SUNSET IN THE EAST
by
Major John Hudson M.B.E.
(Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners)

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This book is a vivid description of the brutal and sustained fighting through the siege of Imphal. Also how the author found himself in Java fighting along side the Japanese. Major Hudson was awarded the MBE (military) and was in 91 Indian field company of the Royal Bombay sappers and miners.

This is an exiting read with lots of clear photographs.  This is one man's story of his time with the 91st Indian Field Company of the Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners.

Inside front cover text reads:-

"The era when the men of Bill Slim's Fourteenth Army could justifiably call themselves 'The Forgotten Army' is long passed.  Happily their outstanding achievements have been deservedly well recorded by historians.  Quality memoirs of those who fought and defeated the formidable and resourceful Japanese have always been sought after but, inevitably, fresh ones are becoming increasingly rare.
John Hudson's Sunset in the East is well worth reading for its vivid description of the brutal and sustained fighting through the siege of Imphal on the central Burma front, yet it offers much else besides. After the invasion of Malaya was aborted due to the surrender of Japan, but not before he had taken part in a curiously inept expeditionary foray, Hudson found himself in Java.  Here a vicious anti-colonial war had erupted giving the hard-pressed authorities no option but to enlist the support of their erstwhile occupiers.  So it was that the Author and his comrades found themselves fighting alongside their former bitter enemies.  This unlikely and totally unforeseen scenario has scarcely been recorded and makes for exceptionally interesting reading.

Thus Sunset in the East is much more than just a thoroughly well-written and exciting fighting man's account of front line action;  it is an important contribution to military history."

Inside back cover text reads:-

"Born in Barnstaple, Devon in 1920, John Hudson was educated at Oundle School.  On the outbreak of war, he became involved in unexploded bomb research with the Ministry of Home Security before joining the Royal Engineers in the ranks in 1941. After being commissioned he was posted to 91 Indian Field Company of the Royal Bombay Sappers and Miners, with whom he was to serve in India, Burma, Malaya and Java 1943 - 1946 (the subject of this memoir). 

Twice mentioned in Despatches (Imphal 1944 and Indonesia 1946) he was awarded the MBE (Military) for his service in Java.

After demobilisation John Hudson pursued a career as a Consulting Engineer eventually returning to the West Country.  During his retirement he has been a volunteer coastguard and journalist and regularly contributes to periodicals.  He now lives near Penzance in Cornwall."

ISBN number:- ISBN 0 85052 846-1   Bar Code  9780850528466

Pen & Sword Books Limited X Sunset in the East
FIGHTING AGAINST THE JAPANESE THROUGH THE SIEGE OF IMPHAL AND ALONGSIDE THEM IN JAVA 1943-1946 by John Hudson
The siege of Imphal was probably the last great battle of World War 11 and one of the fiercest ever fought. This was where the tide of Japanese aggression was turned back at the very gateway into India. Personal accounts of the fighting from the few remaining survivors are greatly sought after and the author was in the thick of the action. His record is, indeed, a graphic and moving one.
He describes the invasion of Malaya where he landed on the occupied shore before H-hour. His division was then sent down to Java to take the occupying Japanese forces prisoner and immediately became involved in a bitter war of national independence as the Indonesian people sought to free themselves from Dutch colonial rule. Greatly outnumbered by the savage freedom fighters they re-armed their Japanese prisoners and fought alongside them to avoid annihilation. This first class personal memoir reveals events that have not been chronicled before and adds a new dimension to what would be, in any case, an important historical document. ISBN: 0-85052-846-1 Price: £19.95 Hardback Illustrated 208 Pages

205 pages that take you into India, Burma, Malaya and Java

£19.99 from all good bookshops - Published by Pen and Sword

ISBN 0 85052 846-1