A wartime romance
Married couple Madge and Basil Lambert describe how they met while they were serving during the Burma Campaign in 1944
Madge and Basil Lambert tell the story of how they met during their service in Burma
The war in Burma was a savagely fought part of WWII. British-led Allied forces waged a desperate campaign in Burmese jungles to prevent Imperial Japan from entering India. But in this unforgiving environment love was able to blossom. In 1944 Madge Graves was a nurse in the Voluntary
Aid Detachment (VAD) while Basil Lambert was an Indian Army officer seconded to the Royal Engineers for logistics work. Both were stationed in Chittagong, which was a frontline town in the Southeast Asia theatre. Chittagong was a vital base for Allied forces and close to battle zones against Japanese forces.
It was in this fraught atmosphere that Madge and Basil met and began a romance in 1944. Although Basil was posted to Rangoon in early 1945 and later to Saigon, the couple stayed in touch and were reunited in England in 1947. They married the following year and have been together ever since.
Now approaching their 70th wedding anniversary, Madge has co-authored Some
Sunny Day with journalist Robert Blair about her wartime romance. Both Lamberts tell the story of how they met and their individual experiences in the ‘forgotten war’.
MADGE LAMBERT How did SOME SUNNY DAY come to be written?
We had been to Whitehall and had tea in Westminster Abbey gardens as members of the British Legion and Burma Star holders.
Our younger daughter happened to speak to Bob Blair and told him we’d been in Burma. We don’t talk about it much, but he said, “That sounds like a story to me.” He came down to talk to us and then rang practically every day for months. We would never have attempted to do it ourselves. Although he’d written for different newspapers he’d never written a book. This is Bob’s first book and he’s been wonderful.
How did you become a VAD nurse?
I was working at Stoke Mandeville Hospital and a notice came around calling for VADS for service in India. A friend said, “Why don’t we go?” Three of us volunteered and out of the whole country 200-250 were chosen.
We went to India House for interviews. Lady Mountbatten interviewed us and said, “I hope you’re prepared for it if you get accepted.”
When I signed on they said, “We can’t take you, you’re not 21.”
I went back to the hospital, and by then it was just five days before D-day. It was empty because they were preparing for wounded troops coming in from Europe. We got busy, but I received a notice from India House to report for an onward transport to India. I got in touch and said, “I’d like to go but I’m not 21.” However, they replied, “You will be when you get there.” I went through the Bay of Biscay on my 21st birthday. I was very homesick and was the youngest volunteer in transit.
What were your first impressions of India?
It was the smell more than anything! We had about two to three weeks in Poona so we could acclimatise to the weather, because it was such a different world. We then travelled to 56 Indian General Hospital in Chittagong, which took about three or four days.
What were conditions like at Chittagong Hospital?
The whole complex was made of bamboo. There were no windows, just shutters that dropped down. The only decent place was the local governor’s home. That was used as our mess although we nurses lived in bamboo huts.
What were the conditions of the soldiers you treated?
We mostly had Indian and British troops coming in. The boys were wonderful. You didn’t get a lot of moaning and groaning except from the ones who were in a really awful state. When anything happened they always looked on the bright side, which was really amazing in a place like that.
However, we had a Japanese ward, and when you went to treat them they spat at you. We
had guards in the ward to make sure we were protected, so they’d kick their beds in reply.
Did you work at a casualty clearing station?
Yes, at Cox’s Bazaar. I was there for six weeks. It was where casualties came straight from jungle hostilities and were diagnosed. If they just required a bandage they stayed for a day or so and returned to their units. Or it could be decided they needed to go to hospital or home.
Nurses were only allowed six weeks there because you were continually on stand-by duty. It was tented, and the forces were absolutely everywhere because it was a bad time then. The monsoon was on and rain was practically running through the middle of the tents, so it wasn’t pleasant.
Were you close to artillery bombardments?
Yes, but we didn’t know that. We thought it was thunder, but we discovered afterwards that it was from the lines and it was guns! You could particularly hear them in the early morning.
How did you meet Basil?
It was difficult in Chittagong because there were virtually no shops. I wanted stamps and an army friend called Mack said, “I’ve got some stamps”. We went to a room and Basil was sitting working with his feet up. He just raised his eyes, said ‘Hello’ and went back to the work. He did get up before I left but I said to Mack, “Who does he think he is?” Mack said, “Don’t take any notice of him.”
Then a day or two afterwards I had a note through my door from Basil asking to take me out to dinner. I thought, “Well, he’s making up for it,” and that’s how we first really met.
How did you stay in contact with Basil after he was posted to Rangoon?
We wrote a lot but you never knew when you were going to get mail – it either came in a big batch or not at all. We decided to number the letters so we could read them in the right order.
To what extent do you think that the Burma Campaign was ‘the forgotten war’?
War is horrible and we did our job the best we could. We knew that we’d almost been forgotten about when Lord Mountbatten said, “I don’t think you were forgotten because nobody knew you were there!”
BASIL LAMBERT How did you become an Indian Army officer?
My brother and I joined up in August 1941. We volunteered, which was the wrong thing to do because you should never volunteer, but one does. Some of us were recommended for a commission and then we agreed to go to India.
I was in the 10th Baluch Regiment in the Indian Army, in northwest India. However, I never went up there or did anything with them because I was seconded to ‘Movements and Transportation’, which was the Royal Engineers. I was in movements work the entire time and was in Burma until my demobilisation in 1947.
What was your job when you were seconded to the Royal Engineers?
When we received instructions that supplies, troops, ammunition were being transported – it was our job to make sure they were delivered. They used to call it ‘lines of communication’ but it’s now called logistics. We were at the forward base in Chittagong. My job was to make sure that everything worked at the railway station. It was a liaison job as much as anything else.
How close were you to Japanese positions?
We were effectively the first echelon behind the fluid front line, except that we didn’t have a front line. You could have been killed by the Japanese, who might only have been a few feet away behind the bamboo, trees or bushes.
My job kept me in Chittagong and there was a lot of movement of supplies and troops going through. The Japanese were in the jungle around us, and we wouldn’t know where they were.
Did you encounter the Japanese during the war?
I only met the Japanese when the war was over, in Saigon. I worked on the waterfront near the docks, and our job was to control the shipping. The troops were meant to disarm the Japanese and take over the installations, but the numbers we had were vastly insufficient. The commanding officer asked permission to leave the Japanese armed and let them do the guard and security duties.
We got the permission and the Japanese were then told about what was required, which I think pleased them no end. They were not disarmed. Every time I went to my desk in the morning a Japanese officer came in with a fully armed escort, saluted and “Sissed” at me. I didn’t know what that meant for a long time but was told afterwards it was a mark of respect.
“WE VOLUNTEERED, WHICH WAS THE WRONG THING TO DO BECAUSE YOU SHOULD NEVER VOLUNTEER, BUT ONE DOES”
What are your memories of meeting Madge?
Madge came in with this other officer and I just turned around, saw her, said hello and carried on reading. It was a surprise to see a lady there in the first place. I then sent her a note asking her out for a meal, which she accepted. At that time it wasn’t a romance, it was simply two people who were able to talk together when our duties permitted.
How did your relationship develop in Chittagong?
The distance between us was half a mile (0.8 kilometres) down a jungle path so we had to be careful each time we met. We were able sometimes to go for a meal or to the cinema. It was flea-bitten but it was better than nothing. I remember it was very iffy because we’d both have to come off duty at the same time. We took our chances when we could, and those chances were normally not very long.
Can you describe how you managed to telephone Madge after you were posted to Rangoon?
I’d been in Rangoon for a week and spoke to this officer in the Royal Signals. I wanted to speak to Madge in Chittagong and he said, “Its too far away.” I asked if he could try and he said he’d see what he could do. He got on the phone and built up a continuous signals system bit by bit up to Imphal, which was nearly 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) from Rangoon. He then had to come down to Chittagong, so the call distance was roughly 1,200-1,500 miles (1,9002,400 kilometres) long. He told me that he’d got through and was online. Madge was told she’d got a telephone call and we were very fortunate to talk for two or three minutes. That was it, but it meant an awful lot to both of us. I take my hat off to the Royal Signals.
How did it feel to be reunited with Madge?
It was difficult to know how to react, having not seen her for 18 months. We don’t remember whether we fell into each other’s arms or just politely shook hands, but it was a happy meeting to begin with and it got better as the months went by. It was about 20 months after I got home that we got married.
To what extent do you think the Burma Campaign was the ‘forgotten war’?
We were second best in terms of attention during the war, but we would not have known that. All we knew was that if General Slim asked for reinforcements they would only be provided if they weren’t required in Europe first. When supplies were authorised they had to come by ships and it all took time.
I think it would do no harm to make it known how difficult it was for the Allied troops out there in Burma. They were fighting a war that they knew people at home comparatively didn’t know about. We literally didn’t know from day to day what was going to happen. We could have been overrun at any time. If the Japanese had managed to get past our own troops they could have gone anywhere they wanted to. We had to stop them from taking India, and it wasn’t an easy job.
What is the secret for 70 years of marriage?
It’s largely give and take and working to overcome any problems. We’ve had our rows like everybody else did, but we’ve got two lovely daughters who now look after our welfare.