Leasor, Thomas James (Oral history)

British private served with 70th Bn The Buffs in GB, 1942; officer cadet in India, 1942-1943; officer served with 1st Bn Lincolnshire Regt in India and Burma, 1944; served with Public Relations Directorate in India and Burma, 1944-1945

REEL 1 Background in Erith, 1923-1942: family circumstance; education; story of how he became a writer as a schoolboy; reasons for volunteering for The Buffs, 6/1942; reaction to declaration of Second World War, 3/9/1939; social pretensions relating to Anderson shelters; memories of German bombing of Erith, 1940-1942. Recollections of period with 70th Bn The Buffs in GB, 1942: arrival at depot in Canterbury; ribald song sung by recruits; political atmosphere, 1942; polishing barrack room floor at Canterbury; amusing story of sergeant-major's handling of recruits; posting to Sevenoaks; experiences during War Office Selection Board near Redhill. Recollections of voyage from GB to India via South Africa, 1942: background to posting; journey from Liverpool for embarkation aboard Brittanic; conditions for officers and other ranks on board; death of man from scalding by boiling porridge. REEL 2 Continues: types of entrepreneurship on board; reaction of WRENs to obscenities shouted by troops on arrival in Freetown; gaining sense of empire in Cape Town; social activities in Cape Town; voyage across Arabian Sea aboard Athlone Castle. Recollections of period as officer cadet in India, 1942-1943: throwing solar topees into sea at Bombay; barracks at Belgaum; tonga racing; learning phonetic Urdu; relations with India cadets at Belgaum, OTS; relations with quartermasters; memories of Paul Scott; type of people who ended up in asylum at Deolali; train journey to Calcutta. Recollections of sinking of El Medina in Indian Ocean, 1944: embarkation on board ship at Calcutta. REEL 3 Continues: torpedoing of ship; preparations to abandon ship; scenes in sea during sinking of ship afterwards; question of belief that he would die in sea; rescue of ship; disembarkation at Chittagong and problems of establishing his identity. Recollections of operations with 8 Platoon, C Coy, 1st Bn Lincolnshire Regt in Arakan, Burma, 1944: joining unit in Arakan; job burying soldier who had accidentally drowned, early 1944; problems of commanding platoon in Arakan. REEL 4 Continues: patrolling in jungle; ambushes set by Japanese; clash with senior officer which effected his faith in chain of command; encounters with wild animals; story of writing novel 'Not Such a Bad Day'; description of Bren gun carrier; story of effect of Biblical message to withdraw; problems that led to medical downgrading. Aspects of period as officer with Public Relations Directorate in India and Burma, 1944-1945: reasons for wanting to write rather than resume normal duties; dispatch to Nasik to suppress civil disorder, 1944. REEL 5 Continues: question of behaviour of mob at Nasik; attachment to 17th Indian Div; working as journalist for Frank Owen on SEAC magazine; methods employed by army deserters; role of US generosity in promoting Bengal famine; corruption and black marketing in north east India, 1944-1945. Story of how he became an undergraduate at Oriel College, Oxford University and then worked for Daily Express newspaper. Attitude to having served in Second World War.