Going Out in the Midday Sun

This is another extract from my detailed diary, reproduced exactly as it was written at the time. It tells of an incident that happened in Ceylon on 10 March 1955 when I was 19 years old. It shows clearly how friendly the Sinhalese villagers were to a couple of young Englishmen who had 'gone out in the midday sun' without making proper preparations.

We arrived back in Camp at 2230 hrs to find that the Orderly Officer at Colombo had been called out of bed and that the police were about to be called

Don Taylor and I went out on his motor bike again on 10 March 1955. We had gone about 35 miles when we got a flat tyre. We thought at the time that we had either a slow puncture or that the sun had made the tyre go down. We knew that the only garage behind us was about 8 miles away at Ingiriya so we pressed on, pushing the bike. We stopped a bus and borrowed his pump but the tyre wouldn't go up. The driver and conductor were very helpful in their own particular way and the bus was held up for about a quarter of an hour. All the passengers seemed amused at our plight and none seemed annoyed at the delay.

Again we pushed on wondering if we would ever get to a garage. We eventually came to the Police Station at Kiriella. We could see that they had a Land Rover but a chap inside said that they had no tools. He also said that Ratnapura was about 14 miles further on. By that time we were getting a little anxious as Don was due on duty at 1800 hrs and already it was 1600 hrs. It never occurred to us to ring up camp from there.

About a mile further on we came to a house with a chap in the garden. He asked us what the trouble was. We told him and then he said that he was the driver of the Police Land Rover and that there were some tools at the Police Station. Then a Postman arrived on the scene, also anxious to help. He could speak very little English but we gathered he used to be a motor mechanic before he became a 'government servant'. At his suggestion we took the back wheel out and then removed the inner tube. This revealed a half-inch split in the tube caused by a two-inch nail which was still stuck in the tyre. Apart from that there were numerous small holes caused, no doubt, by wheeling the bike such a long way on a flat tyre. There was nothing for it but to get a new inner tube.

After further discussion in English, Sinhalese, and a mixture of both, we decided that the Postman, again on his own suggestion, should go into Ratnapura by bus and buy a new inner tube for us. Actually he got a lift in a car to Ratnapura and he left us at about 1710 hrs. Knowing what local buses were like we did not expect him to be back before 1900 hrs so we stayed where we were providing entertainment for a number of small boys and also for every other person who passed. The Police driver got us a cup of tea each from his house and very welcome it was. Later a boy climbed up a coconut tree and got us a coconut each to drink the milk.

Surprisingly enough the time passed quite quickly and by 1830 hrs night had quickly fallen, as it always did in Ceylon, it was quite dark. The Police driver went off somewhere promising to come back when the Postman returned and most of the other onlookers disappeared. We were left to our thoughts and to wonder what would happen if the Postman was unable to get a tube. All was well, thank goodness, and he returned at about 1930 hrs. The Police driver returned with some friends and we started the job of putting the wheel back.

It was a relatively simple job to get the tube in but the trouble started when it came to pumping up the tyre. We had two pumps between us but neither was very efficient so our helpers stopped the next vehicle which came along – which was another motor bike. His pump was not much better so next they stopped a lorry. His pump did the trick and soon we had 21 psi in the tyre. By that time we had quite a large crowd of onlookers jabbering in Sinhalese and all trying to get a finger in the pie. Putting the wheel back was simple and presented no difficulties. Finally, at 2115 hrs, we were ready to leave. We bade farewell to all our friends and set off back to Gangodawila the quickest possible way.

Even then our troubles weren't over because the headlamp flickered on and off erratically and was not very bright when it was full on. This, combined with a twisting, hilly road, kept our speed down to about 25 mph most of the way. We arrived back in Camp at 2230 hrs to find that the Orderly Officer at Colombo had been called out of bed and that the police were about to be called. They had thought that we must have had an accident – a natural assumption I suppose as we hadn't telephoned. Mike Laver, who is supposed to be on leave, had done the evening watch for Don. Chiefy, as always, said very little.

The following morning I spoke to Chiefy and told him what had happened – apparently Don had not spoken to him! The Chief did not seem very concerned and said that such things were all part of the joys of motor cycling!

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