大象传媒

I was on a six month holiday with my parents prior to going to university in London. This was in Quetta. The outbreak of war in 1939 meant that I was stranded in India as were many other children. I became an unofficial teacher to many of them, including some who were older than my seventeen years. There was little for non military people to do and we passed the time playing sport or providing entertainment for the troops. In 1941, however, war came to the Far East when Japan attacked Pearl Harbour and Singapore. I felt I wanted to make my contribution to the war effort and so I became a VAD. I was sent to the military hospital at Deolali and became personally acquainted with the place that gave a well known expression to the Britrish Army! Even today many will know that 'going dolali' signifies someone who has a mental illness. The reason for this is that before the war the hospital at Deolali was where such patients were sent while awaiting a troopship to take them back to the UK. Thus 'going dolali' was literally true. India could be be an inhospitable place and a combination of extreme climates and hard soldiering took its toll.

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