller items: passport photographs, cigarette case, pocket lighter, miniature compass, travelling clock, fountain pen, book of stamps, sealing wax and clothing coupons. An official asked that Basil's possessions be sent back to Britain either by air or by "safe hand of one of our own officers", and urged that "special care be taken to prevent any loss or damage as the result of extra handling and repacking". But due to wartime restrictions, the commanding officer "regretted that special permission cannot be given to forward to Lady Dufferin the items listed in the above mentioned letter".

Basil was killed in the tiny village of Letse, across the Irrawaddy River and only five miles from what is now a major tourist site: Bagan, a sprawling ancient city of 2,200 temples. On March 27, 1945 Major D.H. Preston interviewed eye-witness survivors of the Japanese attack and gave a dramatic account of how the enemy, whose presence was unsuspected, opened fire at almost point-blank range as Basil was leading his men:

I have now seen Song [a Japanese-speaking Korean officer] and the official position seems to be that Dufferin must be regarded as "missing" at the moment.

Song is not too clear or explicit about the whole business but briefly the situation appears to be as follows:

On the 25th of March at about 1500 hours the section, escorted by a platoon of a British Regiment, went out on the flank of the box with a view to broadcasting in an area where a previous patrol had reported only dead bodies. The actual target seems to have been about 400-500 yards ahead of this position. Dufferin and the Jemedar [Indian officer] and the platoon were ahead of the section about 200 yards, presumably doing a recce. One hundred and fifty yards short of the dead bodies' position Japs in some strength opened fire. The platoon and Dufferin were more or less in open country and Dufferin was hit in the chest. Song says he saw him clutch his chest and stagger about with the platoon as it withdrew. He himself made several attempts to get up to Dufferin but could not do so owing to enemy fire. Ultimately the rest of the section had to withdraw with the British troops and although fresh troops made three more attempts to bring in Dufferin they failed to do so. . . . I think Song has behaved and is behaving very well indeed.