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Manipur-Indo-Burma Border 1944

Chapter Two ~ The Royal Air Force Regiment

In March 1944 No. 2944 Field Squadron of the Royal Air Force Regiment was stationed near Maungdaw on the Arakan Front giving protection to an A.M.E.S. (Air Ministry Experimental Station) these were mobile short range radar units giving early warning of approaching enemy aircraft to forward ground forces. These were normally positioned between the forward Infantry Units and Artillery. These Squadrons were formed at the RAF Regiment Depot, Secunderabad, India and amongst their many duties was the protection also of forward wireless posts and airfields, some behind enemy lines. The men were trained to Commando standards and the assault course was known as the most exacting in the far east. Each Squadron was made up of four flights of about 40 men each and a Headquarters Staff of approximately 10. Each flight had an Officer, a senior NCO and four Corporals. At this time they were equipped with .303 Lee Enfield rifles with pig sticker bayonets, rifle cup discharged 7 seconds fused grenades, hand grenades with 4 seconds fuses. Most NCOs and Officers had Sten Guns, also most Officers had side revolvers .38 Smith and Weston. Most men in addition also acquired a knife, the favourite being the West African machete, this had a straight blade about 12鈥欌�� long and 3鈥欌�� wide and was carried in a leather scabbard from the waist belt.

In the few days of April 1944 we heard that Imphal had been besieged by the Japanese and we received orders to prepare to move there after stand-to the next morning, each man was restricted to 29lbs in weight of personal kit. At 4.30 am we were relieved by another Regiment Squadron and taken by road to Dozhari, an airfield on the road back to Chittagong. There we were packed into a Dakota aircraft DC3s of the USAAF which had been diverted from Calcutta-China hump run. After a flight of some one and a half hours, the last part over jungle clad hills held by the Japanese. We landed at Palel at the Northern end of Imphal Valley, as we alighted from the aircraft our place was taken by non-combatants, it was a case of if you cannot fire a weapon get out. The food available was needed for others. We were each given a carton of American K rations about the size of a present day carton of 200 cigarettes, this was classed as an emergency meal for one man, we were told not to eat it all at once as they did not know where the next meal was coming from. In fact, that is all that we did receive for over 24 hrs. An army officer directed us to small hills, about 1,200鈥� above sea level beyond the airfield, these being the foothills of a much higher range. After being given a password we were told to dig in and get below ground, no easy task this in rock and shale. On the heights above were strung out units No.20 Indian Division, during the night our heavy artillery kept dropping shells in the saddles between the peaks to stop the Japanese breaking through, the ground shook and we thought we were going to be buries alive, quite an experience this when the order was 鈥淪hoot to kill anything that moved鈥�. Later in the Imphal campaign this was changed to use hand grenades only due to the flash of weapons giving the defence positions away. This was our first night in the siege of Imphal, we had very little sleep in between stag duties and even less of a breakfast as we nibbled at the remains of our K rations. After all the hard work spent in preparing dug outs we were moved the next morning to Imphal Main all weather airfield, this had two runways parallel to each other, the shorter one was used by fighter aircraft, the ones I remember well were the four bladed Spitfires of No.607 Squadron with Ace of Spades insignias. They flew out at night for safety from the ground attack, leaving the Service crews in the box. Our headquarters was a 鈥楤asha鈥� (bamboo and straw hut) built into the hillside, nearby was Wingate鈥檚 Chindits Headquarters. Towards Imphal Town was the 14th Army 4 Corps Headquarters and RAF Wing Headquarters, so Kipper Box was the main operational headquarters area. Every part of the valley was split up into independent box defences, each responsible for its own defence with tanks strategically placed to give support. These box defences each had their own code names, some named after animals, others fish 鈥� such as Salmon, Trout, Perch, Sardine and us Kipper altogether they formed the Keep. To one side of our box was a range of high hills, or should we say mountains, the radio post D for Donald was 5,0038鈥� above sea level, this became known as Nightmare Peak, the nightly visits from the unseen enemy, calls of 鈥楥ome on Johnny鈥� and telephone lines to 4 Corps and RAF Wing HQ鈥檚 cut. These heights formed the outer defences of Kipper Box. From the valley floor it was like looking at a wall, you had to put your head right back to see the tops, jungle covered in trees, bamboo and scrub, there was just one single path to the tops which proved just as dangerous and difficult to transverse as it looked, high up this went round a rock wall just wide enough for a loaded mule, on one side it was a sheer drop looking down into tree tops and for a time this was under sniper fire and the familiar ping on rock strikes. Pre-monsoon in the mornings we could have cotton wool like clouds hanging round the peaks and this helped, otherwise it was a case of tightening up all the strops on the mules and rush round. What was to follow was an hair raising experience. Our Squadron relieved Indian Troop L of C men who had dug shallow defence pits, these were made into strong bunkers and camouflaged. On arrival our CO said to me 鈥測ou are now a Muleteer in charge of supplies鈥� A bit of a change this from being the Units Armourer. I never knew how I got the job it might have been that I was brought up with horses. Along with my mate Bert Robson, who hails from Carlisle was a Slaughterman in civilian life. We were now muleteers.
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Added by: Alan Brigham - www.hullwebs.co.uk
Transcribed by Karen/Alan 大象传媒 Open Centre Hull

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