Brigadier Michael Calvert
The highest ranked soldier in the British Army to ever be court martialed.
In my current historical novel, which is set in a much more recent period than my first books, I’ve included a few cameos from figures who I have been able to research more thoroughly and in greater detail. The period in question is 1944 and a large part of the novel is set in Burma, modern Myanmar, following British, American and Allied forces, which at that time also included West African, Chinese and Gurkha soldiers. Some of these forces were charged with the colossally difficult task of infiltrating behind Japanese lines and establishing disruptive strongholds and fortifications along the enemy’s lines of communication. At great cost, they proved successful and they were led, in many instances, by Brigadier Michael Calvert or “Mad Mike” as he was otherwise known.
Brigadier Calvert proved to be an enigmatic figure for me, perhaps due to the traumas of his wartime experience this was inevitable, but given his profile and accomplishments during the war it is also noticeable how little known he now is. There is a quite clear reason why he has been largely expunged from the broad history of that war. Whilst it can be said that he was one of the most important figures in the creation and development of Special Forces Units and the British SAS in particular, he is also the highest ranked British officer to ever receive a court martial. The reasons for that punishment are somewhat ambiguous and the accusations against him were later largely withdrawn which inevitably leads to a little conjecture as to why someone so prominent and decorated would suffer such a defenestration. More on that a little later.
Michael Calvert was an unorthodox and innovative military figure who was particularly adept at devising counter attacks or sabotages. His role in the Chindit expeditions behind Japanese lines in Burma were his most famous campaigns and during these he worked very closely with the extremely eccentric British officer Major General Orde Wingate.
Wingate also features in my current novel but only briefly as he would die in an air crash early in the campaign. Prior to commanding in Burma, Wingate had been in Ethiopia where he created a Special Forces brigade known as Gideon Force, composed of British, Ethiopian and Sudanese soldiers. In the photograph above, Wingate is to the right of the seated and rather sceptical looking Emperor Haile Selaisse. This force was instrumental in driving the Italians out of Ethiopia, the first territory under the control of the Axis powers to be liberated by Allied forces. To illustrate the extent of Wingate’s eccentricity, he was known to often give orders to his men naked and wear a necklace of onions around his neck, ostensibly to ward off mosquitos.
Calvert and Wingate met in Burma in December 1941, both already young officers of a certain renown. For a period, Calvert had been the middleweight boxing champion of the British Army. At that time, he was the chief instructor at a jungle warfare school at Maymyo. The two men established a strong bond and, between them, they led the first of two Chindit expeditions into Burma, with a force composed of the 77th (Indian) Brigade, which was divided into seven columns of 400 men. Calvert was notably successful, achieving his initial objective of blowing up two Japanese railway bridges without a single casualty.
The second Chindit expedition took place from the beginning of 1944 and, whilst this was also similarly successful, the soldiers were kept in combat for far too long and were quite catastrophically transferred after several months as an infantry unit, rather than a reconnaissance one, into the command of the notorious Anglophobe General Joseph “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell, at which point they started to suffer significant losses.
The soldiers, their artillery pieces and mules were flown behind enemy lines by glider, one of whom was piloted by the well-known film star Jackie Coogan.
Coogan had quite recently divorced his equally famous actress wife, Betty Grable, and was affectionately remembered as the child star of the Charlie Chaplin movie “The Kid” in whom he played the eponymous lead role alongside Chaplin. After the war, he would go on to more success as the original Uncle Fester in The Addams Family television series.
The second Chindit campaign was launched on March 5, 1944. Calvert commanded the 77th Brigade which flew into a landing site codenamed ""Broadway" where they were able to construct an airstrip to receive the remaining troops. Calvert established a stronghold known as "White City", given that name due to the large numbers of resupplying parachutes that were abandoned there. They held this position for two months against ferocious and unrelenting Japanese attacks. They subsequently marched, under appalling monsoon conditions, to join Stilwell’s Chinese forces at Mogaung. When the 77th Brigade finally took Mogaung it was with a fighting strength of only 300 out of an original 3,500 men.
There is a little footage of Calvert in Burma. In the beginning of this video, he is shown giving instructions to two other soldiers. Of these, the officer to the right is of note as he is Major James Lumley, the father of the famous British actress Joanna Lumley.
Brigadier "Mad Mike" Calvert. Narrow Escapes of WWII
Calvert and the Chindits left Burma in September 1944. In the European war, he then commanded the Special Air Service (SAS) Brigade which was at the time composed of British, Belgian and French commandos. Calvert commanded the Belgian and French units during Operation Amherst which was an attack designed to capture occupied Dutch canals, bridges and airfields.
After the war ended, Calvert commanded the SAS regiment known as the Malayan Scouts in 1950. This command lasted until the following year when he returned to Britain following an injury. In 1952, whilst in Germany, he was dismissed from the army after a court martial, the evidence in support of which seems quite insubstantial.
The precise details of Calvert’s conduct have never been fully revealed. The charges themselves were described as gross indecency with three German youths. These young men had visited Calvert at his flat. Their intention, which they later admitted, was opportunistic theft. Whilst two of the youths withdrew their accusations, the conviction was upheld on appeal.
Following his court martial and dismissal, Calvert emigrated to Australia where he often lived as a vagrant with chronic alcohol issues. After several years, he returned to Britain. During his later years, he was able to publish three books about his experience of the war and contributed to the 14th episode of the notable British documentary series The World at War. Calvert appears in the episode from about the 5th minute and again around the 19th.
The World At War 1973 WW2 EP 14 : Jungle War In Burma
There is no doubt that Michael Calvert was one of the most accomplished officers of the Second World War. My novel which features him, Major General Orde Wingate, Jackie Coogan and several other famous people from the period is still looking for a home.