John Masters: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|British soldier and writer (1914–1983)}}

{{other people}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}

{{Infobox writer

==Life==

Masters was the son of a regular soldier, a [[lieutenant-colonel]] whose family had a long tradition of service in the [[British Indian Army]]. He was educated at [[Wellington College (Berkshire)|Wellington]] and the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]. On graduating from Sandhurst in 1933, he was seconded to the [[Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry]] (DCLI) for a year before applying to serve with the [[4th Gurkha Rifles|4th Prince of Wales's Own Gurkha Rifles]]. He saw service on the [[North-West Frontier (military history)|North-West Frontier]] with the 2nd battalion of the regiment, and was rapidly given a variety of appointments within the battalion and the regimental depot.<ref>Bugles and a Tiger, pp. 3-69</ref>

After passing the Staff College, Masters next served as [[brigade major]] in the [[114th Indian Infantry Brigade]] before being "poached" by [[Walter David Alexander Lentaigne|Joe Lentaigne]], another officer from the 4th Gurkhas, to be brigade major in [[111th Indian Infantry Brigade]], a [[Chindit]] formation. From March 1944, the brigade served behind the Japanese lines in [[Burma]]. On the death of General [[Orde Wingate]] on 24 April, Lentaigne became the Chindits' overall commander and Masters commanded the main body of 111 Brigade.

After briefly commanding the 3rd battalion of his regiment, Masters subsequently became GSO1 (the [[Chief of staff (military)|Chief of Staff]]) of [[19th Infantry Division (India)|Indian 19th Infantry Division]], which was heavily involved in the [[Burma Campaign 1944-1945|later stages of the Burma Campaign]], until the end of the war. On 17 January 1946<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=37433 |date=17 January 1946 |page=494 |supp=y}}</ref> he was awarded an OBE for his service in Burma. After a spell as a staff officer in [[India Command|GHQ India]] in [[Delhi]], he then served as an instructor at the British Army [[Staff College, Camberley]]. He left the army after this posting, and moved to the United States, where he attempted to set up a business promoting walking tours in the [[Himalayas]], one of his hobbies.<ref>A recurrent theme in Masters's work is [[rock climbing]].</ref> The business was not a success and, to make ends meet, he decided to write of his experiences in the army. When his novels proved popular, he became a full-time writer.

===Adaptations===

===Other themes===

Masters's trilogy of ''Now God Be Thanked'', ''Heart of War'', and ''In The Green of the Spring'' has some claim to be considered his magnum opus, covering the changes to various segments of British society wrought by the upheavals of the [[World War I|First World War]].<ref>''The Ravi Lancers'' is also set in the First World War, but concerns the exploits of an Indian regiment, the commander of which is related to the Savage family.</ref> Masters's book ''Man of War'' appears to have been the first of a planned trilogy on the Second World War; however, the author died before any other connected books were published.{{fact|date=February 2021}}

{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|

* '' The Compleat Indian Angler'' (1938) Country Life, London, with numerous ink drawings and paintings by the author's father. Now available as a reprint edition.

* ''The Road Past Mandalay'' (1961)

* ''Fourteen Eighteen'' (1965)

[[Category:British emigrants to the United States]]

[[Category:People from Santa Fe, New Mexico]]