| caption: |
Chapter twenty-two. The Coming of War |
| caption: |
news of Pearl Harbour, fall of Singapore and the invasion of Burma |
| text: |
(165) With the first post to reach Laisong after our return came the news of Pearl Harbour. All through the winter of 1941/2, however, the war still seemed to be a long way off. There followed the blow of Singapore and the invasion of Burma. Still it didn't seem to touch us, remote as North Cachar was, and Laisong remoter, shut off behind the high wall of the Barail. It was all far off, something happening in the infrequent newspapers, not concerned with our immediate affairs, the risk attendant on jungle-fires, milk for a motherless baby, the blacksmith's illness, the urgent necessity of rethatching the house. Then in March I went to stay with friends down in the Plains. I found everything prepared for evacuation at twenty-four hours' notice; the men ready for call-up; and an SOS out for women to help with the Burma refugees. |
