Psychologically speaking, to show the mental and physical state we were in, and the way we were quite dominated by our stomachs, our conduct on this day may be of interest. As we climbed the hill, members of the party searched for tins of food among the kit still on the bodies. Tins of stinking bully beef were slipped into haversacks brought for the purpose; it only mattered that they were not blown. I clearly remember my thoughts on seeing the Padre himself putting a similarly discovered Emergency Ration into his haversack. Such is the power of hunger when you are on a 95 per cent rice diet!

A few days later we went to the position we had been in on February 10th. This lay just between the racecourse and the Bukit Timah Road. In our allocated area had been a house, built up on a banked garden about 12 feet above a sort of clearing, or field, that stretched down to the road. Immediately in our rear was a sort of timber yard with a few Asiatic houses. At first we had reconnoitred the house for a platoon position, as it was high up and strongly built. But while we were in the house mortar shells landed on it, so we left it, as we realised that the Nips were ranging on it. That left us only ground positions owing to there being no reasonable alternative sites.

It was perfectly obvious which way the Nips were advancing; and it was also very apparent that next dawn they would have stalked us in the night, and would be on three sides of us. My platoon was in slit trenches, backing on to the timber yard, and covering down to the road, where we had a section of Carriers. The remaining platoon – we already could only muster two – was in the field covering up to the house.

From the moment we were in position the Nips knew about it. Down came a very heavy mortar barrage, which was very unpleasant, but slit trenches are good protection against anything except a direct hit, and we had not a single casualty. But that night was a night of alarums and excursions. A battle was clattering away on our right flank, and casual shots, with occasional long L.M.G. bursts, kept us awake all night. Nips were seen in bushes and trees, and many times, with our hearts in our mouths, we went forward to suspected bushes to show that there was nothing there.