John's Service in Burma

John Wilson Fraser, Sheila Murray's dad, served in Burma. John had previously been an air raid warden in Stockbridge. Before that, John had been a bricklayer by trade, building air raid shelters all over Scotland, as far north as Wick.

John was 36 years old when he was called up, after Japan entered the war. John was sent to Burma where he served with the Royal Artillery. He was a "kicker-out", who pushed cargo out of planes; he was paid an extra 1 shilling and 6 pence for this work. John sent four postcards from Burma, but the men were not allowed to send Christmas cards or letters. John caught malaria in Burma and suffered from attacks throughout his life. His paybook includes a list of his vaccinations. It took a long time for John to come home because of the distance from Burma. He came home in the middle of the night and Sheila was interested to see what was in his kit bag in case he brought chocolate. John brought his wife a Royal Artillery "sweetheart brooch" when he returned.

Sam Fraser, Sheila's uncle and John's brother, served with the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders. Sam said that when in Poland, they could see the Jews in the concentration camp, but there was nothing they could do, or they would have been shot. Sam went on the long walk after liberation and suffered frostbite. He was interred in Auschwitz.