大象传媒

Written on behalf of John Lea by Bognor Library.

3rd September 1939
On board PO and O Steamer Viceroy of India in the Mediterranean between Italy and Malta enroute for Singapore, Father, Mother and myself plus and Amah (Nursery Maid/Nanny).

7th November 1940
My brother David was born in Singapore General Hospital

1941 we moved from Singapore to the North of Malaya to Kota Baharu, My father had been transferred from the Met Office in Singapore to the Airfield in KB

6th Dec 1941
Family woken up very early by 'planes overhead. Father went to the Aerodrome to check why there was flying, because he hadn't done any met forecasts for them. Phoned from the aerodrome to tell us to pack and set off for Singapore, because the Japanese were invading Malaya. These planes were the first Japanese invaders. At the time my mother was eight months pregnant. So my family, without my father, joined other families for the journey to Kuala Lumpur. We were in a red single deck bus with a pointed nose. I sat on the front seat next to the drive with our Amah. The journey crossed a range of hills which form the spine of Malaya, I remember that the bus overheated at the top of a hill in the forest. And the driver had to go and find a stream with more water

10th Decemeber
Arrived Kuala Lumpur where father joined us briefly and saw us onto a train for the overnight journey to Singapore. As we reached Singapore the engine of the train was commandeered tgo do some shunting so we had an extended wait outside Singapore.

14th December 1941
Father joined us in Singapore he was now a Met Officer in the RAF with the rank of Flight Lieutenant.

11th January 1942
My brother Richard was born in Singapore General Hospital mother and Richard were in t hospital for seven days, they hid under the beds during the air raids

28th Jan
Mother and her three sons embarked on the Free French Steamer Cap St. Jacques for Bombay by way of the Sunda Straits between Sumatra and Java. Father stayed on in Singapore and then was transferred to Sumatra and just before Sumatra was over-run he got away to Ceylon. He stayed there in Colombo for the rest for the war.

17 Feb 1942
Us four, mother and her three sons, arrived in Bombay and were waiting for a ship to take us back to England.

19th March 1942
Still waiting for a ship but now in land in Pachmarhi. My Brother Richard was baptised here with a stand-in god-father from the Pathan Regiment, who gave him a glass-bottomed beer mug. The beer mug was sent away for engraving but we had gone back to Bombay before it was ready to be collected.

From Bombay we travelled aboard the P and O Steamer Strathmore to England via Cape Town and Free Town. Spent four days in Cape Town and bought warm clothing. Spent four days in Free Town the ship's engines broke down on arrival and had to be mended before we could continue. Bought five pounds of butter in a sealed tin, five pounds of Demerara sugar, lots of dried fruit and shelled almonds. Butter and sugar was the equivalent of five months ration for an adult in England at the time. I climbed through the railings on the tip deck aged 4 3/4 just to get a better view of the ship being loaded. Peered over the edge much to my mother's horror

23rd April 1942
Arrived in Liverpool having completed the last part of the voyage without escort. The ship was fast enough to outrun the U-Boats. I can remember as we entered Liverpool harbour a ship was sinking having been torpedoed. Research has not been conducted but it is likely that this ship could be identified and I feel that I have seen a movie film of the incident. Stayed overnight in Liverpool and next morning took a train to Euston. Met there by my maternal Grandmother, an Aunt and an Uncle. Took a taxi across London to Charing Cross which was a real adventure, we were not Taxi taking people - would normally have taken a tube or bus. Richard was bottle fed in the taxi, much to my Grandmother's horror. From Charing Cross we went by train Tonbridge where w were met by my Great Aunt Edith, my Grandmother's sister.

25th April 1942
Mother went to the Food Office and Labour Exchange to register us and get ration books. She was asked why she was six months late in registering, they were no at all interested in verifying that she had actually got three children

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