The brigadier bows out

When the newly inducted Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot Furdoon Mehta took off early one morning in 1944 to locate Japanese guns positioned in the jungles of the Shan Hills of Burma "he had descended to 300 ft when he heard a loud crack. Something hit his head and the cockpit was sprayed with a red liquid. An artillery observer on the ground urged him over the radio to gain height as the whole Japanese position had opened fire on him. He landed in a nearby airstrip when he found that his Auster (light military aircraft) had taken a battering. The fabric was riddled with holes and one of the main wing spars was fractured. A bullet had come through the right side of the cockpit, ricocheted into the first aid box, broken the Mercurochrome bottle and gone through his cap, taking with it the lining and some of his hair.” So mentioned an obituary on Mehta in The Daily Telegraph (TDT) (UK) of May 4, 2021. The retired brigadier died on his 101th birthday on March 3.

An obituary in The Times, London dated March 12 and reprinted in Parsi Khabar stated that "‘Duck’ (thus known on account of his Bombay connections) Mehta retained great affection for Britain… He wore a poppy on November 11 (Remembrance Day when those who died in wars are remembered by wearing an artificial poppy) each year and always attended Remembrance commemorations, a living antidote to modern British self-abasement for its Indian past.”
The officer was believed to be the first Indian to wear the wings of the Air Observation Post (AOP), today’s Army Aviation Corps and was the only Indian artillery officer to have served with the AOP Squadron of RAF in Burma and Malaya in World War (WW) II, TDT stated. "He was also the first Indian commanding officer of 9 Parachute Field Regiment, a command which he took over in 1947 at the age of just 27 years,” noted the The Indian Express (IE) in an obituary dated March 13.
His children Hormuz, a finance professional, and businesswoman-philanthropist Zarina Mehta Screwvala shared reminiscences of their father with Parsiana on May 20. They told Parsiana that before, during and after the Indo-Pak War of 1965, Furdoon was "directly responsible for planning and allocation of surface to air defence resources for both the field armies and as well as static vital points and areas through Ladakh, Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal to Rajasthan.” Just prior to retirement from service in 1969, Furdoon was posted as military and naval attaché at the Indian embassy in Washington DC, after which he served as a director in Cambatta Aviation and later as manager administration for Tata Electric Companies.

Researcher and author Marzban Giara in Valiant Parsis stated that Mehta was a bon vivant during his war years: "He had smuggled on board his airship (in Kuala Lumpur) enough liquor, which made their mess the only watering hole in the city for an entire month.”
Born to Najoo and Siavax, on March 3, 1920 at his grandmother’s residence on the ground floor of 21, New Marine Lines, Bombay, Furdoon’s father was a major in the Indian Medical Services who served in WW I, recalled Hormuz and Zarina. Furdoon’s maternal uncle Sir Dinshaw Mulla occupied the first and second floors of the bungalow, and as a child he was thoroughly spoiled by everyone,” they stated. "Our father changed three schools between 1927 and 1930, and finally settled down for three years at St Xavier’s High School.”
Close on the heels of a cousin’s inability to join the HMIS Dufferin in 1932 on account of color blindness, "our father was ordered to appear for the same exam in 1933 to retrieve the family honor,” noted the siblings’ email. Furdoon served on this training ship from 1934-1936 and passed out with a first class. When the young graduate was offered a job with Peninsular and Oriental (P&O) Steam Navigation Company’s cargo service department, Siavax was "absolutely furious,” forbidding the young Furdoon to be a "sea cook.” He "promptly arranged for his uncle Col Nariman Mehta who was in Dehradun to have Furdoon prepared for the entrance exam to the Indian Military Academy (IMA).”
A special high school run by a Col Browne to prepare boys for the Academy exams followed. "Our father was then underage, so he stayed there till he was 18 and appeared for the entrance exam at Metcalfe House in Old Delhi… He was so well prepared (that) he got in on his first attempt with 500 marks out of 500 in the all-important interview… It was an all-India exam and he stood seventh among 300 aspirants,” noted Hormuz and Zarina.

But before that came an early romance. While on leave in Bombay, Furdoon was given special lessons in elocution by an English girl, arranged for by Siavax. "Our father fell in love with the elocution teacher. She kept complimenting him for his diction and for speaking such excellent English in such a short span of time… He told her, ‘How could I not?!’ with her teaching him so well, and looking so beautiful… He kept extending his classes… Alas he had to go back to Dehradun and prepare for the IMA Exam.”
The start of WWII cut short Furdoon’s stint at the IMA, Dehradun, notes Giara. In April 1940, he was posted to a regiment in Meerut. Having volunteered for a post in Air Observation, the 20-year-old was sent to a flying school in Jodhpur for elementary training.
The end of WWII saw Furdoon complete his training at Staff College, Quetta and in the UK. TDT notes that the officer played a leading role in the development of the Indian army’s aviation capabilities, "especially in the introduction of helicopters.” Postings in Ranchi and Deolali followed, as did a promotion to major. As a full colonel, Furdoon was posted to Kashmir, and again to Deolali. The Indo-China war of 1962 saw him posted under Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw in the north eastern frontier, which included "exciting spy treks to Burma to assess the situation there,” notes Giara. TDT adds that in October 1962 Furdoon and his brigade major slipped across the border to gather information about the Chinese army’s capabilities. "Their cover story was they wanted to do duck shooting on a nearby lake and they returned with information obtained from a remote military outpost.”
On Remembrance Day in November 2013, aged 91, Furdoon was introduced to Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall at a service at the Afghan Church in Bombay, noted an obituary on him by the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe.

A suitable bride
"A confirmed bachelor,” Furdoon married their mother Villie (née Wania) on May 22, 1960 after knowing her for just over a week, noted Hormuz and Zarina. "He famously polished off an entire pomfret on a tea date with our mother, while her chaperone cousin looked on in complete disbelief. He was on a short stint of leave from the army, and how could he possibly pass up a good snack and a suitable bride?” stated the duo.
"They were the most wonderful, kind, loving, generous parents one could imagine,” appreciated the children. "Our mother was a vibrant lady and a home chef par excellence, well known for her dinner parties and her amazing cakes and desserts; the most famous being a strawberry macaroon torte and a chocolate gâteaux nicknamed Death by Chocolate. They were separated almost 60 years to the day, on May 25, 2020, when Villie passed away of cardiac arrest.”
The obituary in TDT notes that a bugler from his old regiment, the 9 Parachute Field Regiment played the Last Post at Doongerwadi as per his wishes. IE reported that wreaths were laid on behalf of the army and the Ex-Services Association Bombay where he served as vice chairman for over 40 years.