Wartime in Burma: A Diary, January to June 1942

January 1942

J A N U A RY 1 9 4 2 Monday, January 5, 5th Waning of Pya-tho, 1303 1. Up and out of bed early morning at 2 a.m. to come back to Rangoon from Ma-ubin with Myint on the fast boat from Bassein. 2. Myint has come along because she finds that after spending almost a month in Ma-ubin away from her husband, it is not enough to spend just a couple of days with him in Rangoon and then to have to go back for another month apart; so whatever the danger, she is going to risk spending a week or so in Rangoon. 3. On the boat the first class wasn’t crowded and so we found places quite easily. 4. Arrived in Rangoon about ten o’clock. When I asked our driver, Maung Nyunt Maung, he said that the air-raid warning sirens went off at about 1 a.m. and that he thought that the Mingaladon aerodrome had been bombed. 5. When we got back to the Hla Sheins’ house, neither he nor his wife was back. U Saw Han was still out too. 6. It was after eleven o’clock when Ko Hla Shein and his wife appeared with their famous maid, Ma Htwei. 7. When they saw that Myint had come too, they were surprised and very pleased. 8. It’s true that Daw Hla Shein is frightened of bombs, but her love for her husband is enough to overcome her fear. Even though everyone else has moved away, she has stayed on in Rangoon with her husband, come 2 Wartime in Burma: A Diary, January to June 1942 what may. Now that Myint has come she has another woman with her, and this gives her courage. Of course she only has Ko Hla Shein to worry about—Myint has to worry about her husband, and the children as well. She would like to risk staying on in Rangoon with me, but the young children have to be considered. Daw Hla Shein and Myint get on splendidly together, and Daw Hla Shein has told her all about the bombing. Before lunch, went with Myint to look at all the damage that a bomb had done to our house in Rosebank Road. Myint was very unhappy and shocked by the sight, but cheered because there had been no fire and some things in the house could be salvaged. After lunch went to the office. At three o’clock there was an airraid warning, but I didn’t hear it as I was deep in conversation with U Kyaw. After we had finished and I left his room, U Khin Maung met me and told me about the warning, so we had to stay and talk in a temporary shelter. The all-clear sounded at four o’clock. When I got home at five, Myint and Daw Hla Shein told me laughingly about the afternoon’s air-raid warning and how they had had to hurry down to the air-raid shelter. Myint is getting a pretty good idea of what life is like in Rangoon. While we were chatting after supper, the warning sounded again, and we had to run down to the shelter. There were no bombs on Rangoon; the enemy planes did not get this far. Tuesday, January 6, 6th Waning of Pya-tho The warning sounded at 1:00 a.m. and we went down to the shelter . Heard the noise of bombs from the direction of Mingaladon. Poor Myint has now heard what bombs sound like—so now she knows and will have something to tell people about. After a bit over an hour, the all-clear sounded and we went back upstairs and got to sleep. There was a bright moon shining. It’s only when there’s a good moon that they come and drop their bombs. Bright moonlight used to be something to be happy about, but not now. Now—it’s something to be afraid of. It’s what gives the enemy planes their chance. Went to the office at nine o’clock. We have to arrange to move from the Secretariat to the Teachers’ Training College, and we have ten army January 3 trucks which are to carry all the office equipment in relays. Plans had to be made out for an orderly movement. Except for U Ba Than...