The Kohima Educational Trust is delighted to present this talk by Fergal Keane, introduced by Dr Robert Lyman with Michael Shipster, son of Kohima veteran John Shipster on Thursday 30th May at 8pm.
Fergal Keane OBE is one of the BBC's most distinguished correspondents, having worked for the corporation in Northern Ireland, South Africa, Asia, the Balkans and most recently broadcasting from Jerusalem. He has been awarded a BAFTA and has been named reporter of the year on television and radio, winning honours from the Royal Television Society and the Sony Radio Awards.
Fergal Keane’s talk was especially prepared for the Kohima 80th Anniversary weekend of events which took place at the National Army Museum in April 2024. It was the first time in several years that he had given a lecture about the Siege of Kohima since his book on the subject was published and we are delighted to be able to share the talk as part of our 80th Anniversary webinar programme.
Fergal’s talk will be introduced live by Dr Robert Lyman and Michael Shipster. When conducting research for his book, Fergal travelled to Kohima with Michael, a former diplomat to India. He also met and interviewed Michael's father, Kohima veteran John Shipster, who, in May 1944, reached Kohima as part of the relieving force. Michael tells us:
"Just 22, John Shipster was commanding an infantry company in the Punjab Regiment, part of Slim’s 14th Army; a seasoned veteran of heavy fighting in Burma, in which half his battalion had been casualties and he had been wounded.
"The scene that greeted him at Kohima was one of utter devastation. The trees were gaunt skeletons, the ground torn up by shellfire and littered with unburied dead bodies. The stench was appalling. The once-pristine gardens now resembled an apocalyptic scene from the Somme. Though the garrison was relieved, the Japanese were far from beaten and it took a further two months of bloody fighting to drive them out of Nagaland and into Burma."
15 окт 2024
