大象传媒

This story is taken from an interview with George and Peggy Lapsley, and has been added to the site with their permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions. The interviewer was David Reid, and the transcription was by Bruce Logan.
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There鈥檚 one thing that goes through my head all the time, and that is the 14th Army. The 14th Army was the British Army in Burma. They鈥檙e the ones that beat the Japanese at their own game. Now I couldn鈥檛 tell you how brave they are, and I could not tell you or describe to you the things they went through in that jungle. We were a landing party. I was naval party 1031, and we just took them in, and got out as quick as possible and went on to the next one. They landed down the coast and they were such brave men, and they had a marvelous General, I think it was Bill Slim. But I once saw them in Rangoon at the Garrison theatre. We had a special day, because the great and gracious Gracie Fields was coming to Rangoon to sing to the troops. I mean, nothing terrible happened to me except diseases. But I saw these people sitting in the garrison theatre, with their rifles gripped tightly in their hand, and the tears streaming down their faces. And Gracie Fields there
鈥淎nybody here from Bolton?鈥�
鈥淚 am, I am!鈥�
The tears of those men and the bravery of those men will stick to me to my dying days. People talk about armies and 8th army and what have you armies. The 14th Army, as far as I was concerned, suffered most. Doing a great job, coming through Burma and beating the Japanese.

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