Myanmar Oral History Project - life stories
Oral histories of Myanmar - life stories; some starting as far back as the late 1920’s.From my years of involvement in Myanmar I have become aware of the increasing scarcity of the generation of Myanma citizens who were born during the colonial period and have lived through the tumultuous years since that time. For me, these men and women are "national treasures" whose experience, perseverance and wisdom gained during their long lives will be lost unless we capture their stories in some way. To this end I have decided to interview a number of these elderly citizens. My hope is that these interviews will be of interest to historians, sociologists and other researchers in the future as well as for the family and friends of those interviewed.
Episodes
79 episodes
Linda Lewin - My Faraway Country Myanmar - Episode 1 - the marriage of her Karen grandfather and French grandmother and the flight from Myanmar of her grandmother and her children (including Linda's father Boh Lay) in 1942
Linda Lewin, using the recollections of her 94 year old father, Boh Lay Desmond and other family members and friends, has written the story of her family covering a number of generations. In this episode we hear a little about her great g...
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Season 1
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Episode 76
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44:51
U Than Htay, born 1932, views on colonial and Japanese occupation of Burma, geologist, retired as Deputy Director General of Department of Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration in Ministry of Mines - life story
This interview was originally made on 8 December 2017. U Than Htay made some interesting comments about the colonial and Japanese occupation of Burma.
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59:27
Dr Than Oo, born 1928, prominent educator, former DG of Basic Education, the key player in raising the literacy rate in Burma in the 1960's and for the re-establishing of the teaching of English to primary school children after a gap of many years.
Dr Than Oo, born 1928, prominent educator, former DG of Basic Education, the key player in raising the literacy rate in Burma in the 1960's and for the re-establishing of the teaching of English to primary school children after a gap of many ye...
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Season 1
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Episode 77
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1:04:26
U Myint Thein, born 1937, former Myanmar Deputy Minister of Mines 1992 to 2006 -life story
This was the second interview I made for Myanmar Oral History back on 4 December, 2017. Many of you have signed up in recent years and I hope you will find some of these earlier interviews of interest.
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Season 1
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Episode 76
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1:58:59
U K Ba Thaung (1931-2022) - interesting stories of his relationship with General Ne Win, including observing at first hand some of his many unusual superstitions and remedies
U K Ba Thaung (1931-2022) - interesting stories of his relationship with General Ne Win, including observations regarding the death of General Aung San and the involvement U Saw and more personal first hand observations of General Ne Win's many...
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Season 1
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Episode 75
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1:12:45
U Kenneth Ba Thaung (1931-2022) - his life story including interactions with General Ne Win. Includes his career as a military officer and running the Pearl and Fishery corporation and the 7 1/2 years he spent in Insein prison
U Kenneth Ba Thaung (1931-2022), his life and career as a military officer including discussing his relationship with General Ne Win and his career running the Pearl and Fishery corporation, as Commissioner of Salt, the establishment of Polo 9 ...
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Season 1
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Episode 74
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1:28:54
General Ne Win (1911-2002), politician, military commander, Prime Minister, President and dictator
General Ne Win (1910 -2002) was a Burmese politician and military commander who served as Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974, and also as President of Burma from 1962 to 1981. He was the country's military dictator...
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Season 1
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Episode 73
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28:54
Dr. Maung Maung (1925-1992) - Gentleman, Scholar and Patriot - the 7th President of Myanmar
Dr. Maung Maung was not only a giant in terms of his legal scholarship - being awarded two doctorates from prestigious international universities - but was also a thorough gentleman and patriot in the important years of Burma's pre and post ind...
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Season 1
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Episode 72
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36:26
Charles Haswell Campagnac (1886 to 1970) -This episode 8 deals with Charles Campagnac's views on the plight of the Anglo Burman community post WW2
Charles Haswell Campagnac (1886 to 1970) wrote much of his autobiography before he died and we have his grand daughter, Sandra and other members of his family to thank for pulling all of his notes together and producing The Autobiography of...
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Season 1
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Episode 71
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18:35
Charles Haswell Campagnac (1886 to 1970) -This episode 7 deals with Charles Campagnac's experiences on the reoccupation of Burma after the war.
Charles Haswell Campagnac (1886 to 1970) wrote much of his autobiography before he died and we have his grand daughter, Sandra and other members of his family to thank for pulling all of his notes together and producing The Autobiography of...
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Season 1
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Episode 70
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16:44
Charles Haswell Campagnac (1886 to 1970) -This episode 6 deals with the experiences of the Campagnac family in India having fled the Japanese occupation of Burma
Charles Haswell Campagnac (1886 to 1970) wrote much of his autobiography before he died and we have his grand daughter, Sandra and other members of his family to thank for pulling all of his notes together and producing The Autobiography of...
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Season 1
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Episode 69
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11:48
Guy Slater born 1941 - the life of a "cub reporter" at the Rangoon Nation newspaper in 1960 and his career since then including his involvement as a Trustee of Prospect Burma (https://prospectburma.org)/
Guy Slater was born in Lahore (then India) in 1941, the eldest son an Englishman who worked for the Indian Civil Service (as did several earlier generations of the family). Following India becoming independent in 1947 his father became a ...
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Season 1
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Episode 68
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28:29
Charles Haswell Campagnac (1886 to 1970) -This episode 5 deals with the horrors of war which befell Burma during WW2
Charles Haswell Campagnac (1886 to 1970) wrote much of his autobiography before he died and we have his grand daughter, Sandra and other members of his family to thank for pulling all of his notes together and producing The Autobiography of...
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Season 1
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Episode 67
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20:43
Charles Haswell Campagnac (1886 to 1970) -This episode 4 of his life story deals with his views on the use of the death penalty in Burma in the 1920s, the difference between Anglo Burmans and Anglo Indians and his election to Rangoon Municipal Council
Charles Haswell Campagnac (1886 to 1970) wrote much of his autobiography before he died and we have his grand daughter, Sandra and other members of his family to thank for pulling all of his notes together and producing The Autobiography of...
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Season 1
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Episode 66
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12:30
Charles Haswell Campagnac (1886 to 1970) -this episode 3 of his life story deals with some of the colourful characters he met outside his practice as a barrister
Charles Haswell Campagnac (1886 to 1970) wrote much of his autobiography before he died and we have his grand daughter, Sandra and other members of his family to thank for pulling all of his notes together and producing The Autobiography of...
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Season 1
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Episode 65
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14:13
Charles Haswell Campagnac (1886 to 1970) - Episode 2 covering his involvement as a barrister in the famous case of the newspaper publisher of The Rangoon Times, Mr. Channing Arnold who was prosecuted in 1913 for defamation of two British civil servants
Charles Haswell Campagnac (1886 to 1970) wrote much of his autobiography before he died and we have his grand daughter, Sandra and other members of his family to thank for pulling all of his notes together and producing The Autobiography of...
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Season 1
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Episode 64
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10:30
Charles Haswell Campagnac (1886 to 1970) - Barrister, Lord Mayor of Rangoon and Member of the Legislative Council - Episode 1 covering his early years of legal practice in Rangoon commencing in 1909
Charles Haswell Campagnac (1886 to 1970) wrote much of his autobiography before he died and we have his grand daughter, Sandra and other members of his family to thank for pulling all of his notes together and producing The Autobiography of...
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Season 1
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Episode 63
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14:07
Sithu Lt Col Raymond Campagnac's life story through the words of his daughter, Sandra Campagnac-Carney
Sithu (a very prestigious award for bravery and gallantry) Colonel Raymond Campagnac was born in August 1921 and passed away in November, 1989. He was Anglo Burmese as were both his parents. His daughter Sandra Campagnac - Carney has ...
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Season 1
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Episode 62
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51:36
A Short History of South East Asia - Myanmar Chapter - Part 5 - Early 2000s to 2017 when the 6th edition was published
With significant assistance from Professor John Ingleson and Dr Ian Black (then both at the University of New South Wales) I published the first edition of A Short History of South East Asia in the late 1990s. The current 6th edit...
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Season 1
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Episode 61
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14:28
A Short History of South East Asia - Myanmar Chapter - Part 4 - 1970s to early 2000s
With significant assistance from Professor John Ingleson and Dr Ian Black (then both at the University of New South Wales) I published the first edition of A Short History of South East Asia in the late 1990s. The current 6th edit...
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Season 1
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Episode 60
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10:31
A Short History of South East Asia - Myanmar Chapter - Part 3 - Japanese occupation during WW2 and the early days of independence to the late 1960s
With significant assistance from Professor John Ingleson and Dr Ian Black (then both at the University of New South Wales) I published the first edition of A Short History of South East Asia in the late 1990s. The current 6th edit...
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Season 1
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Episode 59
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11:31
A Short History of South East Asia - Myanmar Chapter - Part 2 - the colonial period
With significant assistance from Professor John Ingleson and Dr Ian Black (then both at the University of New South Wales) I published the first edition of A Short History of South East Asia in the late 1990s. The current 6th edit...
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Season 1
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Episode 58
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13:58
A Short History of South East Asia - Myanmar Chapter - Part 1
With significant assistance from Professor John Ingleson and Dr Ian Black (then both at the University of New South Wales) I published the first edition of A Short History of South East Asia in the late 1990s. The current 6th edit...
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Season 1
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Episode 57
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12:10
"Trials in Burma" by Maurice Collis - extracts dealing with the Peasants' Rebellion of 1930
Maurice Collis was born in Dublin in 1889, the son of an Irish solicitor, and went to Rugby in 1903 and then in 1907 to Oxford. He was posted to Burma in 1912. He had postings at Sagaing and elsewhere in Burma. In 1917, the Br...
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Season 1
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Episode 56
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12:37
Sao Noan Oo or Nel Adams, born 1931 - the life story of a Shan princess- Chapter 16 of My Vanished World -The End of A Dynasty dealing with the disastrous long term consequences for the Shan people following the Martyrs' Day massacres on 19 July 1947
Sao Noan Oo was born in 1931 in Shan State as a princess, being the daughter of the Sawbwa or Sao Hpa of Lawksawk, a state in the Federated Shan States or Mong Tai.Sao Noan Oo was studying in England at the time of the 1962 coup and her ...
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Season 1
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Episode 55
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12:13
