In 1949 Mrs Lilian France, a well known breeder of Siamese cats under the Chinki prefix, decided to import two Burmese cats from America. The male, Casa Gatos Da Foong, affectionately known as Daffy, was a very laid back, gentle cat who won the hearts of everyone he met. The female was Chindwin’s Minou Twm, who had been mated to an unrelated male before being imported. Unfortunately Minou lost her kittens whilst in quarantine, and suffered bad health from then on, although she did manage to produce three further litters, all to Casa Gatos Da Foong. Because of Minou’s continuing health problems Mrs France decided to import another female from America, Laos Cheli Wat, who had already successfully reared a litter of kittens.
From these first 3 imports the breed quickly gained popularity, so in 1953 Mrs France imported a further male, Casa Gatos Darkee. At this point Mrs France had to give up her Burmese cats, and they were all transferred to Mrs C F Watson of Matlock, Derbyshire.
In 1956 Mrs Watson imported a third, unrelated, male called Darshan Khudiram, who had a longer wedge and more elegant type than the Casa Gatos cats. Soon after this another female, Folly Tou Po, was acquired by Mrs Watson from a Canadian Serviceman who was returning home. These six cats were the basis of the Burmese breed in the UK.