Charani wrote about the quite remarkable story of Gyles Mackerell. I saw the BBC report on 1st.Nov and my interest was awakened by the comment that the elephants were the property of Steel Bros. a large merchant company in Burma. After the WW2 I returned to Lloyds where I was a broker, and later an underwriter, and had as a client the elephant herd of Steel Bros. It was a substantial herd worth many £100,000's which I insured for many years - if my recollection is correct they were eventually nationalised by the Burmese Government. They were employed rather like a farmer uses a tractor, for moving tree trunks and other large heavy objects. My other recollection was that they were prone to die of respiratory complaints and stomach problems. I had never before heard of the amazing story of Gyles Mackerell. Caribou