Neither Jim nor Ernie had heard of Kipling, and thought poetry was something that only officers and women would appreciate, but they’d been quite impressed by this one, and Jim had written to Peggy to tell her to look it up in the library.

He nudged the others awake and took his turn at the machine gun while a small cooking fire was lit and the billy boiled for tea. Having eaten their breakfast, they moved on to find out what lay on the other side of the hill, which intelligence had told them was more heavily timbered, and covered in jungle undergrowth.

The Japs came from nowhere, almost catching them off guard. Machine guns rattled off bullets and Bren guns roared as grenades exploded and the earth shook. Jim hit the ground and squirmed for cover behind a tree to fire back at the shifting shadows through the thick undergrowth.

He was distracted by movement beside him, and saw Big Bert climbing a nearby tree, a Bren gun on his back as if it weighed nothing. Perched up there he must have had an excellent view of the enemy position, for he began to shout directions to the men beneath him as to where to fire.

Jim followed his directions, admiring his courage, but thinking he must be insane to do such a thing. Catching sight of several Japanese moving to flank the tree, he shouted, ‘Look out, Bert, they’re coming left and right!’

‘Yeah, I seen ’em,’ he shouted back, opening fire and dispatching them all before killing off a couple more he’d spotted in the trees to his right. He clambered down, cursing the fact he’d run out of ammo, then grabbed a fresh magazine from a startled Gurkha and shinned back up the tree like a monkey, shooting the gun as he went.

Jim was occupied in exchanging fire with a couple of Japs when he caught a glimpse of two young Gurkhas running out to flank so they could see the enemy more clearly and follow Bert’s orders. One was in charge of the Bren, the other the loaded magazine, which he’d slap into the gun the minute the other shouted change.

Jim had seen them practising this manoeuvre many times, but he didn’t have the chance to watch, for a Japanese machine gun had opened up, the bullets thudding all around him as he repeatedly fired back and lobbed off a few grenades – but it was difficult to see his target in the shifting shadows of the jungle, and despite all his efforts, the machine gun was still in action. There was only one option open to him. Get nearer and finish the bastard off.