Jack contracted Dengue Fever and was hospitalised for some three weeks in Chittagong. He did rejoin his unit but he admits trying to delay that; he wasn’t at all pleased to be going back.

Jack remembers VJ Day and his Captain saying, ‘I don’t trust the Japanese. We’ll keep at action stations for a while.’ After that Jack went to Bombay to be demobbed. He only realised much later in life that his family back home had not heard from him for over three months. So far as they were concerned he was in South East Asia Command and that was all they knew. His mother had written to him every week but Jack had not received any letters because of where he was.

When Jack eventually made it to Bombay there was a whole sack of mail for him; his mother had sent copies of the newspaper with each letter. Much later in life Jack learnt how difficult it must have been for his parents.

Being in Bombay at that time meant that there were invitations to all sorts of parties and events. There was a visit the Himalayan Officers Club and another time they travelled to visit the Maharaja of Rajastan to go on a tiger shoot. Although we went out on elephants I’m glad we never saw any tigers. Jack celebrated his 21st Birthday in Madras.

When I came back home Jack went to see his old Sergeant Charlie Kay again at the Labour Exchange. That was the first time he met Marion, who became his wife.