Wartime Indian butterflies
I am honoured to post some photos taken by Mr. Richard of 'Butterflies' collected by his Grand father Mr. Lewis Gray during World War-II. The mail below from Ms. Hilary Ash is self explainatory. My apologies for any mistaken identity.
Regards,
Sukanta
Striped Tiger-Danaus genutia
Small Grass Yellow - (Eurema brigitta)
Plain Tiger-Danaus chrysippus
Baronet -Euthalia nais
Common Jay - Graphium doson
Common Jezebel-Delias eucharis
Crimson Rose-Pachliopta hector
Eggfly-Hypolimnas bolina
Regards,
Sukanta
Striped Tiger-Danaus genutia
Small Grass Yellow - (Eurema brigitta)
Plain Tiger-Danaus chrysippus
Baronet -Euthalia nais
Common Crow -Euploea core
Common Emigrant-Catopsilia crocale
Common Jay - Graphium doson
Common Jezebel-Delias eucharis
Crimson Rose-Pachliopta hector
Eggfly-Hypolimnas bolina
( Dear Mr Das
The English summer, such as it was, has ended, so I am trying to catch up oncontacts and e-mails. Thank you for sending the article about your work - Ihave passed it round the committee. Some of the artworks are going soon, sowe will have a suitable space to try the salt-lick. No-one seems to know ifBritish butterflies have the same habit!
I mentioned to you that my father, Lewis Gray, was in India and Burma duringthe World War II, and brought back some butterflies. However I was mistakenabout where he collected them and he has now put me right. He was a signalsoperator with 2nd Division, who were part of the re-taking of Burma. Theirconvoy was stopped for several days by the 80th milestone on the road fromDimapur to Imphal (the spelling of those names has probably changed now),about 20 miles after the junction with the Kohima road. One afternoon whenoff duty he climbed the adjacent hillside, which was "covered inbutterflies" and collected a small number, which he pressed betweencigarette papers and somehow manged to keep all through the campaign and getback to England. With advice from our local museum staff, a few years ago Iput them in a folder, and sealed them up to preserve them. Our son Richardhas photographed them, and I am attaching the photographs to this andseveral subsequent e-mails, as they are rather large files. The first photograph here, showing all of them, I dated originally 1942, but I think it must have been later than that as he only arrived in India in 1942 and the Burma campaign started sometime after that. Dad is now 96 years old and in poor health. He remembers in his childhood in agricultural England (Huntingdonshire) when their fields were covered in butterflies in summer - something we do not see now as our populations of butterflies have also plummeted.
Butterfly measurements are on each e-mail, in mm, width and height. Maybe you can recognise some!
Best Wishes
The English summer, such as it was, has ended, so I am trying to catch up oncontacts and e-mails. Thank you for sending the article about your work - Ihave passed it round the committee. Some of the artworks are going soon, sowe will have a suitable space to try the salt-lick. No-one seems to know ifBritish butterflies have the same habit!
I mentioned to you that my father, Lewis Gray, was in India and Burma duringthe World War II, and brought back some butterflies. However I was mistakenabout where he collected them and he has now put me right. He was a signalsoperator with 2nd Division, who were part of the re-taking of Burma. Theirconvoy was stopped for several days by the 80th milestone on the road fromDimapur to Imphal (the spelling of those names has probably changed now),about 20 miles after the junction with the Kohima road. One afternoon whenoff duty he climbed the adjacent hillside, which was "covered inbutterflies" and collected a small number, which he pressed betweencigarette papers and somehow manged to keep all through the campaign and getback to England. With advice from our local museum staff, a few years ago Iput them in a folder, and sealed them up to preserve them. Our son Richardhas photographed them, and I am attaching the photographs to this andseveral subsequent e-mails, as they are rather large files. The first photograph here, showing all of them, I dated originally 1942, but I think it must have been later than that as he only arrived in India in 1942 and the Burma campaign started sometime after that. Dad is now 96 years old and in poor health. He remembers in his childhood in agricultural England (Huntingdonshire) when their fields were covered in butterflies in summer - something we do not see now as our populations of butterflies have also plummeted.
Butterfly measurements are on each e-mail, in mm, width and height. Maybe you can recognise some!
Best Wishes
Hilary Ash )
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