March 1944
Under command of Major W (“Wally”) Prow (later to be mentioned in dispatches) and with 2 I/C Capt R Lishman, Lieutenants R (“Jock”) Beaton and T L Satchwell, the company (designated 305 Independent Field Park Company WO 172/5235) was located at milestone 1 on the Ukrul road just outside Imphal. Another officer is recorded as Capt. Lewis.
The VCOs were Jemadars Sheik Usman and Karim Ali. The Company Sergeant Major was CSM Lapworth.
The Japanese threat was increasing and the formation of defence boxes was begun. Major Prow was ordered to form and command B box with 305 Field Park and 903 Jeep Coy.
Later the company moved to Elephant Box where a slight earth tremor was felt on 12th March and there was an air-raid on 16th March. The war diary records that subsequently only 10% of the local labour force turned up. It must be about this time that most non-combatants were being evacuated to India. The road back to Kohima had been cut by the enemy and by the end of the month the town was surrounded and under siege. The only way in and out for men and supplies was by air.
During the month the company was engaged on pre-fabricating bridge piers, preparing box defences, establishing a waterpoint, lighting and accommodation for IV Corps H Q to move to Imphal from Ranchi.
April 1944
CSM Lapworth went to Palel on the 1st and spent 6 days evacuating engineer stores from the ESD. During the month the company continued to retrieve stores from Moreh and Palel and develop the Corps HQ site. Havildar Abdul Aziz joined the company and the box was renamed as OWL.
May-June 1944
A Havildar and 18 men formed the security guard at 115 POW cage. and took over the Imphal town lighting. The cleansing centre was opened to provide hot showers for 100 men/hour and was declared a great success.
On June 22nd the relieving forces from the North met the besieged Imphal troops at milestone 109 and the road back to India was opened and the siege lifted. July 1944
July 1944
On the 6th July 41 IOR’s went on war leave and Havildar Jalil Shah returned to Kirkee.
A 4″ victaulic water main was provided for the incoming Corps HQ and the company moved to the Palace pond area. Training courses were organised and Capt. Lishman went with a detachment to Ranchi to help the advance party of Corps HQ to move to Imphal.
August 1944
On 1st of the month Jemadars Sheik Usman, Karim Ali and 27 men of the field platoon went to Ranchi to deal with water and lighting for Corps H Q. On the 13th the company was relieved of the task of providing water.
Work continued on providing for the move of Corps HQ from Ranchi to Imphal. Engineer stores were taken over from 44 Fd Pk (5 Div) and forwarded down the Tiddim road as required.
I had been posted from 20 Field Coy (5 Div) and, after a long trek back from milestone 82 on the Tiddim road, I arrived at the Palace Pond site on August 28th and took charge of the stores platoon. Following the relief of Imphal some civilians returned and started to work on the Manipur River bridge to which the company sent engineer stores.
September 1944
PN boats were made and the bridge was completed by the 10th.
A major continuing task was accepting stores coming from the railhead at Dimapur, from 11 Engineer Depot and from the airfields and sending them forward on demand towards Tiddim and Palel/Tamu.
The war diary records that on the 10th the following stores were forwarded to CRE 5 Div:
- 1100 Fathoms of Steel Wire Rope
- 600 Fathoms of Cordage
- 2 Crab Winches
- 650 Pieces of 5″x2″x7″ Timber
- Sundry items for the completion of the Manipur river crossing.
Boat construction continued and the pond at the Palace was an excellent site for testing outboard motors.
We witnessed a tragic accident whilst repairing an RAF landing strip . A number of Hurricanes returning from a sortie were circling the airstrip in the “follow my leader” conventional pattern and well spaced out, when one seemed to be in trouble, broke out of the pattern and came in low to land. Unfortunately another plane was taking its turn to make the run-in to land but higher up and in the same direction. It seemed that neither saw the other and despite a red flare from the end of the runway the upper plane came down onto the lower, its propeller chewing through its cockpit. It crashed and the pilot died later. The other plane landed safely.
October 1944
In October I was posted to Ranchi to relieve Capt. Lishman who became OC 309 Fd Pk.
At Ranchi quite by chance I met one of my schoolmasters, by now in the RAF. Would I like a short trip in a Beaufighter? I accepted and next morning found myself standing between the pilot and gunner braced for take-off. The trip lasted no longer than 15 minutes but the pilot put the wind up me by putting the plane through its paces, mainly at zero level, and with tight U-turns. I can still see the terrified look on the face of a farmer ploughing his field, we were that low. Each engine in turn then hiccoughed, spluttered and cut out, by accident or design I know not. My questioning grimaces and raised eyebrows drew no response from the gunner. Suffice to say that on landing my knees were wobbly. I am sure the whole performance was devised to scare The Brown Job.
Back in Imphal the company made itself helpful to the tented hospital nearby by ensuring they had good water and electricity supplies. We got to know the nurses very well and as we went southwards met up with them from time to time. In fact I attended the wedding of one of them back in England.
All through the month the company was busy accepting stores coming down by road from the railhead at Dimapur or brought in by air. These were sorted and despatched as required to forward divisions, who by now were chasing the retreating Japanese.
When organising the distribution of stores it was often necessary to break open the boxes in which they came and it was amusing to find inside a box of transom clamps or panel pins a note saying “with the courtesy of the Walla Walla Chewing gum Company” or “best wishes from the … Sewing Machine Company”
November 1944
Company training figured in this month’s tasks.
I was sent to Chaklala near Rawlpindi on a course which combined explosives and how to dismantle a D4 for loading into a Dakota. Those parts that would not go through the door had to be cut up but we were not shown how this was to be done nor how the severed bits might be welded back together.
In Imphal preparation for the arrival of Corps HQ continued. The HQ was tucked away camouflaged dug into a hillside and with the onset of winter, which is cold at 3000 ft, someone of the advance party realised that the chimneys in their tents (à la Northwest frontier) had certain faults and the company had to correct them. (smokeless charcoal?) Whilst there I had a chance to view the security tent where the most up-to-date coding and decoding machines were working. The whirring wheels and the chatter of the Telexes gave an insight into the vast organisation that backed up our work in the field.
All the month stores were being ferried around and Jeeps collected from Dimapur. I had by now acquired my fourth jeep, a brand new one and named it Sapper IV. It served me well for the rest of my time in Burma despite a serious accident later. On the 16th of the month the company moved to Moreh (MR 779 950) near Tamu.