Route

177650 — 154 black and white snapshots held in place with photograph corners in a patterned fabric covered photograph album. Sizes of the photographs vary from 5 x7.5cm to 8.5 x 12.5cm. Black and white folding map of Burma 34.7 x 24cm loosely inserted two insets on the map show an elephant carrying teak a mahout on his back and a small map showing Burma's location within the region. Although the photographs are not individually captioned the album is divided into sections titled in white ink. Some blank leaves towards the rear of the album a separate section of 10 photographs titled "Burma & China" fills the last leaves. Six photographs are evenly browned all others are in excellent condition. A very interesting photograph album in excellent condition. A fascinating photographic record of events on the crucial Burma Road in southwestern China during and immediately after the Pacific War. An inscription on the final leaf gives the name John Barry Williams and the date 6/23/42 to 1/15/46. <br> <br>The Burma Road was constructed in 1936-1937 mainly to enable the allies to send material to China which was then at war with Japan. After the occupation of Burma by Japan in 1942 the flow of goods was cut until 1945 when in the last months of the war allied troops reconnected the transport corridor from Burma to China. Meanwhile war materiel continued to be transported by plane between Yunnan in China and India over the section of eastern Himalayas known as 'The Hump'. <br> <br>The owner of this album appears to have been a US serviceman stationed at Tsuyung Airfield in the Chinese province of Yunnan - the main transport hub at the Chinese end of the Hump route. The first photos in the album show scenes of the Burma Road and the Salween River on the border of Yunnan and Burma. There are a number of fine black-and-white photos of everyday life in the area including a village street a local salt mine a farmer ploughing with water buffaloes a street scene in Tsyuyung town women and children repairing the road and a train of pack ponies taking goods to market along the Burma Road in China. There are also images of a serviceman named Washburn holding up a captured Japanese flag. <br> <br>The following series of photos is labelled '780 Engineer Petroleum Distribution Co. Pipeline India-Burma-China 1944 and 1945' and shows scenes of the contruction of this vital fuel link with photos shot in India in the jungles of Burma and in southwestern China. The photos give a vivid image of the magnitude of the construction task showing teams camping out in rugged terrain and crossing rivers on makeshift bridges. A final group of photos labelled 'Burma and China' includes shots of a parachute drop from a plane and an image of allied soldiers with local villagers. A small map of Burma and Tibet published in 1948 has been loosely inserted in the front of the volume. . unknown