Mad Mike: A Life of Brigadier Michael Calvert

by David Rooney

Anyone with the slightest knowledge of the Burma campaign of 1942-45 will have heard not only of General Orde Wingate and the Chindits, but also of 'Mad Mike' Calvert, Wingate's most intrepid column commander.

His success in Burma, followed by his time with the SAS in Europe, had made Calvert one of the best known soldiers in the army.

However, Calverts life was to fall apart when he was convicted of gross indecency and dismissed the service. To the end of his days he maintained that the whole thing was a setup and it is vastly to the credit of the industrious David Rooney that he was proved, as far as it is possible after such a great passage of time, that this was indeed the case.

Nothing could ever remove the suffering unjustly inflicted on this very gallant soldier, however this book goes along way to clear his name, if not officially, at least in the public mind.

211 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

David Rooney is a historian and has taught in many important institutions, including the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Amongst his previously published titles are Wingate and the Chindits, Burma Victory, and Military Mavericks. He lives in Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Reviews

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography of Mad Mike Calvert is written by a Veteran of the Asian campaigns, and a big fan of the most famous of Orde Wingate's disciples. David Rooney was a Veteran and a Scholar of WWII, as well as a Sandhurst Lecturer and here he presents Calvert as a misunderstood man with a genius for war- a key conduit for taking Wingate's bursts of brilliance and turning them into actual activities by real soldiers. Calvert started as an engineer with a flair for blowing things up effectively, and in Churchill's " Set Europe Ablaze" there was an audience for it. He felt there was a role for such operations behind enemy lines- and then met Wingate who conceived of large scale ops in this sphere. Rooney tells the story of the Chindits and their two large operations simply and directly in a way that may hold the interest of even the most general interest reader.

The only problem I had with Rooney's enthusiasm for the Chindits and their cause within the British and British Indian Armies was that it WAS a cul -de sac in military thinking. Sending multiple battalion units on long treks on foot became the province of resistance and insurgent forces. Western armies send small team into deep cover- but deliver combat forces by air- guided in by the smaller groups. Wingate was right about the effect of professional soldiers on the rear areas of an opponent- but wrong about how they might be delivered or who might be best for delivering the blow. Accordingly I am less impressed with the Chindit concept than some, and felt this book sometimes waded into hagiographic waters. I'll let readers decide if they agree with me.

There are a lot of adult themes (Calvert may have been a closeted gay man and faced sketchy military charges in later life) and a few graphic discussions of wounds , so this is a book for the Junior Reader over 14/15 years. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast, a real interesting resource. The gamer gets all the Chindit planning and Operation moves, through the eyes of one of the main actors. The modeler gets a lot of diorama ideas. but will need more photo reference works. The Military Enthusiast gets a deep dive on WWII Commando and Chindit planning, training and fighting. A very interesting book on a key Ofrficer of Special Operations in WWII.

[Simon Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

First class and thoroughly researched biography of an extraordinary soldier - but ultimately a very sad story. This is a very good follow-up to any of Rooney's books on the Chindits, giving you a more detailed look at one its most interesting characters other than Wingate himself.

[michael baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down, I am appalled at the treatment Mike Calvert was subjected to after serving his country in such an exemplary way. The Military Police owe this man an apology and in the very least the Court Marshall should be overturned.