Description
Scotland’s Adventure on the Rivers of Burma
by Paul Strachan
The Irrawaddy Flotilla Company, known in colonial Burma as the ‘Fabulous Flotilla’, was the world’s largest privately-owned fleet of ships. It was an entirely Scottish enterprise with nearly all its investors, management, and ship’s officers drawn from Scotland. Over 1,200 ships were ordered mainly from Clyde yards, and each year carried the majority of the population of Burma on its river network without loss of life. The paddle steamers were amongst the largest in the world, innovative in design and technology, and very beautiful.
The flotilla began as a naval task force in the 1820s, was commandeered in five wars, and was to end its life with the British evacuation of Burma in 1942, the greatest evacuation in British military history.
Fascinating personalities emerge from Strachan’s descriptions of Irrawaddy commanders and the flotilla’s key players. The ships evolved over a hundred years into riverine versions of ocean liners with plush cabins, restaurants, shops, and even post offices on board. The largest class of ships carried 5,000 passengers, including royalty, celebrities of the day, famous writers like Somerset Maugham, early tourists, and big game hunters. In the second part of the book, the author, who has spent much of his life running ships on the rivers of Burma, takes us on a journey 1,000 miles upriver to explore the country’s different regions, often highlighting Scottish connections. The river is the thread through which Burma’s often tragic history, yet rich and glorious Buddhist culture, flows, and the country can be understood only on a river journey.
The Fabulous Flotilla reveals this remarkable era in Burma’s history and past Scottish endeavour – a jewel of a story that may soon be lost.
