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No Time To Dig Latrines
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.....Again we were put on trucks, and driven to a place called Kin-U, where B Coy of 2nd Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment were resting after being involved in a major battle at Kabwet, lasting several day’s sustaining casualty’s, killed and wounded.

.....Before moving on I must point out that 2nd Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment was part of 98th Brigade of the 19th Indian Dagger Division, of the 14th Army. The Forgotten Army and was said to be the most famous that entered Burma.

.....After about 4-5 days the Coy was ready to move off and sort out the Japs, pursued by men with fighting experience. Now I had not gone to the toilet for about five or six day’s, but I can tell you that this was the best dose of salts I ever had, could not drop my trousers quick enough. I could have been put on a charge if the company commander had known, you were not allowed to be constipated, (Sit down toilets was an unthinkable embarrassment), and you had to forget modesty.

.....Also if you were caught drinking unauthorized water, water came mostly from wells which was at times contaminated, the Japanese more often than not had put there dead in them, but believe me at times I have pushed scum off the surface of the water before drinking, when I was so thirsty, again a chargeable offence if caught. Same would apply if you were caught drinking from your water bottle until ordered to do so.

.....I’ve seen men with Dysentery who have had to drop their trousers every five minutes when in pursuit of the enemy. In those first few days in Burma I had a few clouts around the ear by a chap called xxxx xxxx a regular soldier, who looked after me, the reason for this was I had moved a stone by hand, and not by my foot, nine times out of ten there would be a Scorpion under it. Stung by one of those you would be out for a week, that’s if you survived.

.....You had to keep your body covered at all times irrespective of the climate, long trousers with puttees, because of Leeches and other insects. At times your body and cloth’s were also wet from sweat and crossing the waterways, if you sustained a cut or scratch it would turn in what we called a jungle sore. I have a few. I call them mementoes of Burma you had to take salt tablets and Mepacrine, to help save yourself against Malaria, we also used something called scat, a liquid repellent in a bottle which you put on the exposed parts of your body at night to help keep the mosquitoes at bay.
.....I was very fortunate in that I remained healthy, then I took all precautions including injections, a lot of others did not bother, and went down with Jaundice, Dysentery, Prickly Heat which is terrible, it gets under your armpits the sting feels just like stinging nettles that you get back home.

.....It was not long before I came across my first Japanese I was on patrol looking for the enemy in no mans land, believe me you did not know they were that close until they fired at you, you soon got down to mother earth, the Japanese fox holes enabled them to stand up and were linked to passageways which enabled them to move freely from one foxhole to another undetected, but then they had time to prepare for a defensive position against an advancing army. They were also very good at camouflaging themselves.
.....Our divisional commander was Major-General Pete Rees of the 19th Indian Dagger Division the youngest Divisional commander to enter Burma, it was said he wanted to capture Burma with 19 Division, any way we were the first to capture Mandalay. In fact it was our B Company commanded by Major John Hill that was the first in to Mandalay, after 2-3 weeks when we thought we had cleared the city, but while out on patrol I got wounded in the shoulder it was 14.03.1945, obviously long before we reached Fort Dufferin, and Mandalay numerous obstacles had to be conquered.

.....When told that the whole division was on the move being led by 98 Brigade, 2nd Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment out in front, you did have stomach butterflies after a while you got used to it, however unpleasant it was.

.....I can well remember the first Japanese I killed, we came to this village where fighting had taken place, I came across what I thought to be a dead Jap, but apparently he was only injured, as I saw his leg move, so I had to use the bayonet, it seemed a horrible thing to do, but it could have easily have been the other way. Him shooting me.

.....Eventually after a few skirmishes with pockets of Jap resistance we got close to the river, Irrawaddy it was just like looking out to sea I did many a patrol along that river at night. About ¼ mile from our Coy in other words no mans land. I had a few scares; I called the N.C.O. Cpl. xxxx, and xxxx and reported that the Japs were trying to get across after being driven back, they looked towards the area I had indicated and thought the same, but in fact the moon lit night with a slight breeze, the ripple of the water lapping at the sides, plus the shadow of the trees it appeared that small boats or canoes with Japs were trying to cross false alarm. The second time I called them, again what I thought I heard, them like wise, that the Japs had got across Cpl. xxxx and xxxx grenade in hand and pin out went forward, I was to supported them with the Bren-gun and ordered not leave my post, again false alarm what they found was hungry pi-dogs. I said to them better safe than sorry.

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C.S.M. Theodore Martin Shave