When the rumours began that XI were to leave Ramu, we did our best to find out where we were going, but not even the pilots were able to tell us. I expect the CO, Squadron Leader Denis Sharp, knew where we were going, but he wasn’t the type of man to let it be known. We had 2 ’char wallahs’, (tea boys), who travelled around the squadron ’Bashas’ (bamboo huts) during the evenings, selling char and egg banjos (bread rolls). As we couldn’t get any official information, we asked the char wallahs where we were going and the reply was “Imphal Sahib”. We asked if the char wallahs wee coming with us, because it was usual for them to travel with the squadron, but this time the answer was an emphatic “Nay Sahib”! They were no fools, because Imphal turned out to be the major battle of the Burma campaign.

There was just one all weather airstrip at Imphal and when the Japs cut the road from Dimapur to Kohima, and when the Japs cut off the road from Dimapur at Kohima , we were totally surrounded and everything had to come in and out by air. That meant we looked after the Hurricanes by day and our spell of guard duty was spent in the slit trenches around the airstrip at nights!

There came a time when the strain in supplies (including food) was so great that XI had to be moved over the mountains to a place called Lanka. Our Hurricanes continued their close support of the Fourteenth Army by using Imphal by day and coming back to Lanka in the evenings. It was at this time that Pip Wheeler decided the “Desert Rats Concert Party” should put on another show. Pip Wheeler had previously produced 2 concerts and ultimately became the first secretary of the XI Squadron Association in 1947 - a truly remarkable XI character! The show was entitled “Lankapantics” and a programme of the show is shown here.

One of my memories of the show was Pip and “Bammy”, (Eric Bamford), discussing the growing membership of the XI Squadron Nudist Club. Bammy asked if the CO belonged to the club. Pip replied “Oh, yes, he’s one of our most prominent members!” Even the CO laughed - which did not happen very often!!!