大象传媒

I rejoined my battallion on the front line now approx 1500 strong in Kohema . During this time I was selected for a Maleria trial, this involved sleeping under a blanket on the roadside with no mosquetto net. I was given these big pills to take for a week. We were moved to the 45th milestone on the Ukhrul road. About a month later I suddenly collapsed with Maleria my 1st bout of 2, I suffered a BT and an MT, my No2 Walter Rose carried me and my equipment 3 miles, a rescue squad bought a stretcher 4 miles through the jungle to meet us, by then I could not see, I awoke in hospital some 6 days later where I remained for about 3 months.
After my stay in hospital I rejoined my Batallion in Shllong where again I became ill, this time with Dingy Fever, I spent more time in hospital and then rejoined my company and got posted to Calcuta. I was later given Python leave and sent back to England. We were meant to sail through the Suez Canal, but unfortunately a ship had sunk blocking the path, so, we had to make an about turn and take another route. We arrived in Liverpool docks on 22nd April 1944. After spending all this time in the jungle I was struck by how all the houses were all arranged in neat straight lines I arrived back in Cheltenham 14.30hrs sat 29th April 1944.
On returning to England the country was not the same, much of Cheltenham had changed some areas were flattened. I had a younger brother who was 5yrs old when I left home, I hadn't seen him for 5 years so he did not realy know me.
By now my girlfriend, the sister of my best friend Alf (charles) Hill, said she had waited long enough for me and thought we should get married., i had been writing to her during my time in the army we had met 3 times. I was keen to get married but was worried that having to back over-seas there was a distinct possability that i might not come back and that it would be unfare to her. She said that she was prepared to suffer the consiquences and we applied for a special licence and I was given special leave. We got married on 14th November 1944 at Berkley and I rejoined my company 3 days later, some honeymoon.

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