大象传媒

When the day came to leave Clairwood, we found ourselves back at the docks, then on a small vessel called the City of Paris which apparently was a banana boat. The crew were all Indians on this vessel and we all slept on deck. By this time I had got my sea legs. All this time Joan was in my mind. I was worried, as so far I had not been able to write to her and tell her where I was, and I did not get any letters from her.

After a few days at sea, the temperature began to get increasingly warm as we neared India. We arrived at Bombay but the stay there was very brief. It was now May 1943. Again we found ourselves on a train and headed for a place called Deolali. It was a staging camp and it was correctly named. The train was full of troops from all different regiments. As the train left the station, dozens of small boys clung to the sides of it, shouting, 'Buckshee, sahib.'

Our stay in Deolali was three weeks of misery, with very little to do and still no word from my wife. There was a cinema which showed very old movies. We could buy lots of fruit such as limes and mangoes, etc. It was a good thing I liked fruit. We could not leave the camp; even if anyone had wanted to, it was miles from anywhere. It is a terrible thing to be far from home and not hear from those you love.

Nobody knew where we would be going from here. Everybody seemed at a loss. I was always keen on football, so we got a team together and played the locals who were the cooks and cleaners of the camp. The day came to leave for a place called Gaya. It was quite a long way off and, I was told, very hot. It was now June 1943.

The journey to Gaya was long and uneventful, fist travelling by train and then lorries. This place was also in the middle of nowhere and, as I had been warned, it was very, very hot. I was told it was averaging in the 100sF. Again we had huts similar to any of the other staging camps.

Each morning we would parade for a full half pint of salt water. Half of the men were very sick after drinking it. Even to this day, I can still taste it. Two or three times a week we would go on route marches along dry, dusty roads. Along the sides of the roads I saw a sight I had never seen before - large crabs which were white in colour. They were massive and we did not touch them. Most days in the afternoons we would not be on duty because of the heat. We would lie on our charpoys which, if you do not know, were wooden beds tied together with rope. I would lie on my bed in just a pair of shorts and a vest. The humidity and heat were so high that within an hour, even wearing just the shorts and vest,they would be soaking wet, and the sweat would be running off your body in rivulets. Other afternoons we would be given talks on the Japanese. It seemed they were not the supermen we had been told to believe. In fact, they were cruel and barbaric heathens. We had yet to meeet them. Sadly, it was not long before we had that opportunity. We stayed in Gaya for a month and I was just becoming acclimatised to the heat when orders came. We were moving again, this time to a place called Dimapur and then up into the hills.

After arrival at Dimapur we were put on lorries and driven round the mountain. To me it was more like a mountain than a hill. The journey was frightening as the road we travelled on had been cut out from the side of the mountain. Apart from that, every now and then there was a landslide, and workmen were working to clear the road so that the lorries could pass. When you looked out of the lorry, there was a drop of several thousand feet. It was best not to look! Our drivers were Indian and I did not trust their driving. Also, I had been told that a few lorries had already gone over the edge.

After an hour of driving along this treacherous mountain road without mishap, we reached our destination - a few tents in thick mud. We were greeted by an officer who told us we would only be staying there a few days, after which we would be going to join the Seaforth Highlanders. They had lost so many men, not so much from enemy action but from diseases such as malaria and dysentery. They were well under strength. I was unsure if I was pleased about this or not. From here on, it was wading through mud and hacking through jungle. We arrived at a place called Kohima.

Our stay in Kohima was short - 2 days. There was a hospital there but not much else. We left there to join the Seaforth Highlanders at a place called Wytoo. It is situated about 12 miles past Imphal. Imphal was mentioned many tmes during the Burma campaign. I joined the Seaforth Highlanders and was told that we were now in the First Indian Infantry Brigade, which was mad up of Seaforth Highlanders, Punjabs and the Sikhs. The brigade was part of the Twenty Third Indian Division. My home from then was a tent, with three other men, situated on the side of a hill or mountain. The hills were called cuds. The tents were on different levels going right up to the top of the hill. Mine was approximately half way up the hill.

I had decided some time ago that, whatever happened, I would make the best of it. I was put into number Three Platoon which was commanded by Lt. Tuder Davis, a tall man who seemed pleasant. He was in the Rhodesian mounted Police before the war. I also learned that the Seaforths had helped bring out of the jungle the remnannts of Brigadier Orde Wingate. On his first attempt at fighting behind enemy lines he had done his job exrtremely well. It was a great shame he had to die so tragically on his second attempt.

Life for the next few weeks was mainly getting used to living on a hill. Every evening we would parade at the bottom of the hill or cud. We woould be issued cream to rub over any exposed parts of the body. This was to stop the mosquitoes biting which could cause malaria. There was nothing to do of an evening except lie on your charpoy and listen to the bagpipes being played constantly until lights out. One grew used to it after a time. I never had chills run up and down my spine as I do now. It felt very good. Half the battalion was made up of London men. During the day we would parade, have our rifles checked over, and be told we would be leaving soon to meet the Japs. It was now July 1943.

That meeting came one evening. Everyone was woken up and told to stand to ready for action as the Japenese had been seen in the area. We walked about a mile, and then were told to lie down under cover and keep still and quiet. We lay there for about an hour. It must have been a Japanese raiding party which had now vanished. I don't think I was afraid; I was ready to meet the Japanese then and there. I think I was more afraid of the very black darkness and the thick undergrowth surrounding me. However, it was not to be that night. We were then stood down,and back to our tents we went. The guards were doubled. A week passed and no further incident ocurred.

I do not know how this came about, but I was asked to take on the job of batman to Lt. Davis. I did not know what the job entailed, but I assumed his present batman had been sent home on repatriation. My job as a batman entailed looking after Lt. Davis. This meant making his camp bed, and having his toiletries out and ready for him. It was not a hard job and he was pleased with my effort.

As an officer, Lt. Davis was told he was going to a place called Shillong which was the capital of Assam. He was to command the course of jungle training. I was thrilled to know I was going with him. The course was to take about three weeks. Lt. Davis was to be made up to acting major,as there would be captains on the course and he had to be a higher rank.

We arrived at the point where the course was to commence. I was only an observer, and the course was all about crossfire, which was being put to the test. For the first time it was very interesting. Major Davis was at it most of the day and there was very little for me to do. I would check his hut and make up his bed, and after that my time was my own. There was a town, if one could call it that - I would say it was more of a village. Myself and two other chaps decided to go down to this village. It was a ten minutes walk from camp and there was very little to see - a few shops and a cinema. We decided to go to the pictures. We were now mixing with the villagers who were very nice. We watched the film and headed back to camp.

I was very interested in the way the course was taking shape and the three weeks went very quickly. The camp was closed down and although Major Davis had to report back to the battalion, I was told I had to stay put for another week. During this week I found out that there was a racecourse a short distance from the village, so off I went. I bought a raffle ticket and seeing the jockeys on their horses, I shouted to the one who had my number, 'I want you to win.' He just grinned, but he did win and I won a few rupees. I went and thanked the jockey who just grinned again. That week also passed quickly and I enjoyed it very much, but now it was back to training for the fight to come against the Japanese.

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