大象传媒

My name is Billy Clift, I was born in Lancashire in 1919, and I was always a bit of an adventurer, a harum scarum. In 1937 I joined the Royal Artillery, and after training at Woolwich I was sent to Black down in Somerset for more training, very soon I found myself on a ship bound for Malaya. While in Malaya I learned all sorts of thing like how to blow up bridges etc. Over the next 2 years I went the length and breadth of Malaya.

Then in 1939 I found myself being shipped to Singapore. This was place I grew to love; by this time I was a corporal and the two stripes made all the difference. When Singapore was surrendered I was marched to Changi Prison about 15 miles away. Conditions were not good, when the Japs found out I was an explosives man they arranged for my transfer to another part of Singapore either Simes rd or Havelock rd prisons. Luckily they never got chance as I escaped whilst being moved. It took me over 6 months to actually get away, I was hidden and looked after by pals I had made before the surrender. Eventually I made it to India where after a debriefing I was sent down to Burma with a squad whose main job was to harass and perplex the Japs. At the fall of Rangoon in 1942 I was taken prisoner and put in Rangoon jail. The guards were bastards and loved to hit you around the face and head if you didn鈥檛 bow low enough or if you looked at them. I was soon in trouble when I stole some eggs but got found out. I was taken to a place in the middle of the jail and wired to a post. Every 24 hours the wire was tightened a few degrees, I thought I would be cut in half. I had no food or water and the heat was intense the insects even worse.. It was excruciating agony but at least I was alive. Before I escaped they had pulled out my fingernails.
I survived.

When I had regained my strength, I managed to overpower a guard by strangling him, and I made good my escape that night by swimming the Irrawaddy river (I had been a schoolboy champion swimmer for Lancashire) I was on the run for many months. I met up with a Scottish lad called Lofty but I never knew his last name. We lived off wild dog, snake and berries. One time we were hiding in a village when a Jap patrol came through, the villagers showed us where to hide, it was the village cesspit. Now I was 6 feet tall but Lofty was only about 5ft 3inches hence his ironic name. So for 3 hours, which seemed like 3 days we stood in the cesspit with wooden buckets over our heads, poor Lofty was drowning in it so I had to hold him under his chin and keep him afloat. Eventually once again we got back to India. By now I had lost my regiment good and proper.

While recuperating I was approached by a major who knew what I had done previously, he told me that Wingate was forming a special services section which would be called the Chindits they were to be dropped hundreds of miles behind jap lines. Only the mad and the bad need apply. Long range penetration it was called and was I interested. Of course I was and before I knew it I was at Orcha on the banks of the Berlwa River training to be part of an elite squad.
In 1943 the chindits executed their first expedition which was called 鈥淥peration Longcloth鈥� we blew up bridges, and eventually set fire to the Burma oil fields using the 鈥渟corched earth鈥� policy. On one occasion we stole a large paddle steamer and went up the river to where we knew the japs where. We crept into a village at night and saw a light shining from a hut. Silently we crept up to the hut but the man behind me pushed me and I pushed my major who fell through the door, the room was full of Jap officers having a meeting, unlike james bond who would have blown them to bits, the major said 鈥淚鈥檓 awfully sorry about that鈥� then we ran like hell into the jungle. All we heard were the Jap officers laughing at us.
The next day we went to another village and gathered all the Burmese around us my major called out to them that the japs were around and that the British would protect them, when all of a sudden a Jap jumped up from the ground and shouted in English 鈥� Lay down your arms British dogs鈥� I leaped up and shouted 鈥渂ollocks to that鈥� and shot him through the head. On our return from that foray our major was hauled up for stealing the boat.
On the whole that operation was not a success.

In March 1944 we set off in gliders from Jhansi to be flown back into Burma. My pilot was the U.S. film star Jackie Coogan. In all there were 30,000 men, 400 mules and horses and 1 spotted dog.

This was called 鈥淥peration Thursday鈥� Wingate said 90 days maximum we would be there, 5 months later when I was still in the jungle still fighting. I was awarded the military medal for my part in the battle of Pagoda hill, which took place on 17th march 1944. My commanding officer was killed and I took charge of 3 platoon and led them in a charge I managed to kill Jap officer and capture his sword which I still have. Again on 23rd March the officer in charge was killed and I took charge leading the men to victory and once again capturing the machine gun post. I finally came back to India in September 1944. My vest and pants which were my only clothing had grown into my skin, I was infested with lice, worms and all kinds of things I had suffered malaria, dysentery and dengue fever. Our hair and beards made us look like wild men from Borneo When we were taken to hospital at Dhera Dun the nurses stood and wept they had never seen men in this condition. When we went in there were 3,000 in my particular lot only 200 came out. I was shipped back to UK and given my first home leave since 1938. I was also given a bill from the army for 拢1 18shillings and sixpence, for losing my great coat.
In February 1945 I was sent to Europe with my major who was now a Brigadier I was a sergeant. We fought side by side through Holland and into Germany. Brigadier Calvert (Mad Mike) was awarded in all the American Silver Star, DSO with bar, the Croix de Guerre and the CBE (military)
When I was demobbed I received 拢79 compensation for my time as a POW. I left UK again in 1953 to head up the security for the Ashanti Goldfield corp. in Africa. Eventually I returned home and became the training manager for the use of explosives for the NCB.

Brigadier Michael Calvert remains my friend to this day. I have never come to terms with the cruelty and bestial treatment that our captors in the Far East handed out to us. But I thank god every day that I am alive to tell my story. I have never bought Japanese goods and never will. I also can never forgive those monsters for what they did. We had a hard war to fight for King and Country and we did it.

Told to my niece Sue Robinson
28th April 1980

Sadly my lovely uncle Billy died on 19th January 1982.

We will never forget him.

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