DIARY OF A JOURNEY

August 1942

photographs

     .......just before sunset on the lovely evening of 28th May, the giant liner slowly nosed it's way past the torpedo boom at Gourock, and moved slowly down the Clyde.
       It was a Sunday and people on their way to chapel stopped on the road by the great river's bank and waved their handkerchiefs and scarves to us. I suppose they'd seen many troopships moving out the same as we were.
The highlands and hills of Arran looked simply lovely at the close of that perfect English spring day.
We all felt rather sad and didn't feel like talking much, except for a few less sentimental one's who soon found the ship's bar and bought their tot of whisky or gin for three pence - there was no duty to pay here .
It darkened rapidly as we entered the Firth of Clyde but we could just see the shores of Ireland, low and rugged on the horizon in the dusk of the evening. In the morning we were well to sea and the convoy had martialled itself into position.
     Our home for the next two months was the M.V. Britannic. A liner of 27000 tons, she was a very comfortable ship with one serious drawback. She was designed for the North Atlantic crossing and our journey was mostly through the tropics. A number of the men in my regiment had been employed in her construction - she was a Belfast ship.  It was a large convoy. Thirty ships in all, comprising a number of well known liners, supply ships, and a naval escort of two battleships (the Rodney & Nelson) an aircraft carrier, a cruiser and four destroyers.  At no time during the voyage was any enemy opposition encountered, but it was something of a relief to have such powerful naval support.  Once or twice there was some excitement when the destroyers dropped depth charges, but we did not hear of the reasons why.
     The voyage which took us from Gourock to Bombay was 12000 miles long, and this did not include the large extra distance covered by the continuous alteration of course taken as avoiding action against possible enemy subs.  On board the Britannic were 5000 troops. Space was very limited. In particular the sleeping accommodation for the other ranks was a night-mare. They were put in all the decks below the top one, and the hammocks stretched side by side over large areas, whilst below mattresses were laid on the floor sides touching sides. All port-holes were closed on account of black-out. The stench was just about unbearable. Heaven knows what would have been the consequences down there if we had been struck by a night torpedo.   The officers were crowded up in the cabins, but apart from that the conditions were exactly the same as if we were on a pleasure cruise. Our fare was the finest I have ever tasted.
     To me, the voyage was a delight. I enjoyed every minute of it. One or two worrying moments perhaps on the first night or two out, when everyone had to sleep completely dressed and with life jackets on.
There are many things to remember of the journey - the schools of flying fish and porpoises, that ugly looking barracuda in Freetown harbour, the whales right down below the Cape of Good Hope, the delights of the sunrise and sunset over tropic waters, and beautiful vivid blue of the South.

     The Regiment had a very brief stay in Bombay. Times were rather unsettled, and the August Riots instigated by the Congress Party were just to commence......

     However, we had a brief introduction to India's teeming millions. And it's dirt .' We met the bazaars for the first time, the cattle roaming the streets,  the numerous beggars - religious or mal-formed, and the odours
     Bombay in common with most Indian cities can be divided into three districts. European, Indian upper class, and the "rest". There are about two hundred per cent more people to the square yard in the "rest", than the first two-named.  The European part of the town is very pleasant, luxury houses and flats, expensive shops, city offices, and tropical gardens.  Everything to make life comfortable.  The second named is in some ways pseudo European.  However there is the love of blatant colouring so characteristic of the Indian; in his houses you'll find the walls of bright blues and pinks, and intricacies of decoration in the architecture. The Indian will have all branches of the family living in his house, and always, grandfather and grandmother are "boss".

     The quarter of Bombay which contains the "rank and file" is by far the greatest.  It stretches for miles in all directions.  A honeycomb of filth, poverty, and squalor. Over crowded hovels of mud and brick and corrugated iron, surrounded in dust, refuse, flies, excretia, more tattered shirt-dressed Indians than you can ever imagine possible, cows, goats, hens, all seta'/my and emaciated, stench, disease, birth, deaths, noise, scorching heat.    In this area is one of the most notorious brothels in the world...The Cages. Where the women sit in cages along the filthy alley, and you "take your pick".  There seems to be no indication of organised life in the native quarters. Nobody seems to do any work. I suppose they must do something. There are thousands of little shopkeepers in their dirty little hole-in-the-wall shops. Perhaps everyone makes some sort of a livelihood by selling something to someone else.

     The dusty unmetalled streets swarm with naked children, scavenging dogs, cows and goats, carrion crows and kite hawks, half-clothed men lazing in doorways or lying on the road itself.   The characteristic smell in these quarters is based on the following ingredients - the beedie, a brown leaf cigarette selling at 25 for a penny; joss sticks, and burning cow dung, the latter being the cheapest form of "flit" to keep the flies down.  I suppose the two most noticeable features of Bombay are - The magnificent Taj Mahal Hotel, and the lovely tropical Malabar Hill with it's panorama of the whole city.

     THE BOAT RACE

     Oxford and Cambridge being otherwise engaged, an Extraordinary Boat Race was held at Sierra Leone on ??? of June 1942.  There were four entries - two boats from the 8th (Belfast) H.A.A. Regiment, R.A.  (Commanded by Major A. H. Bates, R.A., and Captain D. C. B. Holden, R.A. , respectively), one from the Sherwood Foresters and one from the two remaining groups known popularly as the O's and S's.

     The programme was sketched by the Ship's Staff Captain - who brilliantly justified his reputation as a humourist - appeared absurdly easy - paddle to the stern of the "MEXICO", the starting post, and then back at racing pace - whatever that might prove to be.  Speed after all is a purely relative term.   The embarking of the reluctant crews, the unrelenting work of the press gang, the journey to the starting point, all were fraught with interest.  In describing the start of the 1895 Boat Race, the poet Tennyson has written :-

    " Push off!  And sitting well in order strike the sounding furrows! "

     So here, after a brief struggle between the "Britannic" (27000 tons) and an amateur bo 'sun (ten stone seven pounds) the boats moved off amid a flurry of blows delivered, some in unison and others from the most unexpected angles. Arrived at the "Mexico", reaction set in and a semi-official communiqué was at once issued expressing concern at the prospect of a return trip.  A snap round showed that at this stage Major Bates' boat was leading by 14 blisters to 11, and there was a certain amount of feeling in favour of a stand-up strike.

     The start, when it came, was unexpected and signalled in original fashion by the breaking of a boat-hook.  At once all boats began to drift swiftly in the wrong direction and a race instinctively began.   Of the race itself there is little to be told.  Using superb judgment and keeping the other crews in constant suspense, now by employing all twelve oars and now by allowing two or three to pass harmlessly over the surface of the water, Captain HOLDEN's boat drew steadily away and eventually reached the vicinity of the winning post with two lengths to spare.

     At this point the umpire, deciding that a clear-cut decision had been reached and honour satisfied, stopped the race.

     The composition of the winning crew is not without interest and was as follows:-

                     Starboard                                                    Port
   Bow.    Capt. Holden                                            Mr. Bennett
        2.     Mr. Wright                                                Mr. Elliott
        3.     Mr. Seglias                                                Capt. Reade
        4.     Mr. Clarke                                                 Mr. White
        5.     Capt. Miller                                               Mr. Newman
 Stroke   Capt. Bringloe                                           Mr. Ashforth

     It was thus, as will be seen, an admirably balanced crew, blending dash with experience and ready for any eventuality from a sudden burial at Sea (the Padre) to sending an S.0.S. by heliograph (Mr. Newman, less toupee).  All were trained to the minute - the first minute - and in the pink of condition - especially after the race.  Capt. Reade's toupee was by Truss & Co. and the boat by courtesy of Cunard White Star Line (ADVERT).

     A word of praise must however be given to the fine seamanship of Major BATES.   In a boat in which mutiny more than once raised its ugly head, this grand old Sea Dog displayed consummate judgment, boldly laying a course for the open sea with the intention of allowing the tide to carry him past the winning post.  This brilliant stratagem with its implicit knowledge of tides, compass bearings, binnacles, barnacles, etc., was thwarted only by the premature conclusion of the race.

     Unfortunately, the subsequent proceedings degenerated so quickly into a farce that Mr. PORTER was twice asked for his autograph by a young gunner who had mistaken his technique for that of GROUCHO MARX.  Truth to tell, the task of  bringing the boats to their respective slings in the face of a 4 knot tide was too much for the exhausted crews.    The watching crowd did its best to show its sympathy by showering down tit-bits gathered from the mess decks - now the unexpired portion of a rice pudding, and now a part worn apple. Few of them failed to fall within the boats.

     So the great race ended, but little deeds of heroism still linger in the memory:  Mr. CLARKE coolly taking an improvised shower bath at the height of the action, Mr. WYATT unselfishly giving up his oar at the half-way stage, Mr. PORTER's gallant performance as a temporary acting boat-hook (unpaid), Mr. SEGLIAS racking his memory for an A.C.I, covering the issue of motor, outboard, in lieu of oars, wooden long,  Sierra Leone may not be Henley, but it is the spirit that counts, and, after all, a refill costs very little onboard ship.

"Old Blue"

     As I have mentioned, there was a certain amount of unrest in India, and four days after our arrival this culminated in many of the Congress Party, including it's leaders, Mahatma Ghandi and Pandit Nehru being detained under the Defence Regulations.   Rioting and disturbances broke out throughout India, and the Army was brought in to quell disturbances in many places.  The Regiment carried out a number of preventative patrols in certain towns and villages but force was not resorted to on any occasion.  The disturbances consisted mainly of bottle throwing by mobs which gathered for no reason whatsoever, and there was a certain amount of incendiarism, and pillage in certain areas.   The civil police acted very promptly and are worthy of a word of praise.   A number of them were burnt alive, and in one case the crew of an RAF plane which made a forced landing in Bihar were brutally killed.

     The Congress Party had a rude shock when it found that the Army had no qualms whatsoever in opening fire, and this action very quickly broke up the mobs, no matter how big the patrol was, or the mob.  It is reasonable to presume that the majority of the participants had no idea as to what it was all about.  The average Indian is very susceptible to mass hysteria.

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Sept  42 

     The Regiment landed at Bombay complete in personnel, but the guns and M. T. came by another ship and were disembarked at Karachi.  This equipment soon became absorbed in various Ordnance Supply Depots, and track of it was lost.  Whilst officers of the unit were sent to the four winds to find it, the Regiment itself was accommodated in a Rest Camp at Deolali.  This is some seventy miles East of Bombay, is approached by one of the finest electric, railways in the world, is a second class hill station, and is a noted Spa for convalescents and lunatics . Ever heard of "Deolali Tap" ?

     Within three days of my own commencement of the "cure" at Deolali I was in hospital with dysentery !
      A good start.

     And very soon the whole Regiment were victims of diarrhea and constipation alternately, and this state of affairs continued during the period of our stay at Deolali. I wonder if any British officer or other rank has ever stayed at this place and escaped these afflictions ?

     General training and hardening were the order of the day, and with daily route marches, swimming, lectures, and a passable Garrison Cinema in the evenings the time passed quickly and pleasantly.  Everyone spent too much money, usually becoming victims of the local curio  dealers, whose wares we were soon to find were worthless.  At the end of August I was sent on a mission to Poona, to clear up some difficulties in regard to pay and accounts.  Poona was rather disappointing. The town consisted mainly of luxury houses and bungalows, expensive clubs, staff officers and prospective "retired colonels" and not much else.  The shopping centre was very poor, and bazaar-like.  I could find no accommodation in the town, as the races were on, but eventually solved the difficulty by commandeering a large  empty bungalow previously occupied as a Sikh Mess. I fixed my camp bed up in one large room and simply used the place to sleep in.  I had all my meals at a nearby Chinese restaurant.  And by the end of my stay was getting a little tired of  noodles !

     The railway between Poona and Kalyan Junction is a fine piece of engineering work.   There is a long steep climb here, and the track runs high up along a range of jungle covered mountains.   There are over twenty tunnels in the same number of miles ,each one bringing you onto the opposite side of the range.   Great waterfalls pour their cascades almost onto the lines.   I saw the wrecks of two trains by the side of the lines, and wondered if they were the result of sabotage. The Pay Dept. is run by thousands of Indian babus (clerks) and I felt that anything might happen here.  Later on, I found it did !

     Reverting to Deolali, the Regiment had a most successful time in the field of sport.  After a run of victories on the soccer field we sent a rugby team to Bombay and brought back the Bombay Cup.

     There were no social amenities outside the camp. Apart from a very I rural Officer's Club which had facilities for riding, swimming and golf.  And celebrity concerts once weekly on a radiogram, where one listened to Beethoven and drank numerous gins.  I employed a very decent j man as a bearer. By name, Bhima Khadam. He was a lowcaste Indian, Hindu turned Christian.  Very intelligent and honest.  At the end of September, news came through that our equipment had been located, and soon after we were moved by train to Calcutta.

         Indian Religions

                                     The following are the main religions of Indian  -
     a. Hindu
     b. Muslem
     c. Buddhist
     d. Christian

     Hinduism sprang up in India, and is by far the strongest of the four, having a following of some three hundred million.  The remained are all "imports", possibly with the exception of Buddhism, and are all much smaller.   Hinduism  A strange religion to Western eyes, originating with three Gods, it has been changed and altered as a result of word of mouth record and the superstitions of the Indians until at the present time it numbers over three hundred deities.   The social fabric of the Hindus is based on the "caste" system.  Under this system, Indians are divided by birth into the following classes - Brahmins (priests) Kshatryas (warrior) Vaisyas (merchants), labourers (Sudras} and the untouchables.  The Sudras are sub-divided into hundreds of sub-castes of varying religious and social importance.  To the Hindu, an untouchable is a man who has been expelled from his caste for some misdeed, or a follower of another religion.   But the untouchable is claimed as Hindu for political purposes.  He is not necessarily restricted to a menial life, and might in fact accumulate great wealth in any business enterprise (as often happens).   The Gods worshipped by the Hindus vary according to the religious importance of the castes.  For instance, the Brahmins are only allowed to worship the most important gods, the Kshatryas a lesser one, and so on down the scale.   Apart from the "man-type" God, the Hindu will worship any of the following - animals, trees, men of note in past history (including Englishmen who have perhaps killed the local tiger !) and even stones. I have seen men bowing down to a tree.  Probably the cow is the most obvious of animals which is venerated by the Hindus.  It wanders anywhere at will, and is regarded as the "mother".  Much of the transport in India is by bullock cart, and I notice a singular lack of devotion towards the animal from the average driver.  He steers by twisting the animal's tail in the direction he wants to go, and often he'll pull the tail right off !  The monkey is another animal much venerated.   Hindus believe that before one reaches perfection spiritually one must go through millions of re-incarnations, the final one finishing in the shape of man.   If a soul misbehaves itself,  it returns to earth in a lowlier shape than before.   For example if a donkey doesn't make the "grade" it might return as a chicken, and be eaten for it's sins !   One reason for the unpleasant callousness towards animals in this country is that by giving them a hard time, the Hindus believe they are helping in the salvation of it's soul !     A Hindu will not take life, and worse, will not bury their dead.

    Muslems

     The Muslem religion spread into India by conquest. The Arabic marauders came into the country from the North West spreading destruction across the land, and bringing their religion into the various parts into which they finally settled.  It is a fighting religion, and Moslems as a whole are of tougher fibre than the Hindus.  Considerable strife is always happening between the two religions, and is the main cause of Indian disunity. The followers of each religion will not mix one with the other.  This entails serious difficulties of administration, difficulties one would only meet in India. Dating, sleeping, travelling, trading, marriage, education, and so on are all kept quite separate.  Clashes between the two parties are frequent and violent.  Moslems number some sixty millions, they exert a strong influence on the control of the country, despite their smaller numbers.  The main centres of this religion are Punjab, Bengal and the states bordering the North West Territory.

     Buddhist.

     Form a very small minority, although originally the religion was an offshoot of Hinduism.  It is found in far greater strength in the countries East of India, and in Ceylon.  The Buddhist priest is a strong influence in the rural village, and his word is law.

     Christian.

     The Christians come mostly from the low caste Hindus who have been converted by the local Roman Catholic priest, or have worked in European service and see a higher social level in this new religion.   Mostly found in Southern India, particularly among the Madrassis and Goanese,

     There are other religions in India, apart the above.   There are the Parsees - the Jews of India, they came originally from Persia and keep much to themselves, from came originally from Persia and keep much to themselves, and the bearded Sikh, but his religion is basically Hindu. In out of way places the religion is almost animist - the worship of Idols.

          The Regiment, less M.T. party left Deolali for Calcutta by special troop train.  The journey took four days (it is covered in 36 hours in peace time) and was very enjoyable.  The officers travelled first class, and the men in troop carriages.  Rations were provided for the troops on a system known as "road/rail rations.  These comprised mostly tinned foods, fruit, and biscuits, and  the necessary ingredients to prepare tea at wayside stations.   The officers relied on having station restaurant meals, and these were reserved through the guard several hours before we were due to arrive at a station which had a restaurant.  I was in a carriage which contained four births.   The berths run along the side of the carriage like the old tram seats, the bottom one being used as normal seating accommodation during the day, and the top one being folded into the side of the carriage when not in use.   There was a bathroom and lavatory attached.  It was rather dingier than it sounds. The windows are not the same as our own in England.  Each window in fact has three different types  to pull up.  The glass one, a wire anti-mosquito one, and a slotted one for privacy at night.   There were six fans in the carriage ceiling, and they were a necessity and not a luxury.

The scenery across India (we travelled via Nagpur) was rather monotonous.   Endless plains supporting rice, corn, sugar and various other crops that I was unable to identify.  Here and there we came through a little hilly country, noticeably in Bihar where we passed through a section of jungle with thick swampy undergrowth,  bamboos, and gnarled trees.  In this jungle I saw spiders whose webs were stretched between the trees, and the spiders themselves were as big as saucers in the body.   I should imagine their webs measured about fifteen feet across.  There were also some aborigines out hunting with bows and arrows.  The dwellings of the land-workers were all very primitive - mud and thatch huts, and they lived in the lowest of conditions.   Some of the little villages were surrounded by high mud walls to keep out marauding robbers, and animals.  It is a strange thing to travel over hundreds of miles and not come across one road.   All the travel is local along bullock tracks.  We spent a good deal of the time playing Bridge, and I finished the journey financially better off than when I started.   The train ran into Howrah Station Calcutta a mere five hours behind schedule which is rather remarkable in India.

____________________________________

     The Regimental transport is being driven by our drivers from Karachi to Calcutta. New guns are being picked up at Cal.   Whilst this is being done, and battery commanders are recceing sites further East, the Batteries are to occupy sites for the defence of Calcutta, and the airfields nearby.   It is anticipated that our stay here will be a brief one.

     A word about my own position in the unit.  I came to India as Troop officer in B. Troop.,22 Battery, but whilst at Deolali was attached to RHQ in my old role of Assistant Adjutant.  I remained at Regiment during the whole time I was with the 8th Belfast  in India.

     During our stay at Calcutta, RHQ deployed into two positions.  The first one was situated twelve miles North of the City in quarters at Dalhousie Jute Mill Semonpore, on the banks of the great Hooghly River.  The approach to  Semonpore from the famous Willingdon Bridge was appalling.   Narrow winding alleys thick in dust, and teeming with natives and dirty scrawny domestic animals.  Horrible whiffs, poverty-unbelievable, noise, and corpses (mostly pi-dogs)  On the first trip to Headquarters we had to circumvent a vary dead and nude Indian laying on the road with his brains smattered about.  None of the passing throng took the slightest notice of him. All along the route were dirty bazaars and huge jute mills, interspersed with open paddy, palm groves and fresh water lagoons.  The land stood about three feet above sea level.

     During our brief stay at the Mill we lived in luxury in flats previously occupied by the European overseers, now in the army.  We had all the little conveniences which count in India - electric light and fans, bathrooms with running water, pleasant gardens, and ..... even a refrigerator !

     However, operationally it was not suitable, being too far out of touch with the guns.   Col. Dearden tactfully displaced a Sikh unit from their quarters in the centre of the European quarters - in fact a house on the corner of the famous Chowringee and Upper Circular Road, and we moved in.

     This new Headquarters had not all the comforts of our previous one, but it was a pleasant one for all that, well situated from a military point of view, and close to the amenities which Calcutta has to offer in the shape of cinemas, shops, and clubs.   It was here that I suffered a few unpleasant days through Dengue Fever. Familiarly known as "Breakneck Fever" owing to the pain in the joints of the body and particularly the back of the neck.  It is caused through the bite of a species of mosquito, which differs from the malaria anopholie by biting during the daytime and not at night.   A point to remember is the swarms of fireflies which hovered around the trees at nights, turning them into gigantic Christmas Trees.

     Calcutta Itself has not much to commend itself on.  The Second City of the Empire and to many, a disgrace to the name.  It lies at the delta of the Hooghly River, being peculiar in that it is a branch of the Ganges from further North and joins it's parent river again below Cal.  There is a familiar saying in these parts - The Hooghly is the "arse of the world," and Calcutta is fifty three miles up it ! Very descriptive indeed.  No one would deny that the centre of the City is very fine.  Chowringee as a thoroughfare almost rivals Princes Street, Edinburgh, and the parkland of the Maiden which runs along one side is lovely.  The great gleaming white edifice of the Albert Memorial, the famed Grand, and Great Eastern Hotels, the Saturday and Bengal Clubs - all quite striking.  There are some snaps of the Albert Memorial attached.   This was built by voluntary subscription in India as a present to Queen Victoria in memory of the Prince Regent.  The building itself is in marble, set in a beautiful park of close shorn turf.  There are tropical flower beds and trees which give the park an exotic colouring.  And square cut ponds containing bright tropical fish, and surfaced with water lilies. The Memorial is sill incomplete

     Around the modern centre of the town sprawls mile upon mile of foetid slums.  I cannot describe them without repeating the phrases that have been used before.  Teeming population .... simply teeming.  There is a fine zoological garden near the Maidan, and also the biggest Banyan tree in the world - a tree whose many trunks cover an enormous area of ground.  There is also the famous Kali Ghat, where the Goddess Kali (the Destroyer) is worshipped by many pilgrims.  The Black Hole of Calcutta is simply marked by a plaque at the side of the General Post Office.   The climate is pleasant for the winter months, but from April to October it is extremely uncomfortable.  The humidity factor is very high, and one's clothes are constantly wet with perspiration.

     The Motor Transport arrived complete, after a journey over India of a thousand miles or more.   In view of the fact that our transport numbers nearly two hundred vehicles, it speaks highly of the drivers that they were able to complete the journey without a casualty.   At Lahore there was a hold-up of several days at the transit camp there, whilst authority to move on was awaited by the Brigadier in charge, from G.H.Q. After several days, Major Cunningham became rather impatient, and decided to do a moonlight flit.  They started out of the camp before anyone was up, but unfortunately came across the Brigadier with his Brigade Major several miles down the road!  They were having their early morning ride.   The Brigadier wanted to know what is was all about, and Major Cunningham informed him that the authority had arrived, taking out his pocket book and reading the number of the authority from it.  In fact he simply quoted his Belfast telephone number !  The Brigadier turned round to his B.M., ,and asked "is this correct, Smith?" The poor B.M. who could not admit ignorance of the matter replied "quite correct, Sir" and the convoy proceeded with the Brig's "Godspeed" !

     Most of the travelling was done during the cool of the day.  Commencing at about five in the morning, and finishing at noon.  After that the troops bivouacked by the roadside until three o'clock a.m., when breakfast was served, the tents struck, and the journey resumed.  Everyone enjoyed the trip, which was an experience not tasted by many people.

          At this time the composition of the Regiment was as follows -

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NOV 42

     On the sixth of November, the Regiment moved East from Calcutta, and deployed as follows -

RHQ - Maynamati, Nr Comilla.

21 Bty. - Chittagong.                           

22 Bty. - Feni.                                      

23 Bty. - Agatarla.                              

     The Batteries were engaged in the defence of airfields running in a line roughly North/ South, about fifty miles apart on the West of the great river Brahmaputra.  Headquarters were situated in the middle of the line.
     The journey to these new locations was roundabout, in view of the difficulty in crossing the estuaries of the rivers Ganges, Padna, and Brahmaputra.  The latter is five miles wide, and is constantly changing it's course, which makes bridge construction impossible.   The railway changes from broad gauge to metre gauge before reaching the river, and this entailed the arduous task of unloading and loading all the unit's stores in the broiling sun.   All personnel crossed the Brahmaputra by a ferry, rather of the 'old man river' type, and the goods waggons were shipped over by train ferry further north.   This move was made in the middle of a black night, and was not helped by the fact that the train stopped a considerable distance from the jetty.

     On arrival on the West bank the men piled into a rickety narrow gauge train on the Bengal Assam line, and here we stayed for many hours until the goods waggons finally arrived over.  Thence onwards we jogged along at an average of twenty miles an hour or slower, and the Headquarters portion finally arrived in Comilla at first light.   We soon found our way through the paddy by the Chittagong/Dacca Grand Trunk Road, which is not nearly as grand as it sounds, to Maynamati some five miles from the town.   Maynamati was in a way an oasis in a desert of paddy.   It stood rather higher, and consisted of rolling little hills and grassland, well covered with trees and bushes.   RHQ was, to my mind quite delightful, it nestled among the trees and overlooked the countrysides on all sides.  The accommodation was quaint little bamboo huts with thatched roofs, and standing clear of the ground by means of bamboo stilts.   The Mess was a tiny little two-roomed building, complete with hand-punkahs.

     At this season the days were delightful.  Warm sunny but fresh.  With the setting of the sun, however the mosquitoes came out in their swarms, and flit-guns, and anti-mosquito cream failed to keep them at bay. Later on we brought in a number of things to make life a little more civilized.  We covered the windows of the Mess with mosquito netting, installed electric light, by getting juice from a predictor battery, and invested in a G.E.C. radio which ran off a car battery.  Rations were far from good, but we managed to supplement them with purchases from the bazaar.  We had our own duck and goose farm for eggs and the table.

     The Regiment was fairly early in the field in this part of the war theatre.  Only recently the Japs had occupied the whole of Burma, and one arm of their attack had moved up the coast by the Arakan.  We had used scorched earth tactics at Chittagong, only to return there just prior to our arrival, as the Japanese had halted their advance somewhat south of the town.  The number of our troops in the area was woefully small.  Airfields had been constructed out of the jungle at the three places where our Batteries were deployed, and further ones were being made as quickly as possible.  Our job was to defend them from mobile gun sites, to recci for static gun sites, and when the latter one's were completed by the constructional firms, to be relieved by other units, and move south to new airfields.

     We were really in at the birth of the A. A. defences, and as they were not sufficiently large to warrant an A. A. Brigade to command them, our Regiment was in control under the designation 8th Group.  As time went by new units arrived - mostly Indian, and when there were seven Regiments under our command, 13th Brigade under Brigadier Leveson Gower was brought in from Madras.

          However this is going on ahead a little too fast.

     Animal life At Maynamati was varied and interesting.  Here are some of the various kind which were about, NOT all of them were common to the area though !

          Snakes - Python, cobra, and kraits.

          Giant iguana lizards, four feet in length.

          Hyenas and jackals.......in their thousands.

          the friendly little mongoose.

          Leopard and tiger (but these were mostly about forty miles north)

          Eagles and kites, vultures.....the scavengers of India.

          Bee-eaters, kingfishers, amethysts, the cursed brain-fever bird.

          Fish - in abundance in the ponds, including the queer walking fish, and barking fish.

     Most evenings after we had finished in the office, Col. Dearden and I would take a stroll into the surrounding palm groves with their inevitable pond, and watch the birdlife through field glasses.   He was an authority on Indian birds.  I enjoyed it thoroughly.

     We were discussing India in the Mess last evening, and the point was made that it is a land of sharp contrasts.   Topographically it is a country of vast flat plains ..... and then suddenly, without warning shaggy precipitous mountains, with their sides running almost vertically to the plain.   The climate - part of the year hot, burning hot, and rainless; and then the monsoon with torrents of rain day in, day out, for month on end until the land is a vast lake.  And the air becomes cooler and fresher, and the bright green young stems of rice burst out into the sunlight.   Outside the cities, there is the land of the small farmer and coolie labourer. Living under a feudal system, earning a few rupees a month - barely sufficient to keep them in their mud hovel. Contrarily the wealthy - the great landowning rajahs, the mill-owners, the Parsee business man, fabulously wealthy men.

     The flowers, and the trees, all exotic, brilliant, and garish.  There is no merging of the colours similar to our own, no daintiness.  The gardens strike the eye with brightness ..with crude scarlets, blues, and yellows.  And the blossoms themselves are large and bold with little or no perfume.  The butterflies are much bigger than our own, and very distinctly marked in bright hues.  Some specimens are as much as nine inches across.  The birds are either very big, or very small, the ugly king vulture or the tiny honey sucker; the kite or the kingfisher; the great waterfowl, the tiny bee eater.  And none of them have a song, except perhaps the bul bul, and he does not compare with any of our own song-birds.  Yes, the contrasts are all here, but the proportion of bright is far less than the monotony of all the dull things.  Everything strikes one as being a little tawdry.   One longs for the "normal" forms of nature in our own England.

     This diagram is intended to shew the dispositions of the Regiment when it first deployed in the field in South East Bengal.

     Interesting and useful information comes to us from time to time from people - Indian or Burmese who have come into India from Burma as evacuees.  Some of the information is good, and some emanates from the purveyor's own fertile imagination.  I was amused at the report which came from an Indian who stated that he had been employed by the Japs as a doorman at one of their clubs.   The concluding remarks of his information was ... in his own words "The Japanese Commander is a huge man, seven foot high, he is bald headed and has a beard a CUBITT long !"

     I have mentioned that part of our duty was to make reconnaissances for new positions to install static A.A. guns.   Much of my time during November was in fact employed in searching out likely places for this purpose. Presumably I was detailed for the job on account of my previous activities with R.A. Survey.  It was very interesting.  As an example of the work necessary to build a gun site, and the cost, below is given a typical example -

          l. To build a road to the site through marshy paddy, and jungle, a mile and a half in length. This road must be over water level in the monsoon, i.e. it MUST be built up over the surrounding land.

          2. Removing the village which occupies the proposed site. If there is any suitable ground, it is a foregone conclusion that there is a village there. Compensation must be given to the swarming villagers and a new plot of ground found for them.

          3. Felling hundred of palms and other trees to provide the necessary field of view for the guns. And payment of compensation to the owners.

          4. Building up a large area to provide suitable ground for -"basha" huts, the- guns, and the fire control instruments.

          5. Construction of the huts for accommodation offices, etc.

          6. Total cost £15,000, !

     All these things may sound excessive, and expensive, but it must be remembered that the whole of the countryside becomes submerged to a depth of about two feet during the monsoon, apart from the hundreds of little settlements that are dotted over the countryside and from which we must chose our gun position. Furthermore the position must be large, because all the stores and rations will have to be kept there, the nearest depot being possibly twenty miles distant.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DEC 42

     At Chittagong, 21 Battery have been fortunate, and have been in action frequently during the past few weeks.  Our guns there have already accounted for a number of Jap planes, the Army 97 Bombers; however in some cases they were seen to crash some miles away, and the wreckage was not found owing to the thick jungle.  The enemy raids have not been effective, and in view of the fact that most bombs have fallen clear of the target it is clear that our fire is having a marked effect on the air-crews.

     Frank Waterton was G.P.O. on one site during an action, and during firing it was observed that a group of fighters  were peeling off to dive-strafe the gun-position.  He ordered the guns to engage the fighters without instruments, and as the muzzles swung round onto the Japs they evidently saw what was going to happen, drew out of their dive & flew away.  During this engagement one of the fighters was hit and disappeared over the trees with smoke bursting from it's engine.

     The RAF have not had too happy a time.  The Allied fighters available here do not seem the answer to the Jap "Zero".  The Hurricane is not manoeuvrable enough, and the Mohawk, too slow.   The Japs come over in formation which is the Hy. A.A. gunner's dream of heaven.  They fly in tightly packed formation, and on a level straight course.  They seem to have little imagination as regards their tactics.   One fighter was brought down, and made a forced landing.   He didn't give the game up immediately however.  During the whole of the following night it was impossible to approach the plane as he fired off his guns at all and sundry.   In the morning though, he tamely surrendered, and it was found that he had not even destroyed his documents. The Jap mentality.

     My old Troop at Feni have also seen action, and had a "shoot" last week.  They brought a bomber down, and claimed several other hits.   To be in action again,  after such a long period is acting as a tonic on all our men, and they are in fine spirits.   Incidently it was reported that one Jap who crashed was found to be 6 feet 7 inches tall !

     Every effort was made to capture the Xmas spirit this year at Maynamati.  This in spite of the weather being somewhat akin to a really hot spell at home, only more so.  We arranged quite a comprehensive programme, with sports, football matches, concerts, and a Xmas party.   The troop's Xmas dinner was the largest I have witnessed yet .... and this in a temperature of seventy degrees or over !  Each man had half a chicken, and half a duck, with half a dozen varieties of vegetables to go with it, puddings which had been sent from England, fruit, and sweets, a bottle of beer a head, and rum and cigars.  As usual we did all the waiting, and as usual the cryptic remarks at our expense flew fast and furious.  During the feast, there was music provided by a gramophone via a microphone and loud speaker; records by Vera Lynn, and Deanna Durban !

     In the evening I ran a party which was attended by two hundred men.  Most of whom came from a nearby reinforcement camp, and another Lt. A.A.RHQ.   We had a novelty whist drive, inter-unit darts matches, side shows and a "brains-trust" in which the officers took the stage.  The officers were well lit-up by this time, and the bibulous wit was really funny.   As is always the case with these parties, the evening finished up with everyone going onto the stage and giving a turn.  There was no backing out, once someone had suggested a name !   Altogether it was a very enjoyable evening, the Christmas flavour was not entirely lost by being in such strange surroundings, and so far away from our families.

     I received my second pip on the 27th of the month, the promotion dating back to the 1st October.  A new order has been published whereby a second lieutenant is promoted to full lieut. after six months commissioned service.  A big improvement on the previous one whereby he had to serve eighteen months before getting the promotion.  In fact, I had served thirteen months on the date of the publication of the order, so that it did not make any difference to me.  It's a good thing to put up that second pip.  After all, a one pipper IS the lowest form of life !

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jan 43

     I started the new year in fine style  ....  by falling foul of Dengue fever again !  This is what the hospital record states, although I am rather doubtful as to the correctness of the diagnosis.   I was admitted to Commilla Hospital with a high temperature - one always developes this with almost any complaint, and later a swelling came onto the back of my neck, over the head, and finally down the forehead into both eyes.  I had two black eyes for a time, and then the fluid drained away out of them, and I was well again.   It was a "new" one to the hospital, and I was asked if I had ever suffered from It before.  When I told them "yes", they enquired what the diagnosis was, and said "Dengue".  So what was all right last time, was all right this time, so they put "Dengue" on the sheet !   As a result of this illness, and the fact that I was generally run-down it was decided that I should go away for leave.  By some diplomatic wangling I managed to pursued the Regiment to release Frank Waterton too, and arrangements were made to spend the leave in Darjeeling.

     Darjeeling is situated in the extreme North of Bengal, and in the Himalayas.  It is, of course, the centre of the great tea plantations.  Darjeeling tea is about the finest produced.   The journey there consists of travel by rail, river, and more rail.  Reservations were made in advance for berths on the trains, and a cabin on the river boat.  This facilitates travel in India enormously - when it works.   Frank and I rendezvoused at Chandpur, the starting place of the boat.  We slept the night there is a comfortable two-berth cabin and had a good dinner on board.  An uncomfortable moment when I was reading in the cabin, and a gigantic cockroach ran up my trouser leg !

     The boat moved off at first light on the following morning, and we had a delightful eight hour trip down the Brahmaputra.   All the surrounding country is flat paddy, studded with the numerous palm groves in which the native families live in their primitive huts.  Many of the villages live by fishing and their huts go down to the river edge.  One passes the morning , sunning one's self on the deck, reading a magazine, and observing the local beauties having their ablutions at the side of the river !   The boat itself resembles the one's which go up and down the Mississippi.  Tall funnelled, with paddles at both end, very shallow draught with considerable upper structure above the water-line.  They look rather top heavy, in fact.  Most of the space is taken up with cargo accommodation, and Indian passengers (ten to the square yard), but there is an upper deck forward for first class passengers, with dining room, cabins, and deck space.  The boat has huge search lights fore and aft for travelling by night.  They frequently get stuck on the ever moving sandbanks.

     The river is full of traffic - mostly picturesque but extremely filthy junks and sampans.  These craft travel under sail with a following wind, but are man hauled along in a head wind.   The hauling rope is attached to the top of the high bamboo mast, and is pulled along by half a dozen coolies.   A back breaking sort of occupation.   The river teems with fish - huge one's, of a type known as "Bekti" to the Indians, and a much fouler name by the BOR's who get it so frequently in their rations.  It is full of bones that seem to lie in no order whatsoever.   We disembark at Goalando, and push our way through the milling coolies, trusting our baggage to four of them, but wondering if we shall ever see it again.  The amount of equipment that these men can carry on their heads is amazing.   Each man will take a couple of large suit cases, camp- kit, and an odd box or two, and still look for more !

     We board the Calcutta Mail, and wait hopefully for it to start, which it eventually does after the engine driver has had his dinner, and they have rooted the stokers out of an old hut in which they were sleeping.  Fifty miles along the line we alight .... at the wrong station.  It does not make any difference to our connection, but if we had travelled on further we should have reached a station with restaurant and waiting room.  As it was we dug the station master out, and he in turn got a so called cook, and we had the worst meal I have ever tasted.  After which we tramped the little smelly platform for five hours until our train arrived at 1 o'clock in the morning. About seven o'clock on the following morning we arrived at the end of the broad gauge railway.   At a place called Silitguri.  We had an excellent breakfast there and then got into an observation car on the tiny Darjeeling line.  One of the finest examples of railway engineering in the world (I believe the line was surveyed by a woman)  The carriage as I say was very tiny, but it was very modern having easy chairs which yon could move about at will, a "bar" at one end, and glass windows covering the entire lengths of the sides.

     The gauge of the railway is 2' 6", and included in the "staff" of each train are men who sit on the front buffers dropping sand on the line where the gradient is so steep that the wheels would otherwise refuse to take it !  It climbs 7000 feet from Silitguri to Darjeeling - a distance of some fifty miles, winding it's way through the mountains in a most alarming fashion.  At one moment it travels along a ledge cut sheer in the cliffs with thousands of feet drop to one side, and then you find yourself going along another one with the drop on the other side.  It is just impossible to describe the things that train does, and equally so the situations it finds itself in.  The views are just like those one sees in a photograph taken with a telescopic lens.  The countryside is varied as one climbs higher and higher.  One passes through dense jungles with gigantic trees; craggy slopes devoid of vegetation; and then ..... neatly laid out tea gardens, hanging on the steep slopes in a series of steps.

     The journey takes six hours, during which there are two stops for refreshments at attractive restaurants on the mountain side.   The inhabitants changed in appearance as we ascended the hills, and changed from the lean humourless Bengali to a cream coloured type who obviously originated in Mongolia, was industrious, cheery, and quick witted.  The temperature gradually drops, and when we reach our destination the thermometer shewed 50° as compared with 78° in the Plains.  The air was very "thin" too, and we noticed the cold very much.  I believe this Himalayan trip is noted for it's panoramas and thrills, and it is one which I shall  long remember.

     The town of Darjeeling itself is on the Swiss style.  It forms a semi-circular amphitheatre which clings to the side of a basin of hills, street above street.  Below the town the tea gardens run down to the valley, three thousand feet below.  It is a town of clubs and bungalows, where the people in tea all foregather and the European population of Calcutta retire to, in the hot season.  The Governor of Bengal has his summer residence there, as do a number of Indian potentates.  The beautiful thing about Darjeeling is that it commands a magnificent view of some of the famous mountains of the world.   To the North is the great range separating India and Tibet, containing Kinchenjunga which is only a few feet less than Everest.  These great snow-capped crests are fifty-six miles away, but the air is so rarified that they appear to be quite near.  Everest lies a similar distance to the West.

     There are numerous entertainments In the town - tennis, squash, billiards, dancing, curio shops, quaint cafes, and  .... ponies.  These latter being the main source of attraction to the holiday making British soldiery.  The ponies are little sure-footed Tibettan one's, and an hour's ride on them is both exciting and enjoyable.  If your seat stands up to it.  Which mine didn't !   Our home was at the Gymkhana Club, where the food was the nearest approach to English I have had in India.  It was a very comfortable place with every amenity on the spot.  The bitter cold soon effected our innards, and for several days we spent much valuable time in a certain humble room, each vieing with the other as to who should be first !   Near the Club is a rather unusual shrine Hindu and Buddhist combined.   The priests are cheery and talkative, and insisted on praying for my well-fare and fastening some flowers to my shirt, and sprinkling large quantities of water over me.  They refused to accept any Baksheesh for this noble act.  A thing very strange in India  !

     We had a good time during the fortnight, but really the cold was too much for us.  At the end of the time, neither of us were sorry about leaving, and personally I was delighted to get back to the hothouse atmosphere of Siliguri.

     There have been several Japanese bombing raids on Calcutta in the last month.  The formations that came over have been small ones, and the bombs were dropped indiscriminately.  They were so small that the damage done was negligible - fifty or a hundred pounders, I should imagine.  The British night fighters have been most successful, one pilot shooting down three out of four in one evening.  The amazing thing is the effect it has had on the population.  The majority of two million people have moved out of the city en masse - with the ARP services at the head !  The eastern people do not seem to face up to air-raids with the same phlegm as has been shewn elsewhere.  At Feni, a small bomb was dropped near the airfield, and three thousands coolies engaged on constructional work disappeared at speed into the jungle.  Nor were they seen again for the next week !  The only way to keep a check on the native labour when these raids are on, is to let loose with every gun in the area.  This has a two-fold effect.  Firstly the coolies consider the raiders could not possibly approach through such a hail of fire (which is quite erroneous because the height of most of the small arms fire is about 20,000 feet below the raiders) and secondly the noise from the ground is so great that it over-powers the sound of any bombs exploding.

     Reverting to Calcutta, most of the staff of the big hotels and clubs have fled the city, and one is now attended by a very jungly looking individual who is receiving a fabulous salary, and has probably never seen a European establishment before.  The scenes which take place in the erstwhile "select" dining rooms are comic to witness. To watch ARP workers on the auxiliary fire engine is even more humorous.  They are dressed in a uniform which is the last word in style and warlikeness, and number about a score to each engine.  In action they do justice to an old silent comic film, and rush round at such speed that they even knock themselves over "  I suspect they volunteer for the duty so that they can be in the "know" as to the whereabouts of the nearest shelter !

     The Regiment has had half a dozen actions in the past six weeks, mostly by 21 Battery at Chittagong.
          Eastern Army have officially credited us with the following "birds"  -

                                  Destroyed                         5
                                  Probably destroyed        3
                                  Damaged                           7

     The difficulty in proving complete destruction of the planes is due to the fact that they may crash in the jungle and often are not found again.   Since the A.A. defences were increased, the Jap planes have raided the area at much greater heights, and they are now coming in at heights around 23,000 ft., as compared with 13,000 ft. when we first arrived.

     I liked the topical "tale" of the subaltern who was bitten by the poisonous krait whilst using a "thunderbox" in his basha one dark night.  Whilst he was making all speed to the nearest M.I. room, another officer went along to investigate the position, well armed with stick and pistol to kill the snake ... and found a broody hen sitting in the pan, extremely annoyed at the intrusion !

     Ghandi has undertaken another of his periodical fasts.  He seems to be under the misapprehension that this will effect the policy of the Government, and that he will be released from his "harsh" imprisonment in one of the Aga Khan's palatial residences in Poona.

     Ghandi has an amazing influence on the Indian - both illiterate and learned.  He is deitized by them all.  I read his articles in the press and find them quite bewildering.  I think it difficult for anyone to understand his line of thought ...  if he has got one, which I doubt !

     I mentioned earlier that the Regiment's responsibility as 8th Group was eventually taken over by the 13th A.A. Brigade who moved into the area from Madras.  As a result of the good work which our C.O., Frank Dearden had put in, during the time we had been in operation here, he was promoted to Brigadier and assumed command of the 9th A.A. Brigade in Assam.   His promotion was well-merited, but there is no doubt that he will miss the Regiment, after such a long period in command of it, and that the Regiment will miss him.   As one of 23 Battery gunners said to him, in his broad Belfast voice "We congratulate you, Sorr, on your promotion, and be gad we'll be missing ye, you haven't given us a bit of trouble !"  His place is being taken by Col. Saunders, who is coming to us from A.A. School. Karachi.  He is the C.I.G. there, and is well thought of.

     We have had a grand Sports Meeting in Feni.  All branches of the service were represented there, also the Feni police and ARP service.  22 Battery succeeded in winning every event except one; they have got some great Irish athletes in the unit.  Norman Brann, the Battery Captain succeeded in laying out three of the opposition at different times, as a result of which they were all taken to hospital.   Two of the casualties occurred during the final of the football competition, and the third one during the "throwing-the-weight" competition.  Norman threw the weight with great vigour and 'crowned' an admiring Indian spectator with it "

          I reproduce an epistle written by a babu to his employer, the local district officer on the occasion of his dismissal for sleeping on duty, for what it's worth -

     Mr. F. Symonds.
     District Officer

                   Kind Sir,

                                   On opening this epistle you will behold the work of a dejobbed person, and a very bewifed and childrenized gentleman who was violently dejobbed in the twinkling of your good self.  For Heaven's sake, sir, consider this catastrophe as falling on your own hand and remind yourself on walking home at the moon's end to five savage wives and sixteen veracious children with your pockets filled with non-existant £.s.d. and a solitary sixpence.   Consider my horrible state.  When being dejobbed and proceeding with a heart and intestines filled with misery in this den of doom, myself did greedily consider culpable homicide, but with him who protected the Devil (poet) safe through the lion's den protection is granted to his servant in his hour of evil.  As to the reason given by yourself esquire for my de-jobment the incrimination was laziness.  No, Sir.  It were impossible that myself who had pitched sixteen infant children into the vale of tears can have a lazy atom in his mortal frame and a sudden departure of £11 per mensem has left me on the verge of destitution and despair.  I hope this vision of horror will enrich your dreams this night and the Good Angel will meet and pulverize your heart into neither milestone.  And that you will awaken with great alacrity as may be compatible with your personal safety and hasten to re-jobulate your servant.
                                                                        So mote it be, Amen.
                                                                                      Yours despairfully,
                                                                                                       Akuka Subash.

     This picture is typical of the country in the low lying delta of the Ganges, or rather to be more accurate the Meghna delta, because the great rivers Ganges, Houghly, Brahmaputra, and Padna all have their deltas together, and it is called the Meghna.   These rivers after winding their way for huge distances spread their yellow waters into a host of tentacles, cobwebbing the land around their mouths into a thousand waterways.  The country is completely flat, and lies a few feet over sea level.  It came into being as a result of the silt deposits from the rivers.  Superficially the scenery is attractive.  Tropical palm groves, thatched dwellings, picturesque sampans, bright kingfishers, yellow orioles, the blue sky reflecting on the surface of the streams and pools.  But in fact, life is far from the idealistic standard one expects.  The typical exotic film and novel of the tropics is far, far from real in actual fact.  What about the climate itself?  About the worst in the world, with eight months of heat and humidity, and a bare four months of temperate weather.  During the four months of monsoons, the land becomes completely submerged in flood water, and the squalid hovels become tiny islands supported over the fetid waters by bamboo stilts.  And the humidity is so high, that the perspiration pours away day and night; there is no respite from it.
     And the people themselves ?  About the lowest form of life !  The average Bengali is a scraggy undersized hollow chested individual who spends his day coughing and spitting.  Our own M.O. holds that the Bengalis who are not tubercular are syphillitic, and he is not far out !  He is an addict to the betel nut, and consequently his mouth and whickers are stained in a bright red hue.  He keeps his women in purdah, although I cannot conceive why - no one would run away with them - they are much the same as him in appearance and habits !  He is over ridden with malaria, so much so that he becomes immune to the anophile mosquito.  He makes his living by tending his patch of paddy, or by fishing and river trade.
     The stench of the damp steaming villages is appalling, the bugs and insects are in their millions, and too, the snakes - cobras, kraits, python; and roaming among the villages are the baboons - big fellows, who are venerated by the people.  On one occasion a baboon jumped onto the running board of our car as we were travelling along, and we were thankful that it was not aware of the fact that the sunshine roof was open !  And in the delta of the Meghna, with it's climate, it's disease, poverty, sordidness, lives more people to the square mile than in most other densely populated areas of the world.  It looks all right - from the seat of a cinema.

     The new C.O. Lt. Col. J. W. Saunders arrived in the area on the 30th March.  He has not yet arrived at RHQ, as he is reporting first to Brigade at Chittagong, and then moving Northwards, inspecting the Batteries as he comes up.

                           More about Bengal

     Bengal is almost completely occupied in the growing of rice.  It is not a high grade rice, and is not exported. (The best Indian rice comes from the Central Provinces, around Delhi)  It consists of a vast plain, running into the Himalayas in the extreme North.  This plain has formed the sea bed at some time, and the land has been reclaimed by nature by the gradual building up of the alluvial deposits of it's great rivers.  Nowhere is the land many feet above sea level, and it is highly fertile.  From May until October it is mainly submerged in the waters of the monsoon.  This has the effect of fertilizing the soil.   The climate is bad for Europeans, (and for the Bengalis too, I should imagine) having an extremely hot and humid hot season, and a warm winter with rather cold nights.  It abounds in all the worst tropical diseases - malaria, dysentery, smallpox, cholera and many others.  How can a population live in a country which becomes a vast lake for a third of the year?  The system is this - each prospective settler with his family dug what is known as a "tank".  This may vary in size from that of an ordinary pond, to quite a large sized lake.  It would be perhaps ten foot deep, and shaped either square or oblong.  The soil which is removed, would be used for two purposes.  Firstly to be a sloping wall around the tank, and secondly as foundations on which the tiny settlement will be built, and which will be a few feet above monsoon water level.  Thus scattered throughout Bengal are these self contained oasises, situated perhaps a mile to two miles apart.  And between is just one thing - paddy.

     Each village consists of a huddle of a dozen or more mud and bamboo huts used as living quarters for the villagers and their domestic animals, built among betel nut, and coconut palms, plantain trees and bamboos, in which dwell the family with it's numerous branches, and their shoals of progeny.  There will also be a bony cow or two, some oxen, hens and ducks, and usually a few goats.  There is no sanitation, no lights, no furniture, no eating utensils, no beds.  Life is primitive to the extreme.  Food is prepared in gourds made from huge melons, or out of clay.  There may be a crude temple nearby, with a roughly modelled figure inside.  Worship is almost idolatrous and animist.  From the age of five onwards the children become working members of the family.  They will scare the birds away all day, or gather the grain, and generally make themselves useful, which makes one often wonder what our own children would do under similar circumstances.  The only form of recreation seems to consist of singing and beating drums.  This usually starts in the night and goes on for several hours.  It is strangely oriental and rhythmic.  The sound carries for many miles.  In addition to the several plots of paddy, each settlement will till, there will be a small compound surrounded by a plaited fence, in which will be grown curry, chillies and the other spices for the staple curried rice diet.  The "tank" serves many purposes - washing, or dhobi-ing, bathing, and it's supply of fish.  The fish which are bred in the tanks, rapidly multiply, grow to maturity quickly, and live off the larva of the mosquito.  The menfolk are accustomed to bathing in the tank several times a day, and often there is a covered bamboo corridor to the water's edge along which the purdahed women go to wash and bathe.

     As I have said previously, the soil of Bengal is rich silt, and it is naturally fertilized by the monsoon floods.  As a consequence more than one rice harvest a year can be obtained, in fact in many places three are raised.  And so it has been going on for thousands of years, and there is little sign of progress to be seen anywhere.  Even the oxen-drawn ploughs are carved out of wood.  It sometimes seems though, as if the rural Indian obtains a contentment out of life, that cannot be obtained in the modern world as we know it.

                         This is another Propoganda leaflet which was dropped by the Japs over Chittagong. (note the spelling error in the penultimate line)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

April 43

     The Battery Headquarters of 22 Battery in Feni have suffered the first casualties of the Regiment in India.  On the first of the month there was a Jap raid over the town and unfortunately a stick of anti-personnel bombs straddled the Headquarters.  The bombs dropped soon after the "alert" sounded, and the noise of these, plus that of a Jap fighter and bomber in flames was terrific.   Most of the men were in the slit trenches, but the tiny splinters of a bomb ran along the length of one, causing a number of casualties.  Another bomb fell onto the cookhouse killing the cook and the boot repairer instantly.  The latter had been a boot hand in Leicester, and the former, an old soldier had previously lost first his two children, and then his parents in blitzes in England.  There was a sports meeting in progress in the bamboo canteen at the time and several men attending it were badly hurt.  Lionel Burrows, the M.T. Officer was in the canteen, and got peppered.  The new C.O. Major "Jimmy Cunningham, and Major Mitchell the Battery Commander were coming out of the Mess as the bombs fell and hurriedly threw themselves into a heap on the ground by the side of the bungalow wall.  Unfortunately, the C.O. and Jimmy allowed their feet to protrude around a corner and a bomb which dropped about twenty feet away splattered their legs with splinters.  The C.O. had a small piece penetrate the sole of his foot, and it took a piece of the bone away.  In spite of his injury, Major Cunningham did a magnificent job of work among the wounded.  Within five minutes of the incident he had them all dispatched in a lorry to the hospital nearby.

     The turmoil was increased by fire.  All the Q stores, the dining room, and canteen became quickly ignited and there was petrol and oil burning furiously, whilst small arms ammunition was bursting in every direction.  At the height of the excitement a man was bitten by a scorpion !   It was interesting to note the effect of the anti personnel splinters.  They lashed across the grass cutting it down as cleanly as a lawn mower.  A person can get little protection by laying flat in open ground.  The engagement was a short one and our guns only fired off 28 rounds at the raiders, which were flying at a height of 23,000 ft.   Three were brought down.  The RAF intercepted the force later and for another four.  The C.O.'s injury whilst not serious is likely to keep him in hospital for at least three months, as a piece of new bone has got to be grafted in his foot.  Not a good start in a new regimental command to be wounded after two days !  The men in hospital are in good spirits, inspite of loss of arms, fingers and burns.  Five have died.

     On the 30th of April it was decided to move RHQ to Chittagong.  In addition to the vehicles held by Head Quarters, a further four three tonners were imported from 22 Battery in order that personnel and stores could move by road.  Even with this additional transport our goods and chattels over flowed, and most of the men did the journey on the top of the vehicle hoods.  We seem to have deteriorated from a highly mobile unit to a super static one !  The poultry farm presents a grave problem.  There were hens, ducks and geese protruding from most of the trucks, and thinking little of the journey !   The convoy moved south along the one road in this part of the world - the Chittagong/Dacca Grand Trunk Road.  The distance - a hundred miles.  This road belies it's name.  One conjures up visions of a highway like the great arterial roads at home.  But in reality it is simply a sandy track, a track that has been used by countless generations for transport by bullock cart, and donkey.  It has never seen a motor vehicle before this war came along.  The villagers flock out of their huts and come running over the fields to see a lorry go by.  In parts it has been improved by surfacing with a layer of bricks, but these will not stand up to the strain of modern military transport for long.  Each vehicle leaves behind a dust cloud which would do credit to a battleship laying down a smoke screen.  The personnel following behind, are soon layers deep in the yellow particles of sand.

     The road is without any special feature of interest except for the Feni River Ferry; it just winds itself southwards through the paddy and occasional village, and there is never a semblance of a hill.  The Feni River, like so many rivers around here has a habit of changing it's course every month or two.  Consequently it is not possible to bridge it, and all traffic has to be ferried over on rafts made from bamboos resting on dug-out canoes, and punted over to the other side.  A very primitive procedure.  The time one gets across varies - it might take half an hour, or it might take three hours.  It depends on the tides and the baksheese you give the boatmen.  Mostly the latter.  On this occasion we were fortunate, and the whole convoy was over in two hours.  We left Maynamati at first light and arrived at our new Headquarters in the mid afternoon, after a successful journey.  Our new home (inaptly named "The Retreat") is a complete change.  It is situated on the outskirts of Chittagong on the Southern edge of the Chittagong Hill Tracks.

     The site consists of two lovely bungalows and a house perched on the top of a steep hill.  The whole of the hill is part of the gardens to the houses and is private.  The houses were occupied before the war by executives of the Burmah Oil Company; they are well appointed with modern conveniences, electric light, and European sanitation.   The surrounding countryside looks very attractive in an oriental sort of way.  The top of the hill commands a magnificent view in all directions.  To the South of the town of Chittagong, with the wide Karnaphuli river winding it's way to the sea in the distance, to the East the great belt of jungle with large rugged hills on the skyline, and to the North and West the flat palm studded paddy land, and the blue of the Bay of Bengal.  The hill as I have said is a garden of sorts - one that has run wild since it has been occupied by the military forces.  Even now, though there are flowers shrub and flowering trees of a most exotic nature, and the colours of the blossoms are striking.  We even from our own pineapples on the premises. And the perfume of the camellias in the evening are delightful.  There is also a large variety of birdlife, coloured finches, bul buls, the magpie robins, even tiny humming birds.  And at night the huge flying foxes come over in droves, hanging from the branches of the fruit trees like huge vampire bats.

     In the cool of the evening the garden is changed into a fairyland with the fireflies, and just below us, over the shimmering velvet of the sea, hangs the Southern Cross.

                         A letter from G stating that she does not like the look of things in this part of the world.  I'm inclined to agree with her.  The Japs are starting to in filtrate around the back of our troops in the Buthidaug/Maundaw area.  This is forty or fifty miles South of us.

     The hot season here is just starting, and an unpleasant five months lie ahead of us.  The thermometer hovers around the hundred mark day and night, and with a high humidity factor there is no respite.  We feel as though we are slowly dissolving away.   Fortunately situated as we are on top of a hill, we catch what little breeze there is, this helps matters somewhat.  In the early evening I usually climb on to the flat concrete top of the bungalow to enjoy the breeze, and watch the sun go down in a blaze of glory, and  ...  think.  The sunrises and sunsets in India are surely the most beautiful in the world.  All the time perspiration oozes out of every pore in a million globules and runs in rivulets down the body.  One must change one's clothes at least twice a day, and at night in bed, with a mosquito net to make things worse it becomes almost intolerable.  To combat against heat stroke it is necessary to consume salt in large quantities.  Compulsory parades are held to ensure that a glass of water with a teaspoonful of salt added is drunk by all personnel.  It has a remarkable effect on the vitality.

     We hold a swimming parade most days, and bathe in the Chittagong swimming pool (a huge tank which is kept as a reserve reservoir for the town)  The water is about twenty foot deep, and milk warm.  Swimming is the ideal exercise under these climatic conditions.  Most men suffer from prickly heat.  Uncomfortable enough as it is, but much worse when it turns septic as it often does.  The complaint is due to the sweat glands being unable to cope with the flow of perspiration.  The body becomes covered in red pimples which irritate and itch.  There is no cure, although the B.O.R.'s swear by washing in their own urine.  In another fortnight the monsoon will break, a lesser evil from this heat to which we look forward.  It will put a stop to the campaign in the Arakan too ... a stalemate campaign to date.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

May 43

     The war in North Africa was concluded early this month by the capitulation of the German and Italian forces.  Over 300,000 prisoners were taken as a result of the surrender.  The end came suddenly after two years of alternate gains and losses by both sides.  Perhaps the war in Europe may conclude equally unexpectedly.  This morning a force of 26 Army 97 Jap Bombers with an escort of Fighters raided Chittagong.  It is the first raid for several weeks.  We had a grandstand view of the action, RHQ commanding a view over the whole of the area.  First came the early warning alarm, and then ten minutes later bedlam was let loose with all the Heavy guns in the area firing, as the bombers came into range.  Occasionally we were able to see the flash of silver in the bright blue sky as the raiders' wings or air-screws glinted in the sun.  Then came the whine as the bombs were dropped, and brown fountains of dust from among the trees.  Suddenly all the guns ceased firing.  Our Fighters had got among the enemy.  They brought down three over the Chittagong area, another three as the Japs were speeding back, and damaged another three.  A.A. claimed another two, one of which was seen to fall into the mouth of the Karnaphuli River.

     The Japs pattern bombed the airfield (at a signal from the leading plane all the bombs are dropped together) No damage was sustained on the strip, but ten coolies were killed.  One bomb was a near miss and hit the road adjacent to the runway.  There is no doubt that the Jap air force in Burmah cannot stand up to such high losses.  And always, the damage they cause is negligible.  Allied air strength is becoming greater every week, and it looks as though before long we shall have complete mastery of the air in  this theatre.

     I suppose that every unit has it's queer characters, but the 8th, being an Irish regiment must surely have more than average.  To give two examples there is a man in 22 Battery who is quite below normal intelligence, but the powers that be in the regiment will not have him boarded unfit, because he is supposed to bring good luck to them.  He married a woman on embarkation leave - a prostitute, who was after some marriage allowance.  And he then spent the first night with the bridesmaid !  And the one we call "Friday" in the same Battery.  On one occasion his Major found him sitting very disconsolately in his billet and asked him the trouble. Friday replied, with tears streaming down his face "Surr, Sorr, but I'm sick.  Me innards are all blocked up, and I'm urinating through me mouth"!

                      The Famine in Bengal

     The famine which came upon Bengal, and which later was to develop into such tragic dimensions came down on the country quietly and almost un-noticed by most of us.  Possibly this was due to the fact that at all times the Bengali looks upon the soldier as being a man of wealth, and tells a pitiful tale in order to extract baksheesh from him.  So, it was a case of crying "Wolf" too often, and when he really needed helping all he got was "jilda jao" - clear off, from "Tommy"   The famine was due, of course to a failure to get rice onto the market.  Rice is the staple food of all Indians, and particularly in Bengal.  He does not touch the wheat "chappati" of the Punjab.  In spite of the vast acreage of paddy under cultivation in India, nevertheless it is still necessary to import more for home consumption.  And it comes in the main from Burmah.  Burmah is in Japanese hands, and the market is closed to India.  If the matter had been handled scientifically - say on the basis of rationing in England no doubt every one would have had less, but would not have gone really short.  In actual fact this was not done, and the following was the consequence.
            1. Big merchants bought up all the stocks, hoarded them, and released at a price.  This price ranged up to twelve times and more of the pre-famine cost.  Thus the mass of the people simply could not afford to buy it.  The price of rice for a poor family for a day was more than the income for a month.
            2. Farmers and small holders were themselves afraid to part with their crops, and buried the rice under their huts.
            3. The population starved.

     Everywhere is Bengal people were dying in their hundreds, everywhere they flocked to some place where food might be forthcoming, to the towns and cities, and to the railway stations.  The matter got completely out of control.  And people were dying.  Living skeletons everywhere.  The Bengal Government tried to place the responsibility onto the shoulders of the Central Government.  But even six months earlier, the latter had sensed that things were not as they should be, but the Bengal Government had declared that they had firm control, and refused assistance from the Higher Authority.  The Bengal Government is to all intents and purposes Indian.  Wheat was imported in lieu of rice to stave off hunger, but the Bengali had lived on rice for generations, and his stomach refused to assimilate this new cereal.  Graft, dishonesty, and fraud were rampant.  The Punjabi Government sent free supplies of rice to Bengal.  Ministers of the Bengal Government actually sold this rice at the exorbitant market price, pocketed the proceeds, and when found out blamed it on an arithmetical error in the accounts department.  And all this time, men were living skeletons; dying at home with no one to know, dying on the roads, in the streets, in the country, on the railway platforms, and the only men to help them out were the British Troops.  And the Indian who could afford to be well fed stepped fastidiously over his brother Indian's dying body.

     At the local railway station of Laksham, it is reported that there is an average of six corpses to be removed every morning - men who have died in their sleep.   Men, women and children are a mere bag of bones, with their skin pulled tightly over the frame, and stomachs swollen up like balloons.  They cannot even afford to buy clothes, and lay about half naked in the dust.  The British soldier is doing wonders in his rough sort of way.  He is giving away his pay - although that will be little help, and he is giving away his rations.  Outside every site at meal times there is long queues of people with their empty "bully" tins hoping to get what scraps are going.  How