Reader's Letter: VJ Day - Burma experiences

As we mark the 70th anniversary of Victory in Japan Day today (Saturday, 15th August), Mandy Yardley has kindly sent us this photo of her father Geoff Mottram who served in the RAF in Burma during World War Two along with some information about his war time experiences.

Dad was born at Fernhill Over Alderley on the 10th January 1923. His father was an estate worker for Lord Stanley. Dad and his siblings attended Nether Alderley Primary School.

When the Stanley's sold the estate in the late 1930s the family moved into a house on the Circuit in Alderley Edge which had been provided for them by the Stanley Family. Dad's first job on leaving school was as a grocer's boy in a grocer's shop at the station end of the village and next door but one to GG Brooks (locally known as Dobbin Brooks) the cycle shop. He cannot racall the name of the grocers.

In 1941 at the age of 18, Geoff signed up in Macclesfield to serve in the RAF. His first posting was to Blackpool for training. Dad has a vivid memory of his mother seeing him off at Alderley Edge station. It was all the more poignant as his mother passed away whilst he was in Ireland so he never had the chance to see her again. Along with many others he was billeted in one of Blackpool's many guest houses. After leaving Blackpool he was sent to the Midlands for further training and then finally before his overseas posting to Northern Ireland near Stormont. Whilst there he worked and flew on Sunderland flying boats. Dad had initially planned to become a navigator but due to a burst ear drum was unable to continue with this occupation so he became a wireless operator.

In 1942 he was deployed to Burma. Sailing from Liverpool on a liner they made their way through the Suez canal. This meant that as they didn't have to sail the longer route via the Cape of Good Hope and their journey would be faster but potentially more dangerous as they travelled through the Middle East. Apparently due to heavy fighting in the area the ship he travelled was the first to use the canal since the fighting in Egypt commenced As the Japanese had by this point invaded and taken most of Burma it was essential that they got to their destination swiftly. On arriving in India with his comrades he travelled by train for five and a half nights.

They had to cross the Brahmaputra river by ferry to then be met by trucks which took them into the jungle in Assam then over the Himalayas. After this arduous journey they were still in India. From there they went into Burma. Dad recalls the first village he arrived at as Farsi however I cannot find any reference to this on Google. Here he worked from a ten ton truck which had both a receiver and transmitter. His job was to advise pilots of damaged British aircraft where they could land safely. His recollection is that his Unit was 5842 Mobile Signals Unit although he says the numbers may be incorrect. Somewhere I have his demob papers which could verify this. He does however say that they were often moved to other units.

Whilst in Burma he met what dad describes as an educated Burmese village elder who had worked for the Burmese Oil company before the invasion. Dad said in his off duty time he would often spend time with this gentleman. He recalls being invited to share a meal with him where he tasted 35 different types of curry. He still has a love of curry to this day but says none taste as good as those he had in Burma!

In 1945 there was talk that dad and his comrades would be involved in an invasion into Japan as by this point the Japanese had been pushed out of Burma. However after the Americans dropped the two atom bombs war was declared over. In September 1945 dad returned to Alderley Edge where he lived until 1973 when his job necessitated a move to Lancashire.

Here are a couple of stories of dad's time in Burma.

My dad was a wireless operator and was sent out to a post in the Burmese jungle. On arriving at the camp he was being shown to his tent when he was shocked to find that walking towards him was a rather large tiger. The officer seeing his fear advised him not to worry as the tiger was an old female who was virtually toothless. In the wild she would have died of starvation so the camp cook had taken pity on her and fed her each day.

As a wireless operator he was often sent out into the jungle to set up new lines of communication. One such time working with his comrades it was decided that one of them would have to stay overnight in the truck while the others returned to camp. They drew straws and dad got the short straw. During the night he was woken by the truck being moved from side to side. It would then become still for a few moments, then the truck would start to move again. This went on for a long period of time and dad was convinced that it was Japanese soldiers bating him before attacking. He was terrified to move. However when first light came he gingerly ventured out to find no Japanese soldiers but buffalo hoof prints in the mud by the truck. It would appear they had been using the truck as a scratching post so he hadn't been in any danger at all!

Photo: Geoff Mottram is third from the right on the back row with his fellow RAF trainees in Blackpool in 1941. The second image is the back of the first showing the names of all the trainees. I wonder how many will be still alive today.

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Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

Diana Bullock
Saturday 15th August 2015 at 10:29 am
Thank you Mandy for that very interesting account of your Dad, who, of course, I remember well. My father was in the Army and was also in Burma and India and, I think, Northern Ireland but I don't have such an account as you have so very kindly written.

Di Bullock (Boorman)
John Bowden
Saturday 15th August 2015 at 8:27 pm
This is fantastic! Thanks for sharing. Whilst it must have been utterly terrifying to go on such a journey what an experience it must have been! The buffalo tale really had me laughing. Good on Geoff for passing on the stories!
Jerry Dixon
Sunday 16th August 2015 at 1:51 pm
Mandy, this is a wonderful story. I actually remember your father, he was involved in the AE Allotments and Gardens Society with my dad, Chris Dixon, who was also ex RAF and also brought up in Alderley. Somewhere I have a picture of him at one of the annual shows.
I think the grocers was called Chambers, it is listed in the 1931 guide to Alderley.