Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
The Kohima Educational Trust presents this webinar with Dr Robert Lyman MBE who introduces our guest speaker Dr Philip Woods. Dr Woods taught at what is now the University of West London, Kingston University, London and New York University in London. He is the author of the recently published Managing the Media in the India-Burma War 1941-1945: Challenging a ‘Forgotten War’.
This talk explores how the media were used by governments and armed forces during the Burma campaign to project the most positive image to domestic and international audiences of a war that often seemed neglected or misunderstood. Soldiers were able, for the first time in such a distant theatre, to have fast access to newspapers, magazines and radio broadcasts, relating stories of the campaigns they were actively engaged in. The media therefore had an important impact on troop morale, positively or negatively.
Morale was low after the 1942 retreat from Burma and the failure of the First Arakan campaign in 1943. The media turning points in that year were the morale-boosting reporting of the First Chindit incursion behind enemy lines and the appointment of the media-savvy Lord Louis Mountbatten as Supreme Commander South East Asia. Mountbatten was determined to challenge the talk of ‘Forgotten War’ and ‘Forgotten Army’ by all means available. This talk assesses the methods he used and the extent to which he succeeded.
The Kohima Educational Trust presents this webinar with Dr Robert Lyman MBE who introduces our guest speaker Dr Philip Woods. Dr Woods taught at what is now the University of West London, Kingston University, London and New York University in London. He is the author of the recently published Managing the Media in the India-Burma War 1941-1945: Challenging a ‘Forgotten War’.
This talk explores how the media were used by governments and armed forces during the Burma campaign to project the most positive image to domestic and international audiences of a war that often seemed neglected or misunderstood. Soldiers were able, for the first time in such a distant theatre, to have fast access to newspapers, magazines and radio broadcasts, relating stories of the campaigns they were actively engaged in. The media therefore had an important impact on troop morale, positively or negatively.
Morale was low after the 1942 retreat from Burma and the failure of the First Arakan campaign in 1943. The media turning points in that year were the morale-boosting reporting of the First Chindit incursion behind enemy lines and the appointment of the media-savvy Lord Louis Mountbatten as Supreme Commander South East Asia. Mountbatten was determined to challenge the talk of ‘Forgotten War’ and ‘Forgotten Army’ by all means available. This talk assesses the methods he used and the extent to which he succeeded.
