Mike Calvert

James Michael Calvert
Brigadier Calvert, third from left, with Orde Wingate (centre) and other Chindits at the "Broadway" airfield in Burma awaiting a night supply drop, 1944
Nickname(s)	Mad Mike
Born	(1913-03-06)6 March 1913 Rohtak, Delhi, India
Died	26 November 1998(1998-11-26) (aged 85) Richmond-upon-Thames, Surrey
Allegiance	United Kingdom / British Empire
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1933–1952
Rank	Lieutenant-Colonel (temporary Brigadier)
Commands held	Bush Warfare School; 77th Indian Brigade; Special Air Service Brigade; Malayan Scouts
Battles/wars	World War II; - Burma Campaign; - North-West Europe
Awards	Distinguished Service Order & bar; Silver Star (United States)
Other work	Writer and lecturer on guerrilla warfare and military history.

James Michael Calvert DSO and Bar (6 March 1913 – 26 November 1998) was a British soldier involved in special operations in Burma during World War II. He participated in both Chindit operations and was instrumental in popularizing the unorthodox ideas of General Orde Wingate. Calvert frequently led risky attacks from the front, a practice that earned him the nickname "Mad Mike." He was court-martialled for an alleged act of indecency and dismissed from the Army in 1952. He wrote three books about his military service but failed to find a career in engineering, writing, or academia.

Calvert was born at Rohtak in India, son of a member of the Indian Civil Service. He was educated at Bradfield College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.

He was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1933, and for a time was the Army's middleweight boxing champion. He read for the Mechanical Engineering Tripos at St. John's College, Cambridge. After graduating in 1936, he was appointed to the Hong Kong Royal Engineers. In this post, he learned Cantonese. He also witnessed the Japanese attack on Shanghai and the Rape of Nanking, which made him one of the few officers who truly appreciated the threat posed by the Japanese.