From the archive record
Imphal, the capital of Manipur State, is in north east India and borders on upper Burma. The cemetery lies10km from the airport on the Imphal-Dimapur road (Highway 39) in the Deulahland district of the town. The small road leading to the cemetery is 1km along this highway on the right side, opposite the D M College. The easiest route from Burma (now Myanmar) to India is through Imphal into Assam and after the invasion of Burma, Imphal became a focal point in the defence of India against the Japanese. Early in 1942, as the Japanese approached Rangoon, a very large proportion of its Indian population fled from the city to India, many of them to Upper Burma and so by Chindwin tracks to Assam. In May of that year, Commonwealth forces followed the same route on their retreat to India. In their