´óÏó´«Ã½

We were being trained to land in Malaya. Whilst we were doing that and about to leave, the war ended, the atom bombs were dropped. We all felt greatly relieved. The Japanese were pretty horrific people in a way. they were likely to treat their own people in the way they treated the British. They just had this set of rules or codes or, but meeting and talking to people who’d been prisoners of war, they had a hell of a time. So we didn’t feel any guilt over the bombs at all. We did think we’d be going home, but we got sent to Sumatra to hold it until the Dutch army could come and take over because it was a Dutch possession. And also to organise the Japanese, who were on the island, to go home. We only occupied two towns on the island, one up north and one south. There weren’t all that many British troops there — a few thousands — there were many more thousands of Japanese. They were left to control the island under our instruction. We had nowhere to put them, so they remained in their camps on the island, and when you got a boat available to take them to Japan, you’d call in so many units, and they’d come in their trucks or march — fully armed — through the town. When they got to the docks, they’d put their arms down on the dockside and walk up the gangplank. Officers would salute and hand over their swords and they went home. But, as the Japanese decreased, they departed by saying to the the Indonesians, the local people, ‘We’re going, you’d better take over. You’d better learn how to run a town — and to run the country.’ Before, the Dutch had run it and as they had not yet returned. The Japs had come in and replaced them and now they were going, and although they understood some British troops there, there weren’t many of us. So they formed their own little armies. By the time most of the Japanese had gone, it was like the worst period in Northern Ireland — very hairy to put it mildly. There wasn’t anything we could really do about it. When the Dutch arrived some six to nine moths laterwe handed over to them, but they didn’t last long because by then the Indonesians had really got organised, and in Java, I think it was even worse. I was in Sumatra for about a year. I was one of the few who had the pleasure of going into the island to do a recce to report. It was a pleasure as we were in no real danger — being protected by the Japanese. It was a beautiful island. My orders were to to find out exactly how many camps were there, also how many Japanese ammunition dumps. They brought most of the stuff they’d captured in Singapore in the way of arms over to Sumatra. There were big warehouses full of them. It was our responsibility to destroy it, because we couldn’t handle it or take it anywhere. Because of American lease-lend, anything that wasn’t use in the war had to be sent back to America — in theory. Everything had to be paid for. I don’t think many people realise, it had to be paid for for years after the war. They didn’t give it us. . We went a little further south than a place called Prapat. I was to return there again to destroy a large aramament store. I had quite a biggish patrol, several truckloads. On this occasion, I came upon an encampment, a caged encampment containing thousands of Dutch women and English from Singapore and other places — internees. They were greatly relieved to find an English officer soldiers appearing. I arranged for their transport back to safety. Years later, I had a letter sent from our regimental association asking for the help of any South Wales Borderers who had been in Sumatra; there was a lady who had written from Holland. She’d been born in Sumatra just as the Japanese were occupying, her father had been sent off to the Burma railway. She was taken with her mother and sister into a camp. She was 6 years old when she came out. She’d been a journalist in Holland on one of the big papers, just retiring, and she was going to write a book. I didn’t write back straight away, I thought somebody else was bound to have written, but I eventually wrote her a line, and the long and the short of it was that she came to see me.She reckoned I’d let her out of this prison camp. The conditions were very severe in the camp. I think the worst thing was, it transpired later that there was a warehouse in the encampment full of Red Cross parcels that had been sent, but they’d never distributed them. Their rations were very, very short. She said that the Japs, when they found the English were there and they’d have to hand over the prisoners, they started to give them more food, but the prisoners had heard rumours — whether it was true or not I don’t know — that in other camps, they had been giving the prisoners food that was poisoned, just to reduce the numbers and get rid of them. So, when they were given this extra food, they wouldn’t eat it.

I went back later, as I say, to supervise the destruction of the dump. Not wanting to stay with the Japanese. I went with only a driver, my batman, and an interpreter — who could speak Indonesian and Japanese… and English — a bright lad. Later I arranged for him and his family to get Singapore because his life wouldn’t have been worth living if he’d stayed., We were supposed to be living under the protection of the Japanese, in one of their camps. I didn’t really like the idea. Not far from the Japanses camp I saw a notice saying, ‘Swiss Hotel’. So I said to the interpreter, ‘Ask the Japanese what it was.’
They said, ‘Oh no, you can’t stay there because it’s neutral.’
I said, ‘Oh, damn that, the war’s over, I’ll go and see the owner.’ He was living there on his own with a couple of Indonesian ladies who came in to help. I asked him how he survived during the war — he’d survived by trading brandy. I said, ‘Well, where do you get the brandy?’
He said, ‘I make it, come and look.’
And he’s got in his garden a round hut, all thatched, and in it was this brass or copper thing that went up into an onion shape. It was quite a few feet across. Up until my 21sr birthday in Sumatra, I had never drunk alchohol at all. I was very popular because when the drinks allowance came through, I didn’t want it, and there were plenty of people that did.
On my 21st birthday a fellow, more genial officer, came through to my room and said, ‘I know you don’t drink, but it’s you 21st birthday and I bought you this’. (he must have got it on the black market) — a bottle of champagne. He said, ‘I’m going to open it now and we’re going to sit here and we’re going to drink it’ Which we did. I really enjoyed it.

At this place I started having brandy — I quite liked that. My two favourite drinks from then on have always been champagne and brandy. I can still drink champagne now, but I can’t drink brandy unfortunately. When I see this officer now I remind him he’s responsible for my debauchery, entirely responsible!

We were sent on detachment to a place called Brastag up in the hills. In fact it was the place where Jos, the lady from Holland, had been born, and she had nothing to reminded her of that at all. I asked at the big hotel that was our headquarters — there was still a manager there — if I could have a souvenir. He gave me a large towel with Brastag Hotel on it, so I gave it to her. I’d never used it: I just kept it as a memento — for 59 years.

In early March 1946 I was at long last promoted Captain and appointed Battalion Intelligence Officer. In March 1946 the 6th Battalion SWB was disbanded due to large numbers who were to return to home for demobilisation. I was to remain in Sumatra as Brigade I.O. until the official to the Dutch in October 1946. I was granted a special four weeks leave in the UK before returning to Burma.

But that is another story.

'This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Genevieve Tudor of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Shropshire CSV Action Desk on behalf Anthony Cave-Browne-Cave and has been added to the site with. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.'

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.