Arthur Swinson

Who was Arthur Swinson?

Arthur Horace Swinson was a British Army officer, writer, playwright, and historian.

Born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, Swinson attended St Albans School. He enlisted in the Rifle Brigade in 1939 and in 1940 was commissioned into the Worcestershire Regiment. With the Worcestershire Regiment he fought at Kohima. The diaries he kept during the battle are now lodged in the Imperial War Museum. He served until 1946, with postings in Malaya, Burma, Assam and India during World War II. He served at Kohima, India. He subsequently became a writer and producer at the BBC where he produced a number of programmes for Richard Attenborough.

In 1966 Swinson wrote and published "Kohima," an account of the Battle of Kohima which was fought from April to June, 1944 and in which he was a participant. The preface states that Field Marshal William Slim directed Swinson to ensure that Kohima and Imphal are described as twin battles fought under Slim's 14th Army. This Swinson does. Ultimately, however, the book focuses on the experience of the British 2nd Infantry Division. The book is a good adjunct to Slim's "Defeat Into Victory" and Masters' "Road Past Mandalay." He was married with three children.