大象传媒

This story is taken from an interview with Major John Potter, and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions. The interview and transcription was by Bruce Logan.
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I joined the army in Ballymena in 1943, and attended what was called 鈥渦niversity short course鈥�, which involved studying for a wartime degree at Queens and the Tech, and living in the Presbyterian hostel in Howard Street. One of the more notable things about that was one of my fellow students was Robin Day, who I remember when we had current affairs discussions he was exactly the same as when he was 40 years later, doing the 大象传媒 programmes.

I was commissioned in Nov 44, and then went off to India in the end of April 45. Landed in Bombay in VE day, funnily enough, joined an Indian Medium Artillery Regt which was preparing to go on the landings in Malaysia 鈥� Malaya as it was then. Then it didn鈥檛 happen, because the atomic bombs were dropped and the Japs surrendered.
It was an operation going to be called Operation Zipper. Huge op, amphibious op, and potentially it could have been an absolute disaster. Because the govt had decided to speed up the rate of demobilisation, so that the soldiers who had war experience had gone home, and those taking part in the Invasion had very little experience or no battle experience at all. When the force landed near Port Switenham, they hadn鈥檛 done a proper beach recce and they put the landing craft ashore on a sandbank and quite a lot of the infantry as they waded ashore were drowned. The mangrove swamps came right down to the beach, the vehicles bogged right down. As I said, it was called Operation Zipper and cynics said that was a very good name for it because absolutely nothing was buttoned up.

VE day, I actually walked down the gang-plank and set foot on Indian soil for the first time on VE day. And of course it was, we were frightfully pleased but we still had a war to fight.
The Navy issue rum at the drop of a hat. I remember there were celebrations in the Officers鈥� Mess that night, but I don鈥檛 think I took part in it. Having arrived in a totally strange country, feeling a bit lost.

That was the end of my war experience, but I then stayed on in India through independence on 15th Aug 1947. It was a terrible time in India. I had the dreadful job of escorting, with some of my Madrassi soldiers, a refugee train taking Hindus into India. It was a time of terrible slaughter, a very tragic time. But an abiding memory of that time is that I went to one of Ghandi鈥檚 prayer meetings in Delhi, it鈥檚 called Bola House. Bola was one of the major manufacturers in India, had connections with Mackies in Belfast. And we went to this prayer meeting, and this frail old man leaning on the shoulder of his 2 great-nieces came out into the garden and walked and I have an abiding memory of that. When I came back to this country, I don鈥檛 know exactly how many weeks, he鈥檇 been murdered 鈥� assassinated in the very place I鈥檇 seen and heard him.

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