大象传媒

A passage to India

I had a rough passage. We went to India, one of the biggest convoys that ever sailed the seas. We had to go round by Cape Horn.
We stopped on the way down at Freetown, I think we were there three days it was a massive convoy. The little darkies, they came up to the boat they looked midgies down there. All they wanted was a Glasgow tanner. If you chucked it as far as you possibly could they would get it you could see it going down. They could dive in you鈥檇 think they were never going to come up again.
It was sixpence it was a lot of money to them.
The cook house was some where down below, the port hole used to open up and out would come a bucket full of swill and it would get tipped up over anybody below it.
When we got to Cape Town, all the English people came looking for the troops they came up and made such a fuss of us, took us to their homes. They took us up onto Table Mountain, twelve apostles, they wanted us to go back they said they were short of white English folk.
We went on to Hong Kong but the Japs got there before us so they dropped us off at Bombay there was nowhere for us to stay in Bombay so they sent us across to Madras on a train it took a fortnight we used to stop at every station for brewing up.
By the time we got back these billets had been built out of bamboo that was our entry into India. We eventually got tank transporters thats what we more or less did
Manoeuvring about getting into traffic jams the roads weren鈥檛 built to carry our equipment. I was a mechanic then, I鈥檇 got promotion.

Cumberland Wrestling
We put time in, we used to do a bit of Cumberland wrestling, it was just for something to do. There was a chap, one of these Indians ploughing with one of these bullocks and a little wooden plough I couldn鈥檛 resist having a go.
It was more like a bible story.

A terrible accident.
The braising lamp I was working with blew up; I was saturated in fuel I just burned like a torch, right from my shoes right up.
I had my hands over my face I was going round in a circle, I could see every time I went round there was some light. I hit me head on the side of the wall, that stopped me in my tracks. I started undressing, I got so far and I got stuck. I had a boiler suit on, this lad came up behind me, he got hold of my boiler suit and pulled it down, they stuck round my ankles and it鈥檚 burning away, the skin was pulled off both hands and right down me chest.
We got into the back of a lorry, the Doctor was right at the front of the queue and I was right at the back we were the break down gang. It took him two hours to get back he gave me a shot of morphia it didn鈥檛 do one little bit of good.
They couldn鈥檛 get a plane to fly me to the nearest British hospital it was a hundred miles away in Poona.
They took me a native hospital they gave me a shot in the leg, I think it was salt and water. the pain was worse than the burn It was like blowing a match out and getting hold of the end I was in there about three days. I got blacker every day because the skin dies.
They put me on a train and sent me to Poona, they had no idea what they鈥檇 got, you can imagine the look of this corpse, my ears, they daren鈥檛 touch them they thought they would drop off. A South African doctor attended me, he said I had no idea how I survived I was such a bad case.
There was an old Sister, she was due for repatriation she said she would stay and look after me, she picked all the dead skin off my body. Then I eventually got in a bad way they sent a telegram home.
From RASC Record Office, 13th July1944
Dear Madam,
A letter has been received in this office from Ivegill Vicarage, Carlisle 6th July 1944 asking for further news to be conveyed to you on behalf of your son T/121858 Private Fisher, J. H.
In reply I am pleased to inform you that further information has been received in this office to the effect that Private Fisher was removed from the seriously ill list on the 4th July 1944
Enclosed please find Army form B10480B being official confirmation of the same.
The fact that your son was placed on the seriously ill list does not mean he was dangerously ill.
It is regretted however that the extent or area of his burns is not yet known but you may rest assured that should any later news be received in this office you will be notified immediately
I trust you will have reassuring news in the near future.
Yours Faithfully
From: Colonel IC RASC Records.

I was on me back six months, the sun was too hot for my body, the back of me hands used to blister with the sun. The Doctor was amazed he said 鈥渋t hasn鈥檛 spoilt your facial beauty鈥� They鈥檙e not much better now they鈥檝e seen a lot of work, the skin on the back of my hands is as thin as paper.

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