- Contributed by听
- derbycsv
- People in story:听
- MR J BENNETT, Harry Leach, Vic Cable
- Location of story:听
- Assam-Burma Border 1942
- Background to story:听
- Royal Air Force
- Article ID:听
- A6779785
- Contributed on:听
- 07 November 2005
This story was submitted to the People's War site by Lin Freeman of Radio Derby CSV on behalf of Mr J Bennett and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.
BURNED OUT IN BURMA
In 1942 I was serving in the RAF in 39 Wireless Unit on the Assam/Burma Border. We were there for the purpose of spotting Japanese planes on their way into India. We had a Basha (Hut) on the top of the hill and had to come to the bottom to pick up our rations etc., which were brought by lorry.
It was quite a winding path and invariably either coming down or going up we used to encounter snakes lying across the path, although they usually moved on seeing us. There was so many of them we didn鈥檛 venture off the path.
At certain times of the year, the local natives used to set fire to the dry grass down in the valley so that the new grass would grow.
This was done when the wind was in the right direction, but this particular day the wind changed and a 20 foot flame came up the hillside. We could see that it was going to engulf us if we didn鈥檛 get out, so we started going down the path, when I remembered that I had left my watch in the Basha and so I went back hoping to get it. Unfortunately, just as I got to the door, the flames hit the hut and it went up in a sheet of flames (I didn鈥檛 get the watch).
I couldn鈥檛 regain the path and did the only thing left to me and went down the hillside not giving a thought about the snakes. Looking back, I saw this sheet of flames bearing down on me and thought my last moments had come (it鈥檚 true when they say your life flashes in front of you when you think your time is up).
But a miracle happened and the path held up the flame, and allowed me to regain it further down and reach the bottom of the hill.
All three of us were safe and sound, and needless to say the site was never used again as far as I know and we returned to base at Imphal in Assam.
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