Nunneley, John Hewlett (Oral history)

British officer served with D Coy, 3/6th Bn King's African Rifles, 26th (East African) Bde, 11th African Div in British Somaliland, 1/1942-11/1942; served with 11th (Kenya) Bn King's African Rifles, 25th (East African) Bde, 11th African Div in Kenya, 11/1942-1/1943; served as staff officer with Headquarters, 25th (East African) Bde, 11th African Div in Tanganyika and Ceylon, 1/1943-1/1944; served as intelligence officer with 36th (Tanganyika) Bn King's African Rifles, 26th (East African) Bde, 11th African Div in Ceylon, India and Burma, 1/1944-8/1945

REEL 1 Recollections of period as officer with D Coy, 3/6th Bn King's African Rifles, 26th (East African) Bde, 11th African Div in British Somaliland, 1/1942-11/1942: reasons for volunteering to serve with African units; voyage from GB to Kenya, 10/1941-1/1942; structure and composition of battalion; differences in backgrounds of unit's officers; informality of off duty life in unit; techniques of leading askaris; opinion of serving with askaris; family's military background and his own Australian background; tribal composition of unit; question of divide and rule amongst tribes; rations for askaris and officers; military qualities of askaris; discipline problems with askaris and use of corporal punishment. REEL 2 Continues: motivation of askaris; oral tradition of Imperial German Army discipline in East Africa; application for posting to Far East. Aspects of period with D Coy, 11th (Kenya) Bn King's Africa Rifles, 25th (East African) Bde, 11th African Div in Kenya, 11/1942-1/1943: character of newly formed unit; question of burden of work as company commander and wish to leave unit. Aspects of period as staff officer with 25th (East African) Bde, 11th African Div in Tanganyika and Ceylon, 1/1943-1/1944: posting to unit; training duties near Mount Kilimanjaro; nature of training in preparation for posting to Burma; question of Japanese troop's reputation. REEL 3 Continues: psychological preparation of askaris for overseas posting; posting to Ceylon; murder of British officers by askari; question of smoking of narcotic 'Bhang' leading to incidents of indiscipline; nature of incidents of indiscipline amongst King's Africa Rifles; an askari with a grievance against him; killing of Ceylonese villager by askaris, 11/12/1943. Aspects of period as officer with 36th (Tanganyika) Bn King's Africa Rifles, 26th (East African) Bde, 11th African Div in Ceylon and India, 1/1944-7/1944: attitude to re-joining unit, 1/1944 and 3 Inch Mortar course in Saugor, India. Recollections of operations with 36th (Tanganyika) Bn King's Africa Rifles, 26th (East African) Bde, 11th East African Div in Burma, 8/1944-8/1945: role and duties as intelligence officer. REEL 4 Continues: question of following military procedure; condition of retreating Japanese troops; ravings of delirious Japanese officer who was captured; opinion of Japanese troops; material taken from Japanese soldiers' bodies; description of Union Jack captured by Japanese sergeant major during Fall of Singapore, 2/1942; contact with Indian National Army POWs; question of loyalties of Burmese civilians; actions at Sunle and Witok in Kabaw Valley. REEL 5 Continues: performance of Tanganyika askaris including their tracking skills; account of stalking and shooting of Japanese sentry; nature of escape after killing Japanese sentry; employment of African servant, Tomasi Kitinya. REEL 6 Continues: account of patrol against Japanese including disorder of askari patrol ambushed by Japanese, reasons for leading patrol against Japanese, counter-attack against Japanese in chung, wounding in leg, extraction from situation, death of Tomasi Kitinya and concern over his grave. REEL 7 Continues: imitation of senior British officers during African askaris dances, memories of Corporal Waruhiu Itote later 'General China' of the Mau Mau during the State of Emergency in Kenya.