Hays said troops with the 2nd Division were shelled day and night for 14 days.

He added: “Day and night it never stopped, so we were going from trench to trench and taking men out. But the 2nd Division drove the Japs back. That’s where they stopped them invading India, but we lost I don’t know how many men.”

The battle lasted for 64 days and saw ferocious hand-to-hand fighting, even on the tennis court in the grounds of the district commissioner’s bungalow.

The Battle of Kohima took place in two stages. From April 3 to April 16, the Japanese attempted to capture Kohima ridge, a feature which dominated the road by which the major British and Indian troops at Imphal were supplied.

At this point, the small British force at Kohima was relieved, and from April 18 to June 22, British and Indian reinforcements counter-attacked to drive the Japanese from the positions they had captured.

The battle ended on June 22 when British and Indian troops from Kohima and Imphal met at Milestone 109, ending the siege of Imphal.