Beryl Daley.

Interviewed by Eve Klein on 15th April 2002
Subject: Second World War

Eve Klein. I’m still very interested in how you got involved with the American forces.

Beryl Daley. Then of course, the women had to get out, and when we got back to Singapore, Steve was in the Manchester Regiment and they were the fortress troops of Singapore. We had that time together, and then the British Army was getting rid of wives. I was not the only wife around, so I had to get out of Singapore and we had a week off, and we stayed at Raffles Hotel until the last two days when they didn’t have any more accommodation, we went up to the Seaview, which was quite an experience too. The women were coming out of Singapore when I arrived. The women were coming down from Japan and all the way down the coast from Borneo – flooded with women because of the danger of the Japanese.

I was instructed that there was a plane leaving in two days’ time for Sydney and I had to be on it. Coming on the ship across from Madras, this is the way we came home, Steve was booked on a ship from Madras back to Singapore, and we decided that I would come with him down to Madras, and then after he was gone I’d find the nearest plane for Sydney.

For the full interview click here.