Undiscovered Scotland

 

It came as rather a surprise when Whittles Publishing sent me an email describing the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company as "truly one of Scotland’s greatest achievements". I have to admit that I'd never heard of it. Google is your friend - as is Wikipedia - and after a few minutes delving I started to wonder why I'd never heard of the company before. "The Fabulous Flotilla: Scotland's Adventure on the Rivers of Burma" by Paul Strachan tells a truly remarkable story that deserves to be much better known than it seems to be, if my own ignorance is anything to go by.

The outline of the book is given in the publisher's blurb: "The Irrawaddy Flotilla Company, known in colonial Burma as the ‘Fabulous Flotilla’, was the largest privately-owned fleet of ships in the world. 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 and famous writers like Somerset Maugham along with early tourists and big game hunters. In the second part of the book, the author who himself 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 different regions of the country often highlighting Scottish connections."

What you find between the covers is a beautifully produced, engagingly written and nicely illustrated book. The fact that it has been written by someone with deep first hand knowledge of Burma, its rivers and the challenges of operating ships along them adds hugely to its credibility: and to its lasting value as a tribute to the achievements of the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company and all those who were involved in the company, either in Burma or back in Scotland.