Vicky Thomas - The Naga Queen

To Peter, who would have been so proud

So many people have helped to bring the story of Ursula Graham Bower to light that its hard to know where to start, but I will begin with Max Arthur, for whom I was carrying out research at the Imperial War Museum when I stumbled on a transcript of an interview with an extraordinary Englishwoman, living alone among tribesmen in the hills of Nagaland. I would probably never have embarked on my own research had it not been for Maxs encouragement and enthusiasm for my own project.

After Googling Naga Queen I found a page on the Burma Star website which featured a short synopsis of an as-yet-unwritten biography by Catriona Child (now Kakroo) Ursulas daughter. To my relief this book had not been started, but after meeting with Catriona we agreed that I should write Ursulas story and she gave me three heavy crates of family documents letters, diaries and photos. Without the insight and detail from this family archive, The Naga Queen would never have been possible and I thank Catriona for trusting me with such valuable family artefacts and for giving me so much personal information and a string of connections to relatives and friends who added a different perspective to my picture of Ursula.

Among these people who so kindly welcomed me to their homes and regaled me with memories and anecdotes were Ebenezer and Isabel Butler. Despite having recently been flooded out of their Carlisle home, they entertained me royally and shared stories of Ebs time at Ursulas jungle school she made an impact on him undiminished by the years. Geraldine Hobson was just a child when her father Philip Mills was Governors Secretary and Director of Ethnography in Assam during Ursulas first visit to Nagaland, having formerly been Subdivisional Officer. He not only encouraged Ursula in her anthropological research but he and his wife became firm family friends my thanks to Geraldine for an enlightening day sharing her memories and her fathers Pangsha Letters.

Then Catriona put me in touch with Ursulas cousin Joan Shenton, who recalled childhood anecdotes and shared family photos. I was privileged to meet Yongkong, then resident in London, who had been part of the Naga delegation to the UK in 1962, and who stayed with Ursula and Tim at their farm on Mull. A very elderly gentleman, sadly now passed away, he embodied the Naga peoples deep and long-lasting gratitude and affection for Ursula another valuable insight into Ursulas relationship with her Naga family.

My thanks go too to Professor Alan Macfarlane, now Emeritus Professor of Anthropological Science and Life Fellow of Kings College Cambridge, who generously gave me carte blanche to use material from his 1985 video interview with Ursula since it was never possible to meet Ursula in person it was wonderful to hear her recollections in her own voice.

Finally, I want to thank Ryan Gearing of Tommies Guides Military Booksellers and publishers, who brought Naga Queen to the notice of Jo de Vries at The History Press, who recognised a remarkable story when she saw one!

To all these people, my profound thanks it wouldnt have been possible without such generous support and help.

Contents

Vicky Thomas often shared details of her latest research with me, but in 2003 one story really captivated her, that of Ursula Betts, a lone Englishwoman, living among Naga tribesmen in the remote jungle-covered hills north of Assam on the North-East India-Burma borders during World War II. She eventually tracked down Ursulas daughter and with her co-operation, the help of other friends and family, and with Ursulas dairies and additional research she has now written The Naga Queen . Her outstanding research shines from the pages, giving a special insight into the personality and influences that drove Ursulas courageous and pioneering spirit.

It would have been exceptional enough for an Englishman an outsider to gain the confidence of the naturally cautious former head-hunters in Nagaland, but for a woman to be so accepted was even more extraordinary. The redoubtable Ursula was not only accepted, but became the leader of these tribesmen in their actions as guerrilla scouts when the advancing Japanese threatened their homeland. The story of Ursulas life among the Nagas unfolds with humour and pathos for hers was a highly unusual relationship with the tribesmen a blend of employer, mother and friend. But after the Japanese threat was neutralised, Ursulas story becomes an even more romantic one. Still hungry for adventure, Ursula and her husband Tim move into the wild and remote Subansiri territory towards the Himalayas for him to administer as a Political Officer. The area had only recently been charted in 1945 and was home to a number of turbulent warring tribes, which tested the diplomatic and tactical skills of Ursula and Tim to their limits. A new episode opens again full of personal insight and first-hand detail a ground-breaking and pioneering tale which not only follows Ursulas life but portrays the historical situation in pre-independence India.

Ursula Betts overcame many obstacles and setbacks to pursue her dream of adventure. I am so glad that Vicky Thomass excellent new biography has vividly captured Ursulas eventful and pioneering life.

Max Arthur

London, November 2011

In the humid October heat of Assam, in the hill town of Dimapur, a Scottish girl in her mid-twenties stood by her car, fanning herself and swatting away the flies. She was waiting for the only train of the day to arrive at the small railhead on the Nagaland border. At last a growing rumble and flurry of local activity heralded the arrival of the train from Bundu, on the Assam plain below. Alexa Macdonald hurried across to where a motley assortment of local Indian traders and British ex-pats were unloading and boarding. As the melee cleared, Alexa picked out a tall girl, standing alone surrounded by smart British luggage, and ran across the dusty track which served as a platform to greet her friend, Ursula Graham Bower.

Travelling alone from London by sea, Ursulas journey had been a long and daunting one since setting out on 25 September 1937. After a long sea crossing, she finally arrived in India at the end of October, and then negotiated her way from Calcutta by train, then steamer into Assam. After crossing the Brahmaputra at Bundu and boarding a final train, Ursula had weathered the last bone-shakingly uncomfortable leg of her journey, cheered by the prospect of joining Alexa and finally being able to relax in familiar company. Alexas brother, Ranald, was working in the British administration of the Indian Civil Service in Imphal, and when he had asked Alexa to come out and housekeep for him during the winter, her thoughts had turned immediately to her friend Ursula. A trip to India would be just the sort of adventure she would love, and Alexa wrote to Ursula at once, inviting her to come out and keep her company for a few months.

The girls loaded the luggage into the car, Ursula climbed gratefully into the passenger seat and Alexa drove off into the thick surrounding jungle towards Imphal. The scenery and vegetation were like nothing Ursula had ever seen before. Dense forest, draped with tangled creepers blocked the light above the rough road, then, as the route began to climb, they came to more open territory. Cliffs and streams turned eventually to low-ground forest then a wide mountain landscape. The car bumped and bounced over the uneven zigzag road and progress was slow. They had covered some forty tortuous miles when they rounded a bend and there, walking towards them, were four men.

To Ursulas surprise, these were not the slender Assamese of the low country there was a more Filipino or Indonesian look to them but on consideration, their closest resemblance was to Mongolians. They were stocky, with the muscles of their copper-coloured shoulders and torsos sharply defined above their native kilts. They stepped aside to let the car pass and Ursula sat back in her seat, stunned.