In June 1945 the 2nd-in-command Maj RAINSFORD took over the command. He often remained serious and the wrinkles of his forces conveyed sternness, and junior officers particularly never felt at ease in his presence. The 2nd in Command had a wonderful gift for narrating jokes which often forced the commanding officer to smile.
During July 1945 the CO send me with a strong patrol into the PEGU YOMAS (thick jungle with little openings far apart) for laying ambush for the Japanese defeated parties/stragglers reported to have collected for making a dash for the river SITTANG. From the edge of the jungle the river was about 30 miles but all the routes and likely crossing places were guarded by troops. The enemy parties could only move secretly during dark hours, many had been ambushed, suffering numerous casualties after gruesome battles. I searched the area for miles and miles but managed only to find abandoned arms and equipment scattered in the thick jungle. According to the villagers a strong party of stragglers had moved the previous night and many Japanese had managed to cross the PUGU-RANGOON railway line and the road.
After spending about 14 hours I returned and reported ‘No Japanese seen’, but the CO was not satisfied so he sent a British officer with a fighting patrol to scour the same area; this officer came back after 6 hours with a ‘NIL’ report. Obviously I felt unhappy at the at the CO’s mistrust in me, but the 2nd-in-command appreciated my effort in locating enemy arms and equipment and according to him this information was also considered valuable by the formation HQs.
Early in September 1945, 7 Division moved to THAILAND to disarm about 120,000 Japanese prisoners and repatriate about 31000 Allied prisoners of war (including 11000 Dutch). My Battalion was sent by air to BANGKOK where Div HQs were located. The Battalion occupied the BANGKOK University accommodation. The CO engaged a lady for teaching him French language. Some audacious young officers secretly used to watch the inside scene through a hole in the door but failed to find any indecent activity. The commanding officer had allowed some officers to invite their girl friends in the mess.
One of the Battalion officers, Major SHIPSTER was camp commandant of a Japanese prisoner of war camp. The Japanese officers maintained fierce discipline and were detailed mostly for conservancy jobs (clearing of rubbish, drains, washing of latrines, etc) and load/unload from ships, trains and vehicles. They were not allowed to roam about in town, One day in the evening two Japanese prisoners were caught by our military police patrol and were handed over to Major SHIPSTER, in-charge of the camp who handed them over to the Japanese commandant of the camp for suitable action. After a few days two more Japanese prisoners were caught by the military police. Major SHIPSTER firmly told the Japanese commandant not to allow prisoners of war to go to town without permission. After a week three more prisoners were caught. Major SHIPSTER (commandant of the camp) rebuked the Japanese commandant and asked him as to what action had been taken against the defaulters. He took Major SHIPSTER to a remote corner of the camp and said “these are the graves of those defaulters and now the same fate awaits the three defaulters.” We were horrified to hear this tragic tale. He had ordered the Japanese commandant to award lashes and solitary confinement to the defaulters.
Lieut Col SESTON was the commandant SINGAPORE Transit Group. During 1946 and 1947, at a time the camp held 3000 troops of various nationalities, caste and creed. They were East Africans, West Africans, British, Australians, Dutch, Indian (Muslims, Hindus, Sikh, Gurkhas and Ceylonese) reporting from various theaters of war for onward dispatch to their present stations. They had to be fed, as per their scale of ration, accommodated, medically examined and paid.
On the permanent staff there were a dozen officers, about 20 JCOs and 350 other ranks. At the advent of the 2nd World War Col SESTON was a senior NCO in some British unit, but soon was commissioned appointed Quarter Master (Major) of a Division and elevated as Assistant Quarter Master (Lieut Col) in the same division. For his meritorious services he was awarded MBE. He was able to converse in Urdu and had the ration scale of various troops on his finger tips.
I was the Welfare Officer providing amenities, games and stage shows for entertainment for troops in transit and the permanent staff. The CO was a good administrator and made surprise checks of lines, stores, cook houses, latrines, etc. He was a strict disciplinarian and punished severely those caught in out of bound areas.
One night two Madrasi sepoys who were in transit fought in their living quarter and one was killed in the scuffle. The NCO in-charge reported to his officer (a major) in his room but the officer said he would visit the quarter in the morning. The incident was reported by the Subedar Major (Hon Capt SHAH) to Col SESTON who personally went at night and ordered the arrest of the murderer and separated the witnesses. He also placed the major under arrest for having failed to visit the scene of the heinous offence. A day earlier the major had told me that he was going back to his home after a year and that his family members were anxiously waiting for his return. Till the finalization of the case the major was ordered to stay back and awarded severe reprimand for his negligence to visit the scene of the scuffle and take necessary action.
The CO had established two messes for the officers; a mess for the European officers and B mess where Indian officers used to dine. This segregation was not appreciated by the Indian officers but the majority accepted it because it gave us the opportunity to speak in our own language, listen to our music, eat Indian dishes and entertain guests without any fuss.
During 1947 politics was openly being discussed in B Mess; the CO and all British officers were also aware about the Indian officers’ views about independence. The CO never discouraged discussion about the demand for independence by the Indian officers. Once, in the presence of the CO and many British officers I recited some couplets from a poem of Allama IQBAL. This was then duly translated into English by an educated Indian officer.
On my request in July 1947 the CO wrote a personal letter to the Principal RSD College Ferozepur to remind the Punjab University for issuance of my B.A. Degree. Within two weeks a reply was received in which the Principal (DESRAJ WADHAN, M.A. Mathematics, M.A. Philosophy, M.A. Persian) had strongly recommended my case to the University. He also conveyed his best wishes to me. During July-August 1947 anti-Muslim tempers had risen, particularly in East Punjab therefore I did not expect any reply. But my Hindu Principal (I had been his student of Mathematics) had proved to be an unbiased teacher who was blessed with a kindly and sympathetic spirit.
The date for the creation of Pakistan had been announced. It was the sacred month of RAMAZAN. There were 4 Muslim JCOs, about 35 other ranks and I was the only Muslim officer. The CO decided to hoist/unfurl flags of both the countries (India and Pakistan) on separate poles on 15 August 1947. My request for holding the ceremony on 14 August was rejected by the CO, however on 14 August some Muslim Jawans planted a mini-Pakistan flag on the roof of my room and we all went to the mosque, offered prayers and shouted slogans of PAKISTAN ZINDABAD.
On 15 August at about 0900 hours on two separate poles, two flags were tied with ship knots with the ends of the ropes hanging just above ground level. Capt DULLO RAM (his name was often wrong pronounced by most of the Sikh sepoys), the senior Hindu officer was leading the parade of Hindu troops while I was leading Muslim troops. After slogans of ZINDABAD I pulled the rope and the Pakistani flag waved majestically in the breeze. Capt DULLO RAM also pulled his rope but the knot remained untied because of which the Indian troops had to wait for some time; this naturally resulted in the Indian troops being dejected. The CO and all British officers also saluted the flags and shook hands with the participants by way of congratulation.
SINGAPORE had a reputation of being a notorious abode of Chinese thieves. The wheels and imported parts of the parked army vehicles were removed within minutes if vehicles were left unattended. Even the shopping bags of ladies were snatched by fast running thieves.
In the vast compound of SINGAPORE Transit Camp, due to shortage of living accommodation, large sized tents were pitched; in each big tent 8 to 10 soldiers used to live. One night to everyone’s six tents were removed by thieves whereas men accommodated in them were unaware as to when the tents had been removed. Some of the soldiers had even lost their personal kit bags and to everyone’s surprise even some steel poles (6 to 8 feet long that were dug into the earth and on which tent ropes were tied) were missing. The whole episode appeared as fiction but here “truth was found to be stranger than fiction!”
The transmit camp 2nd in command was a Belgian officer who had opted to serve with the British Indian Army during the war. Before the 2nd World War he was working as an officer with the newly raised MLAYAN Defence Force. From JITRA in the north, down to Singapore, he was well aware about the country. Before the Japanese occupation of Singapore he had managed to escape in a boat/steamer and during the occupation of the Japanese he had managed to visit MALAYA secretly by a country boat in the vicinity of AKYAB. He collected a lot of information about the Japanese forces location, supply centers, bridges and gun areas.
His Eurasian wife was beautiful but he managed to hide her pretty face from the avaricious glances of the Japanese by coating her race and arms with dark coloured invisible paint. The Japanese had collected by force many men for digging gun areas and embankments and they freely used whips and lashes on those whose work was below their required standard. His wife also visited their home and old parents. She dressed herself as an old MALAYASIAN lady and would walk with a limp like an old lady.
One day her young unmarried daughter also joined the adventure to see the cruel treatment meted out on the locals by the Japanese. She was carrying a sling and about a dozen stones for stealthily shooting targets in the area where the Japanese were supervising the digging of trenches, etc. By taking cover of the long grass and trees she reached a big building which used to be a police barrack. She the took aim of the big glass window and released the stone which hit the glass with such a loud noise that even the birds flew away in fight. The Japanese thought this to be a rifle shot and immediately went to the ground to take cover.
The young girl then ran away a couple of hundred yards by wading through a knee-deep stream and reached her home. She was scolded harshly by her parents. The Japanese were unable to trace the culprit.
By the end of August I received a letter from my cousin who was also in the army (he had gone with an escort to collect my family members) informing me that our house had been completely ransacked, belongings looted and even the doors and windows removed, obviously by non-Muslim looters. According to him my family members most probably had walked 25 miles on foot during dark hours, had managed to cross the river Sutlej on the Kasur side. I showed the letter to the CO who granted me leave and also arranged a seat in a ship bound for Madras.
After a most hazardous and tedious journey by sea and train (SINGAPORE, RANGOON, MADRAS, KALIAN, BOMBAY and KARACHI) I reached Karachi and was posted to 1st Punjab Regiment Centre at JHELUM. Col FRYE was the commandant and after a couple of days I was temporarily posted to 2/1 Punjab (now 2nd Punjab Regt, was also raised during 1761 – Capt MOHAMMAD SARWAR had won the first Nishan-e-Hyder called HYDERI, second to none) because the unit was short of officers. It was located at RAZMAK. Lieut Col ADAM KHAN MC was the commanding officer. The Quaid-e-Azam had decided to withdraw regular troops from WAZIRISTAN and only civil armed forces were ordered to hold forts and piquets. The British officers were reluctant to withdraw and they warned that evacuation would lead to uncontrollable trouble to which the Quaid-e-Azam replied, ‘If I have to keep their loyalty with the armed forces I would rather not have them.”
