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Grandfather's Story
A CIVILIAN GOES TO WAR, (AND RETURNS UNSCATHED)
by
Cpl. Arthur George Pike 14260370
Page 5
Suffolk camp, and
the sentry on duty recognised me from training days at Spilsby. I was
regally entertained with a cup of char and we chatted until I was picked up
to go back.
Their 5 Div had been flown across from the Arakan Front to turn the battle
at Imphal, and were given a short rest. They soon returned to action, taking some of the pressure
off us in Mandalay.
19 Div charged eastwards into Burma, chasing a weakened enemy. They had
overestimated their power. 62 Brigade set off to capture Wuntho, crossing an
area very rarely visited by anyone. 64 Brigade set off NE ward to contact
the force operating in North Burma. Our Brigade, the 98th Indian, was in reserve,
and given the task
of creating a graded road for the 4th Corps tanks to advance to the Chindwin
River. It was during this work I came upon a felled tree with a huge amount
of honey in its trunk. That
made a change in the diet, but one had to be careful.
When the work was done, I felt it was a funny sort of war, even funnier when
I heard the 4th Corps had been transferred to the right flank and we had become part of
33 Corps. 4th Corps was now bound for Meiktila, which they reached before we got control
of Mandalay. A brilliant move by the General.
General Slim became a Field Marshal and was recognised by Lord Louis as a great
general. His daughter lives nearby, and I was privileged to meet Lady Slim
at a Burma Star meeting.
Back to the front! We were accompanied in 98 Brigade by the 4/4 Gurkhas and
the 8/12 Frontier Force Rifles.
We relieved the Welch on Christmas Day, and set off south down the line of
the railway to Shwebo. Some years before soldiers had been brought down this
line to reinforce the Glosters, only to find they had to get back to India
as best they could. On
the first day in action we lost the C.O. unfit, and came under the command
of assorted Majors from outside, because our strength did not include a second-in-command,
probably
the only deficiency. I was in the party going down the railway line when a
sniper picked off a sergeant near me, and he had to be carried along. We saw
the hastily dug hole
the sniper had hollowed out by the track, and it seemed to tell us the enemy
strength was low. It seems difficult to believe I had all but forgotten the
word 'foxhole'! We heard
an explosion to the East where C Company's leading jeep was blown up by a landmine.
The advance was called off for the day. We rejoined the rest of the battalion
after dark and were not allowed to dig in because of the noise that would be
involved. A couple
of the enemy came up in the moonlight and set up their mortar, firing several
shells over our perimeter and into the jungle beyond. War wasn't so difficult
so far.
Near Leiktu we were attacked by a single Zero fighter. I was trying to remember
how to deal with this when a voice called out "Don't look up!". This Zero
was one of 15 sent to the front, but 14 were shot up at Shwebo. The lone flier was able to pick off
three undefended Dakotas dropping supplies. I believe their pilots were Canadian.
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