Henry James's memories of Africa and South Asia

Henry was in Royal Welsh Fusiliers serving in Second Battalion from 1939 to 1945. He served in various places- Madagascar, en route to South Africa, India and finally Burma. He came home on leave in 1941- to be married on special license. He was stationed in Galashiels, Scotland. The battalion he was in landed in Madagascar in the dark. It was regarding fighting the Vichy French. The battalion hid under giant fishermen's boats on the beach, when they produced a light as someone lit a cigarette. Then they saw that many, many giant spiders- as big as dinner plates- were hanging down within the boat.

Indians working in bazaars made business style suits for British soldiers. They were very skilled. In India, whilst travelling on a truck, they encountered a black mamba snake, which was going as fast as the truck. He had a Sikh friend in the Indian army, Sergeant Carter Singh. They met in 1942-1943 and were great friends. At one point in India, he was a military policeman and escorted British soldiers by train across India. He also tested motorbikes in the army in India.