Description
Object description
A very well written and interesting undated wordprocessed memoir (56pp) covering his employment as a junior assistant in a bank in Singapore, with several evocative vignettes of life as a young expatriate in the Far East at that time (April 1938 - September 1939), and then at the bank's offices in Bangkok, Thailand where the status of a white man counted for less than in Singapore and he was retained as a 'key man' and could not enlist in the forces (September 1939 - December 1941), the Thai capitulation to the Japanese on 8 December 1941 and his escape, to avoid internment, with a small party of other British subjects during the next fortnight, travelling initially by launch to Kanburi and then in a barge towed by a launch to a point from where they were able to complete a trek, under very difficult conditions, through jungle and over hills across the frontier into Burma (December 1941), his brief glimpse of the war in Burma before obtaining permission to go to India and enlist in the RAFVR (early 1942), his successful completion of his training as a pilot in India (early - November 1942), his service at Ambala as an instructor training Indian cadets to fly Harvards (November 1942 - December 1943), his transfer to the Middle East and training in Palestine as a Photographic Reconnaissance pilot (January - June 1944), and his service with No 682 (PRU) Squadron, flying Spitfires, based initially in Italy (June - July 1944), then on Corsica at the time of Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France (August 1944), then on a succession of airfields in France as the advance north through that country continued (September 1944 - March 1945) before being ordered back to Italy (March - July 1945) with many interesting references to the attractions and hazards of long distance PRU flights at great height and their tactical importance.
Content description
A very well written and interesting undated wordprocessed memoir (56pp) covering his employment as a junior assistant in a bank in Singapore, with several evocative vignettes of life as a young expatriate in the Far East at that time (April 1938 - September 1939), and then at the bank's offices in Bangkok, Thailand where the status of a white man counted for less than in Singapore and he was retained as a 'key man' and could not enlist in the forces (September 1939 - December 1941), the Thai capitulation to the Japanese on 8 December 1941 and his escape, to avoid internment, with a small party of other British subjects during the next fortnight, travelling initially by launch to Kanburi and then in a barge towed by a launch to a point from where they were able to complete a trek, under very difficult conditions, through jungle and over hills across the frontier into Burma (December 1941), his brief glimpse of the war in Burma before obtaining permission to go to India and enlist in the RAFVR (early 1942), his successful completion of his training as a pilot in India (early - November 1942), his service at Ambala as an instructor training Indian cadets to fly Harvards (November 1942 - December 1943), his transfer to the Middle East and training in Palestine as a Photographic Reconnaissance pilot (January - June 1944), and his service with No 682 (PRU) Squadron, flying Spitfires, based initially in Italy (June - July 1944), then on Corsica at the time of Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France (August 1944), then on a succession of airfields in France as the advance north through that country continued (September 1944 - March 1945) before being ordered back to Italy (March - July 1945) with many interesting references to the attractions and hazards of long distance PRU flights at great height and their tactical importance.
History note
Cataloguer RWAS
History note
Catalogue date 2006-05