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Grandfather's Story
A CIVILIAN GOES TO WAR, (AND RETURNS UNSCATHED)
by
Cpl. Arthur George Pike 14260370
Page 4
Apparently they were
staging a mock battle, and 25 proved better than us and went off to the Arakan front to make a considerable effect there.
On the way to Nilambur I was able to take in the India I had heard of from
retired generals staying at our hotel. I noted a large city called Erode I had never
heard of, but the word had of course a special meaning to a geography student.
Nilambur was in the jungle country near the Malabar coast, and I joined the
2nd Battalion the Royal Berkshire Regiment (another new badge-5 so far). It is worth mentioning
that Sir Winston ordered a break-up of the regimental tradition following the capture
of so many soldiers from the same part of the country in Singapore) and the CSM of
D Company had me immediately transferred to HQ Company in the I Section. It is
worth noting that the word intelligence has a special meaning in the forces
- knowing what is going on may sum it up a bit.
We moved to Bidadi near Bangalore, with a view of Ootacamund and the Nilgiri
Hills. The camp was also used for Italian POW's from the Middle East, and their football
team brightened up a visit to Bangalore.
Now a strange thing happened. In the middle of hearing about the dire situation
at Imphal, a voice said "I see you haven't had any leave lately". I
left my kit and rifle at Bangalore and went off for ten days at Naini Tal in the foothills of the Himalayas.
It snowed on me, and I had rides on a pony (yes, another of my fears). I saw Mount
Everest.
On the way back, at Madras station, I was stopped by an RP, who told me I must
not go back to Bangalore, because our 19 Div was in Madras to face a possible invasion.
So I arrived at Sriperumbudur in poor quality civvy shoes to do drills and parades.
They soon brought my kit in from Bangalore. During our defending I was given the job
of riding a bicycle with an important message along the runway of Madras airport (another
fear, I nearly missed the runway!). The message was to the effect that the invasion
threat had faded.
The next move was to Poona, where 19 Div geared up to sea landing. We were
going to use landing craft that were on their way from Europe. Alas they were sent back
to Europe. During this time I missed the training for landings by being sent to
Poona for training in codework. My course was cut short to enable me to join the battalion
on its way to the front at Imphal. I reported back, and drew out my rifle, which I
propped against the side of the tent while I checked on the weather. I came back in
to find the Company Commander finding rust on my rifle. Seven days' Jankers was not without
its moments - the look on the RP sergeant's face when I turned up in full kit -
he had his own opinions as to my character. I had the task of perfecting the monsoon trenches
ready for the visit of Lord Mountbatten. Then the visit from Lord Louis, during which
I was selected to have a personal interview. "Budleigh Salterton", he said," that's
a nice place!" and he was off to the next interview. We camped at Kanglatombi
where the Suffolks had been in action. We were busy fixing up our trench positions and lines of fire,
when a voice said "Anyone for the liberty truck to Imphal?". I asked the
driver to drop me at the
P 1 :: P
2 :: P 3 :: P
4 :: P 5 :: P
6 :: P
7 :: P 8 :: P
9 :: P
10
Cpl. Arthur George Pike 6400751