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About Charlie Doughney
The Jap Engineers had set a date for the completion of the Thai Burma rail and there is little doubt that it tied in with the Imperial Japanese Army's plans to conquer Burma.
So they were determined to make sure that their targeted date was achieved on time, even if this meant driving their labour force - us - into the grave. To whip up our enthusiasm they strutted up and down the job bawling out "Kurra, Kurra - Speedo, Speedo" followed by a whack with their 'metre stick' for anyone they considered wasn't working hard enough. Things had to be done their way and pretty damned fast too. We were not dumb; we caught on all right.
Yet occasionally there was an exception.
'Skull' one of our guards, was a thickset bully of a fellow. He always carried a heavy knobby cane and was feared for his compulsive habit of whacking anyone who came within range. It was little wonder that we liked to keep as far away from him as possible.
At Hintock, a group of anti-tankers was working on a three-tier trestle bridge between two cuttings we had previously excavated. Logs were stacked at the bottom of the bridge ready to be hauled into their position. Once in place, we hammered in a couple of cast-iron dog spikes at each end to secure them. A fairly rickety result, but no doubt conforming to the Jap engineer's standards for bridge construction at the time.
Skull was directing the operations from below.
Six of us were hauling one of the heavy logs into its position on the top tier of the bridge. We were doing fine until the log hit one of the uppermost trestles and swung out of control. We were forced to let the rope go. The log careered down to the bottom, on its way striking Skull on the side of his head. He let out one unholy bellow and roared up the hill like a mad bull, wildly wielding his cane. This had to be it.
Quickly we all dispersed and long before Skull reached the top, had mingled with the other boys and were engaged with them in their jobs, looking totally innocent.
That was all of us except Dagwood Doughney. Dagwood, a squatly built member of our regiment, still clung desperately onto the rope like grim death.
On reaching the top, fire in his eyes, Skull took one look at Dagwood and a huge grin came over his glowering face. He lowered his club, walked over to him, put his arm round his shoulders and led him off the job and down the hill.
He gave Dagwood a dixie of Jap rice and allowed him to sit in the shade and enjoy a 'jasmi' for the rest of the day.
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