Bandoola the great elephant rescue by William Grill

Authors often write a story because they stumble upon a thought or garner a glimpse of information which immediately appeals to them. This happened to William Grill when he chose to research and write the story of Bandoola: The Great Elephant Rescue after he found a book in a second-hand book shop titled Elephant Bill.

The book begins with a map of Myanmar’s position in the world and the contents page. The foreword gives the reader valuable information about Myanmar which was originally a British Colony named Burma. Unfortunately, the rich and varied resources of Myanmar were exploited by the British in the late 1800’s and early to mid-1900’s and this story tells of the still on-going practice of using elephants to transport the precious teak logs through the jungles and mountain areas of Myanmar.

James Howard Williams or ‘Elephant Bill’ was born in 1897, the same year as the elephant Bandoola with whom he formed an unbreakable bond. A WW1 veteran, Williams came to Myanmar to oversee 70 elephants and their riders known as oozies around the Chindwin River. He had a natural affinity with animals and spent time learning everything he could about elephants. Bandoola and his oozie, Po Toke, shared many memorable experiences with Williams, the most famous one being the amazing elephant escape mission that would take Elephant Company from Myanmar over to India across mountainous terrain during WW2. Williams and Bandoola led 64 women and children, 53 elephants, 40 armed soldiers, 90 oozies and assistants plus four British military officers through 190 perilous kilometres to safety. The elephants carried and paved the way to safety for the refugees in an incredible journey full of hardship. The story does not end there though and there is so much more to be learnt by reading this book. Throughout the book are multiple facts about elephants and events of the time combined with hand drawn illustrations in muted tones of mainly greens and  yellows.

Bandoola: The Great Elephant Rescue is both a wonderful story and significant historical record of the life of working elephants in Myanmar as well as world events at the time. A valuable and informative book to share with students when sharing stories on Remembrance Day as well as a great resource on elephant facts.

Themes: Elephants, Myanmar, War, Conservation, Logging, British Empire.

Kathryn Beilby