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We left Palel and headed out of the jungle. We had to cross a river with a fast flowing current adnd the engineers had rigged up a box container on a rope pulley, ready for the brigadier to cross. He got in, I followed, and we were winched across. We were on our way to Shillong (which was the capital of Assam but not a very big place) and rest. On our way we stopped at a place called Cherra Punji which, so I was told, is the wettest place on earth as it never stops raining! We arrived at Shillong after quite a ride down the treacherous mountain roads. After dropping the brigadier at the officers’ mess where he would be staying, I went to find my accommodation. Once again it was in a hut which was very comfortable, and for meals I went to another hut which housed the dining-hall and kitchens. I had a good meal and then it was time for bed as it had been a long day.

After a good night’s sleep I was awake early. I went to check that the brigadier was all right and then went off to see if Shillong had changed much since I was last there. Walking down the street, I could not believe my eyes when I suddenly saw Lt. Davis coming towards me. He was equally disbelieving! There were tears in my eyes when I saw how much weight he had lost and how pale he was. He told me he had been sent to Shillong for convalescence after the doctors had taken part of one of his ribs and put it into his head. He insisted I accompany him back to his room so that he could tell me more about it over a cup of tea. Later he said, ‘I want you to have my wrist-watch as it is the least I can do for you for saving my life.’ After much refusing, I did take the watch which had his first name, Tudor, inscribed on it. He then asked what had happened after he had been wounded, so I told him all that had occurred and that it had taken me four days to get him to where he could be taken to hospital. He could not believe it as he had been unconscious for a lot of our journey and had thought it had only taken a day. He asked me if I would write down all that had occurred during those four days as he wanted to send an account of it to his father in England. It took six sheets of paper to write it all down, and I found out later that his father then wrote to my wife, Joan, thanking me for saving his son’s life.

He was going back to the Seaforth Highlanders and begged me to go back with him but I told him that my job was now driver/batman to Brigadier Rodham and it would be difficult to tell him I wanted to return to the Seaforths (not that I really wanted to.) Had I felt Lt. Davis would be staying with the Seaforths I might have considered it as we had been through so much together (which I will never forget), but I was happy in the job I had and I felt sure he would be sent home. However, when I said my goodbyes to him, I said I would almost certainly see him again where the Seaforths landed up. Unfortunately that was the last time I saw Lt. Davis.

The Forty-ninth was now sent to Lucknow to train for our next big push.

To read part 13 go to: A7356620

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