Kitching, Hugh: my Naval Reserve recollections (June 25, 1985)
Interviewee: Kitching, Hugh
Rank: Lieutenant.
ABSTRACT: Lieut. Hugh Kitching Royal Indian Naval Volunteer Reserve Kitching_H_0088_01.mp3 Kitching first went to India in 1931 as a junior lawyer. In 1939, before the war began, he joined the R.I.N.V.R. in Calcutta as a junior naval officer. He trained in coastal minesweeping for three months followed by three months of the usual classroom instruction given to new entry officers. Classes consisted exclusively of about twenty Europeans. All "other ranks" in the R.I.N.V.R. were Indian. He was called up for active duty in 1941 and posted to H.M.I.S. Dipavati, a commercial vessel (very poor sea boat) converted to a "corvette". He volunteered for the Coastal Forces which were equipped with new Vosper motor torpedo boats formed into two flotillas, the 16th and 17th. In addition, the Indian Navy obtained seventy-foot harbour launches with a speed of about twelve knots and the standard Fairmile motor launch. The M.T.B.'s in which he served were originally crewed by Royal Navy ratings with the additional purpose of training Indian naval personnel. In mid-1943 the 17th Flotilla was based at Trincomalee, Ceylon where it was soon joined by a South African flotilla. At this time the Japanese were still on the Burmese coast, although they could only operate against them during the months of November to February (poor weather conditions, monsoon season, etc.). Attacks by the R.A.F. caused more casualties than did actions against the Japanese. As the war progressed on land their duty was to keep the Bay of Bengal free of Japanese shipping and to land agents behind the enemy lines. He comments on the clandestine raid on Goa (Portuguese) to destroy German merchant ships, although he did not directly participate. He was posted ashore at Colombo as a staff officer. Coastal forces gathered on a large scale for a proposed major attack on the Andaman Islands. The war ended. Kitching_H_0088_02.mp3 He makes adverse remarks on the rapid withdrawal of the British from India. Mountbatten should have allocated more time for the Indian civilian and military authorities to come to grips with the great problems with which they were presented. Excessive numbers of deaths and suffering resulted. He returned to England not long after Indian independence and retired. (40:00)
Interviewer: Roy, Reginald H.
An interview/narrative of Hugh Kitching's experiences during World War II. Lieutenant Kitching served with the Royal Indian Naval Volunteer Reserve. Interview took place on June 25, 1985.
- In Collection:
- 2 sound recordings (MP3)
- 35.68536, 139.75309
- 52.16045, -0.70312
- One original sound tape reel (ca. 40 min.) : 1 7/8 ips, track, mono. ; 1 sound cassette copy : standard, mono. in Special Collections.
- Canadian Military Oral History Collection
- KH_088
- Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/reginald-herbert-roy-fonds
- June 13, 2007
- Digital sound recording in .wav format at 16 bits and 22 kHz. In .mp3 format at 64 kbps and 22 kHz. Digitized by AN, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF and JP. Transferred from audio reel to audio cassette between 1987-1997. Interview migrated to digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2007. Migration metadata by KD and MT.
- Rights
- This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca
- DOI
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