LAST MAN OUT

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 122, 26 May 1942, Page 3

LAST MAN OUT

FALL OF RANGOON

NAVAL OFFICER'S WORK

The last Briton to leave Rangoon arrived at Calcutta after chasing the last ship to sail from that port. He was also one of the few to leave Hongkong after its capture by the Japanese. For 2000 miles this bearded young naval officer was just one hop ahead of the advancing army. At Rangoon he had to stay behind after the last ship had steamed out. His job was to blow up the remaining harbour installation with depth charges. "Shot a Deer" When he had finished he had to jump into a speed-boat and catch up with his ship out at sea. He left on the morning of March 8, a day after Rangoon had been officially abandoned. "Food was fairly plentiful until the end," he said. "If we wanted fresh meat we just went to the zoo and shot a deer." Another job he had was to organise anti-looting patrols. A few shots had to be fired to prevent incendiarism by a small section of fifth columnists. Cars and lorries assembled at the docks were exchanged for cigarettes and rifles, and were used until they had to be destroyed. In this officer's view, the demolition at Rangoon was one of the most thorough jobs of its kind ever accomplished. His escape from Hongkong has now become one of the legends of the Far East. He and a small party got off by motor-boat, landed on the mainland, were led by Chinese guerillas for 80 miles on foot and bicycles, and then travelled through Yunnan to Burma, just in time to prepare for its evacuation.