Commemorative ivory ornament made from a cross section of an elephant tusk, 1945
ornament, elephant tusk, ornament
Accession Number
NAM.2016-01-27-1
Description
Ivory ornament made to commemorate the service of the Elephant Company of the Royal Indian Engineers in Burma, 1945. Made from a cross section of an elephant tusk and is inscribed with the names of three soldiers who served with the unit in the Burma campaign, Claude Scanlon, Pin Finch and James Howard Williams, more famously known as ‘Elephant Bill’. Elephants were used extensively in the Burma campaign to carry and distribute supplies, build bridges, and as transport. They were discovered to be far better suited than mules to working in the jungle.
Campaigns
World War Two, Far East (1941-1945)
