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  • 10.00am - 5.30pm
  • FREE
  • Chelsea, London

Explore more from Army in Art

Troops of the Royal West African Frontier Force in the Arakan, Burma, 1944

This painting by Captain Hugh Micklem depicts West African soldiers in Burma (now Myanmar) during the Second World War. These troops were an important part of the Allied counter-offensive following the Japanese occupation of the country in 1942.

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Art and Literature Second World War Asia Africa Burma Global Role Army in Art

The bigger picture

This painting shows infantry and artillery units of the 81st (West Africa) Division deep in the Burmese jungle receiving supplies by air drop. The rough terrain and lack of roads made air supply vital during the Burma campaign.

Soldiers from all corners of the Commonwealth contributed to the defeat of Japanese forces in one of the most gruelling theatres of the Second World War (1939-45).

True grit

The 81st and 82nd (West Africa) Divisions were formed in 1943 as part of a reorganisation of the Royal West African Frontier Force. They were composed of units from Britain's four West African colonies: the Gambia, Nigeria, the Gold Coast (now Ghana) and Sierra Leone.

Soldiers from both divisions served with distinction in Burma, showing incredible resilience in the face of extreme heat, disease, monsoons and a formidable enemy.

The artist Hugh Micklem served with the Headquarters of the 81st (West Africa) Division during the Second World War.

See it on display

Come and see this painting on display in our Global Role gallery, alongside other items that demonstrate the contribution of Commonwealth soldiers during the Second World War.

Visit the Global Role gallery

Explore further

East African soldiers with a captured Japanese flag, 1944 
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Between December 1941 and August 1945, British Commonwealth troops and their allies fought a bitter war across the vast expanses of Asia and the Pacific Ocean against a tenacious and often brutal enemy.

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Global Role gallery
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Japanese flag captured by 6th Battalion, 5th Mahratta Light Infantry, 1945
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A collection of flags captured during the Second World War sheds light on the tough close-quarter combat of the Burma campaign and provides some rare insights about soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army.

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Field Marshal Viscount Slim, 1967
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William Slim: The soldiers’ soldier

Field Marshal William Slim led the Fourteenth Army in Burma during the Second World War. Despite inheriting a disastrous situation, he restored his men's morale and led them to victory against the Japanese.

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Rex Whistler’s self-portrait, May 1940
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Rex Whistler’s self-portrait, May 1940

This self-portrait is one of many depictions of Second World War soldiers on display at the National Army Museum. Here, we take a closer look at the painting to discover more about Whistler's life as an artist and soldier.

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Gurkhas open fire during an attack near Palel, April 1944
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Battles of Imphal and Kohima

These battles formed the turning point of one of the most gruelling campaigns of the Second World War. The Japanese defeat in north-east India in 1944 became the springboard for the subsequent re-conquest of Burma.

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