I arrived in Bombay in February 1944 and was taken to Worli transit camp where I was introduced to the bed bug! About 10 days later I had the 2 day train journey to Calcutta transit camp. I was ordered to join XI Squadron at Feni, but when I got there XI had moved to an unknown destination.

Fortunately, there was a Yank signals unit at Feni and they put me up there for 3 days and introduced me to Rum & Cokes. They really were very generous!

The day following my arrival I took the train to Comilla, where 221 Group were in residence - and it took them 2 days to tell me where XI Squadron were! A long dusty lorry ride for almost a whole day followed before I arrived at XI Squadron at Ramu, on the Arakan front.

I went to 'A' flight the following morning, dressed in my khaki drill jacket and shorts and my ‘Bombay Bowler’ hat, (which was a hard helmet of WW1 vintage) and my snow white skin. I was immediately surrounded by these stripped to the waist, bronzed blokes in their bush hats, similar to those worn by Australian servicemen.

The blokes wanted to know what it was like in ’Blighty’ (UK) and I was the centre of attention in answering their questions. I turned my head to watch what I thought were 2 Hurricanes approaching the airstrip. When I turned my head back to continue the conversation - there was nobody there!! The 2 Japanese Zeros (NOT Hurricanes) started firing and amid shouts of “get down you silly bugger”, Bob Curnow yanked me into a slit trench! What a welcome to XI Squadron!!!