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Burma
Liberated Rangoon Jail
Notable Experiences
Notable Experience 4
An R.A. F, Pilot shot down by light flak and machine gun fire on the 11th November, 1944, about 4 miles north west of Pakokku, crashed into the trees, he got out of the aircraft suffering from shock and in a very dazed condition.
The next day he contacted some Burmese who were led by a young Indian, aged about 21. One of the Burmese wanted to shoot the Pilot but the Indian prevented him from doing this.
He was then tied up and led away to a village about one mile away, where he was handed over to the Japanese and kept in a large building marked ‘P.W.D.’.
On the 21st November the PoW was taken by train to Meiktila where he arrived early in the morning, and whilst sitting on the platform someone carne up from behind and hit him on the head.
The next thing the PoW remembered was waking up in a very small room and being interrogated by a Japanese Officer who gave him some milk and cigarettes. After this interrogation the PoW was taken back to the cell and was told that he was to be taken out to the airfield and shot by an armoured car. As the PoW had already heard
of the existence of this armoured car from people who had photographed it on the ground, he thought his number was up.
When the PoW got back into his cell he took two morphine packets out of his first aid kit and drank them. A few minutes later the Japanese Officer came back to the cell and as the PoW he as he thought that in a few minutes he was about to die by his own hand, ho proceeded to tell the Japanese exactly what he thought about Japan, the Japanese Army, the Emperor, and every body else connected with Japan.
Not unnaturally, this rather amazed the Japanese Officer and when finished up by telling him that he had already taken morphine and, that he would shortly be dead, the Japanese Officer betrayed, considerable anxiety and dashed out off the cell and returned with a doctor who gave the PoW greenish fluid which made him violently sick.
After this the PoW was propped up with some blankets against the wall and remembered very little till the next morning.
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