Jack Swailes was a Lieutenant in 137 GPT Company at Kanglatongbi for nearly two years when he took some photographs which have now become the rare photograph that could fill some of the historic voids of Manipur. The photograph of Cycle Polo taken by Jack Swailes was presented to the present Titular King of Manipur Maharaj Leishemba Sanajaoba on Thursday by Yumnam Rajeshwor Singh who is researching WWII and is the President of 2nd World War Imphal Campaign Foundation.

After the battle of Lion Box (Kanglatongbi) they were flown out but returned to the same position after the lifting of the Siege of Imphal. He was later promoted to Captain and was on the staff of Brigadier Officer at the HQ of 256 Sub Area L of C and that’s when he took the photos. He was promoted to Major and was part of the team prosecuting the INA soldiers in Red Fort, Delhi after the war because he was a lawyer before joining the army.

Rajeshwor informs that his research associate Christopher Johnson had been in contact with Jack’s daughter Heather and her daughter Cathie who have kindly lent him their family photo album of Jacks time in India etc. ‘In that album, I saw the picture of our former King, Maharaj Bodhchandra’, echoed Rajeswor.

Rajeshwor then proposed the photographs to be presented to the Manipur Maharaj and she agreed. The two photos were presented to Manipur’s present Maharaj by him and Christopher Johnson with kind permission from Heather

These are rare pictures for Manipur. It was never printed in Manipur. These first prints are presented to our Maharaj on Thursday in Imphal, informed Rajeshwor.

Rajeshwor says that ‘there is a mention of the ‘cycle polo’ in our Royal Chronicle but there is no photo of it in our archives. So these photos are rare and are proof of it.

Rajeshwor shall hand over copies of these photographs to the State Archive also. The titular King who now represents Manipur as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya sabha is very happy to receive the rare photographs from London.