Papers of Fleming Mackenzie

Lieutenant-Colonel Fleming Mackenzie of the 1st Battalion of the Fifteenth Punjab Regiment commanded the Escort to the Trade Agent in Tibet in 1938-1939. This material contains original diaries written whilst in Tibet, later typed drafts of these diaries, essays written about his experiences, hand-drawn maps and other material associated with his visit.

Lt. Colonel Fleming Mackenzie was born in Tapah, Malay Straits' Settlements (Malaysia) in 1897. His father was the Chief Surveyor for the opening up of the area. He returned to England with his mother, attending first St Paul's and later Bedford schools.
At the outbreak of WWI, Mackenzie became a tank commander and was present throughout the Battle of Cambrai. Joining the Indian Army (1st Battalion, XV Punjab Regiment) after the War, he served in Calcutta, recruiting in Palampur, and moved with his battalion up to the North West Frontier (bordering Waziristan and Afghanistan) in 1936. He was part of the Escort to the Trade Agent to Tibet in 1938-39.
During the 1939-45 War, Mackenzie raised a battalion of the XV Punjab Regiment and later commanded a battalion of the Mahratta Light Infantry fighting in the Greek Islands. He retired from the Indian Army after Partition in August 1947.
Returning to the UK, Mackenzie later qualified as a Guide Lecturer and escorted many foreign visitors, including some who came for the Queen's Coronation in 1953. He died in 1980.

The material was divided into series:
* FM/1 - Diaries
* FM/2 Escorts in Tibet
* FM/3 Essays
* FM/4 Tibetan Vocabulary
* FM/5 Lists of Photographs and Slides
* FM/6 Correspondence
* FM/7 Maps
* FM/8 Illustrations
* FM/9 Tibet: A Sovereign Nation for Centuries
* FM/10 Label

Open. Please contact the archivist. Details can be found here : https://royalasiaticarchives.org/. The archive is open on Tuesdays and Fridays 10-5, and Thursdays 2-5. Access is to any researcher without appointment but it will help if an appointment is made via phone or email. Please bring photo ID.

The material was donated by Fleming Mackenzie's daughter, Ann O'Neill, in July 2022.

Lt. Colonel Fleming Mackenzie was born in Tapah, Malay Straits' Settlements (Malaysia) in 1897. His father was the Chief Surveyor for the opening up of the area. He returned to England with his mother, attending first St Paul's and later Bedford schools.
At the outbreak of WWI, Mackenzie became a tank commander and was present throughout the Battle of Cambrai. Joining the Indian Army (1st Battalion, XV Punjab Regiment) after the War, he served in Calcutta, recruiting in Palampur, and moved with his battalion up to the North West Frontier (bordering Waziristan and Afghanistan) in 1936. He was part of the Escort to the Trade Agent to Tibet in 1938-39.
During the 1939-45 War, Mackenzie raised a battalion of the XV Punjab Regiment and later commanded a battalion of the Mahratta Light Infantry fighting in the Greek Islands. He retired from the Indian Army after Partition in August 1947.
Returning to the UK, Mackenzie later qualified as a Guide Lecturer and escorted many foreign visitors, including some who came for the Queen's Coronation in 1953. He died in 1980.

This material was catalogued by Nancy Charley, RAS Archivist, in 2022.

Digital photography (without flash) for research purposes may be permitted upon completion of a copyright declaration form, and with respect to current UK copyright law.

The material was held by the family of Fleming Mackenzie until its donation to the Royal Asiatic Society.

The donation contained photographs and glass slides of Mackenzie's time in Tibet (Photo.86 and Glass Slides.09) There is also a small collection of photographs depicting policemen in different Asian countries (Photo.85). These are catalogued on the RAS Library catalogue: https://ras.koha-ptfs.co.uk/.

Published

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