大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Vijiha Bashir, at 大象传媒 Scotland on behalf of John Lynch from Paisley and has been added to the site with the permission of Johnstone History Society. The author fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

I was once asked a rather strange question, 鈥淲hat did you get out of the war鈥�? Without having to think about the question I immediately replied, 鈥淭wo times thank you and one tomato.鈥�

This story is dedicated to the members of the 3rd Rescue and Salvage Unit, Royal Air Force, who one morning without thought of personal safety, came to my assistance. They will never know how grateful I was at the time and how proud I remain to have been one of them. To fully understand how much their actions meant to me it is necessary to relate some incidents which led up to this action.

All squads had been ordered into Headquarters to go through Mandalay. On the way nine others and myself were ordered to pick up spare parts from a downed Spitfire. By the time we reached the aircraft the Pilot was dead and had been taken away for burial. We quickly salvaged all the pats we could and started back to Headquarters.

As we approached the headquarters area we drifted slightly off course and jus as we were nearing the perimeter I stumbled over a tripwire. I immediately called out and we fell to the ground just split seconds before a semicircle of machine guns opened fire. With bullets whizzing over my head I crawled to the bunker on our right. I readied myself to kick the door open but at the last moment decided to try pulling it open and I was lucky as it swung open freely before I screamed 鈥淐ease fire, it鈥檚 our people!鈥�

To say the sight that greeted me was ludicrous would be a gross understatement. Four RAF regiment men were in the bunker, one lying on his bunk reading a comic book, another pouring himself a cup of tea through a strainer and the other two nonchalantly pouring bullets through the machine. 鈥淲hat the hell is going on?鈥� I shouted.

They immediately ceased fire and one of the men, a corporal, looked up at me. 鈥淪orry mate but we were told this was a 鈥榮afe area鈥� and if anything tripped the wire it would probably be an animal,鈥�

I looked at him in disgust. 鈥淚f we鈥檇 been Japs you would all be dead.鈥� 鈥淵ou might like to know that we are just back from a 鈥楽AFE AREA鈥� where a pilot survived a crash landing only to die of Japanese bayonet wounds.鈥�

Still angry we carried on into camp where Sgt. Smith told me to go and see the Commanding Officer with my report. As I crossed behind the Water Bowser on the way to the Commanding Officer鈥檚 office I saw four naked young men cavorting under the drinking water taps. 鈥淗ey, turn those bloody taps off鈥� I shouted. 鈥淢ind your own business鈥� one of them shouted back.

I was still carrying my Sten and raised it to fire a warning shot over their heads but unfortunately it was still on automatic and for the first time since it had been issued it dint jam. By the time I removed my finger from the trigger the whole clip had been expended. Sergeant Smith came running over and glanced at the four men now cowering in the mud. I told him what had happened and he accompanied me to see the C.O.
As we entered his office the C.O looked up at Sgt. Smith and asked 鈥淲hat was all that shooting about Sergeant?鈥� Sgt. Smith told him what had happened and shaking his head the C.O. sent him to check how much water we had left. I had just finished my report when the four young men came bursting in and they were all in their officer uniforms and were closely followed by Sergeant Smith. 鈥淲ell Sergeant?鈥� the C.O. asked 鈥淥ne hundred and sixty gallons left Sir鈥� came the reply. The C.O. turned to face me. 鈥淥.K Lynch, you can go but next time aim lower!鈥�

I listened outside for a minute as the young officers were informed in rather strong language the importance of water discipline. As I headed towards my tent and bed, a feeling of terrible depression came over me. Was it all worth it? The young pilot killed after landing safely, those four hooligans nearly killing us and the others wasting precious water. As I lay on my bunk I noticed my ears and hair were wet and my pillow was sodden. It took me a few minutes to realise I was crying. I didn鈥檛 try to stop and could feel a scream rising in my chest. It was a question to God. 鈥淲hat am I here for? What am I doing in this God forsaken Country?鈥� I was to find the answer to that question the very next day.

The next morning there was barely enough water for breakfast and no time to find more as the Unit was pulling out. I was in the lead truck of the convoy and as we crested the top of a valley I heard a voice calling halt. One of the officers I had encountered the day before came running up and called me out of the truck.

鈥淥.K Lynch, as you were so worried about the bloody water, take two men and see if that village has a deep well.鈥� And he pointed to a large village on the far side of the other hill. As I got ready, I mumbled that I鈥檇 like an invitation to his parents wedding a remark which unfortunately he heard and called me aside. After letting me know what happened to soldiers who were openly disrespectful to officers he ordered me to cross the valley. A young soldier called McKee who had only recently arrived in Burma asked me to pick him as one of the two others who were to accompany me, and a soldier whom I didn鈥檛 know also volunteered to join us.

I was seething with anger as I approached the perimeter of the village and marched straight in. Immediately I knew I was in trouble when a group of women doing some washing didn鈥檛 stop or even look at me. At the same time a group of children chose to ignore my entry to their village and continued to play a ring about the roses kind of game and it was then that I noticed there were no dogs around. Something clearly, was not right. McKee and the other soldier were still outside the village and I motioned for them to stop also signalling to McKee to go back to the unit and get them off the hill where they were an easy target.

The other soldier took cover as I edged towards the well then called out to the Head man which was normal practice when entering a village. Suddenly, I heard an almighty commotion, screaming and shouting. I looked up to see every man in my unit charging across the valley, Kukri knives flashing, the butcher waving his sledgehammer, the cook with meat cleavers, one of the drivers with a large starting handle and all the rest with guns 鈥� even the doctor was shooting his pistol.

I sensed some motion from the other side of the village and got down behind the well. Five young girls came running into view followed by a distinguished looking old man who I took to be the Headman and suddenly all the villagers were laughing and crying and congregating around the well. I noticed a young girl with the most beautiful brown eyes, standing watching me.

As McKee entered the village I grabbed hold of him and asked what the hell had happened and he said that when he got to the bottom of the hill the C.O. had called and asked him what was wrong? He had replied 鈥淛ock鈥檚 in trouble鈥� the C.O. then shouted 鈥淟ET鈥橲 GO鈥� and every man charged across that open valley. Apparently eight Japanese soldiers had taken the headman and the girl鈥檚 hostage, but when they saw the whole unit charging they took fright and had ran out of the village on the other side. If an Officer or N.C.O had been with them the hostages might have been killed, however, as it was they were free and the whole village was ecstatic.

Using the little native language I had picked up, I asked the headman if we could have some water. He said yes, but they couldn鈥檛 give us any food as the Japanese had cleaned them out a few days beforehand. I told the others that the villagers were short of food and they started to share ours out. This generosity would leave us short later on but no one complained.

The villagers insisted on carrying the water and filling the Bowser for us and while they were doing this I decided to sit down and have something to eat. The young girl who had been watching me earlier sat down beside me and watched while I took a tin of steak and kidney that an American friend had given me, I cut it in half with my knife and gave the girl one half along with my spoon. I also had a packet of 鈥榟ardtack鈥� biscuits, which I gave to her. She opened the packet and with great deliberation spread the four biscuits across her knees then she picked up two and gave them to me, whereupon we ate the finest meal I had had for years. I imagine she still has my spoon!

When the Bowser was full we all trooped back across the valley. The Headman and the young girl came with me and it came as quite a surprise when the headman said in perfectly good English, 鈥淭hey call you jock because you were born in Scotland?鈥� 鈥淵es鈥� I replied 鈥淵our name is?鈥� He asked and I replied proudly 鈥淛ohnny Lynch of Paisley, Scotland.鈥�

He bowed and placed his hands together and said goodbye and when I did the same, he took my hands in his, kissed the tips of my fingers four times and said 鈥渨ell Johnny Lynch, my whole village will pray for you every night till you get back to Paisley safe and sound.鈥� Then his eyes filled with tears and he whispered 鈥淭hank you, thank you.鈥�

The young girl who had been standing close by, went over to some tomato plants, picked the ripest one she could see and handed it to me which made my eyes fill with tears. As we started off I noticed the other children were copying her and were handing out tomatoes to the other men in the unit and that moment I knew why I was in Burma. I hope God accepted my thanks.

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