Ken Clark – Experience in India whilst in the  Royal Navy

Across India by Troop Train

After spending three weeks on a troop ship we landed in Bombay (now known as Mumbai) - the gateway to India.

The first night was spent in a camp just outside the city of Mumbai which has a population approximately of seventeen million as of 2017.  The following morning we boarded a troop train with our ultimate destination of Visatapatam.

Our only tropical kit was white shirts and shorts.  There were six sailors to each compartment, which had wooden seats with beds overhead and converted into six berths.  This compartment was our sole home where we sat, ate and slept for the entire journey.  There were no through connections, which meant that lengthy stops for provisions, i.e. where meals were provided, we washed our utensils in vats of water, also took the chance to refresh ourselves.

On the approach to the Western Flats just beyond Kohardi, the train began to climb with the line twisting and turning, passing through several tunnels.  The temperature began to drop feeling colder and the landscape provided wonderful views over the plain below.

From this point the line undulated over a rather barren plain, dotted with villages until we arrived at Doolalih; for any troops this was a desolate testing place, which gave its name to Doolally, a nickname for a form of madness.

From Doolalih we changed from an electric loco to steam and continued our journey by climbing to summit of the line, at a height of 2,999ft.

During the night the train stopped at Sonerpur, and the station boasts the longest platform in India, and then we continued on to the city of Nagpur.  Nagpur is the city where a young Sir Cliff Richard was living with his family.  At that time his father was working for the railway.

We left the train at this point as it was going to Calcutta and we were going to Visatapatam, a naval base on the coast of the Bay of Bengal.

With the change of train we joined a passenger train with reserved compartments for our troops.  For our food we ate at the restaurant on the station in sheer luxury while the train waited outside!  Our journey came to an end after 1,300 miles, lasting three days and two nights, and this was a great relief as we had not been able to wash or change our clothing.

As the crossing of India came to a close, one was left with wonderful memories of a truly unique railway journey, set in unbelievable scenery. 

After the war had finished with Japan, four months after we had arrived in India we set off again to Madras and down through Pondocherry, the French part of India, to a place called Danish Khodi.  We were now in khaki uniform and we boarded the ferry to Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka) and then stopped at a village 30 miles from Colombo called Veyangoda. 

Veyangoda was my base for 14 months out of a two year commission until I boarded a aircraft carrier to return home.

K J R Clark – Ex First Class Stoker – PKX603734