Naga Queen - Pauline Hayton

In late 1930s Britain, a young woman yearns for the exciting adventures that seem to be reserved exclusively for men. "Come visit me in India," her friend Alexa writes, and Ursula Graham Bower does, unaware that Assam is where her dreams will come true. Flouting convention, she goes to live in the jungle-clad hills with reformed headhunters, the Zemi Nagas, where she finds fulfillment and a sense of purpose by recording their culture and providing much needed medical care. Her attempts to reconcile the distrustful Zemi with the British authorities are unsuccessful, until the 1942 Japanese invasion of Burma becomes the catalyst to heal the breach. The British Army recruits her into "V" Force as a guerilla. Leading a band of Naga scouts and a platoon of soldiers, she watches the border areas. The Japanese invade India and, with British lines twenty miles behind her, the danger increases. Fearing the authorities will make her leave if they contact her, and that the Nagas will fold if she goes, Ursula signals H.Q.: "Going forward to find the enemy. Send more rifles." The Nagas remain loyal in the most dangerous circumstances, even being prepared to die with her. They put their trust in Ursula and the authorities and the authorities trust them, and they do not fail each other. The Zemi suspicion of the British Government dissolves. As the war moves into Burma, Ursula receives the Order of the British Empire Medal for her exploits. Lt. Colonel Betts, a "V" Force officer intrigued by the idea of a woman guerilla and seeking an unconventional wife, schemes to meet Ursula. She marries him, having found a man who loves her for living life on her own terms