A Story of War

I read in “Aeroplane” about a new Waziristan medal for operations December 16th 1937 to December 31st 1939, so Teddie Humphries, Reggie Wall and myself go out and buy one and post it up. After all these years, too. Douglases keep ferrying troops up here, and most of the King’s Own are here. I met Nigel Gribbon and Byers in the Club last night. A most enjoyable party, majority army, from which I escaped at about midnight. Fairweather, Boozy Bons and myself get together over our black rifle buttons and get very confidential about it. The great thing to do is to exchange buttons. “Tiny” Irwin now has his own, free Greek, free French, RAF, RIASC and 16th Punjab, all on his tunic.

A.T.S. (Advanced training school) starts tomorrow and I and Haig are in Stonehill’s flight. 1/13 GR are not in Basra after all – it’s the 2nd or 3rd battalion, 11th Sikhs.

I go to the Lake Hotel today with Wall and all the Malayan pupils. Also with us is Richardson, ex navy and Imperial airways pilot, commissioned as a pilot officer for a fortnight to fly the Douglases from India, where he was holding a ground job in I.N.A. (India National Airways). Drinks and lunch and the conversation hops from Malaya to Bombay and down to Kenya, with interludes in Canada, and then back again to Singapore every time.

Polo today but Finjan is a bit slow and wants some spurs. A pity that one can’t have a few drinks and enjoy a party without having to have too many and stay up half the night. I reckon my system is the best, of parking drinks I don’t want about the place, and if that is no good, of making myself sick when I come back of an evening.