F Force enroute to the Burma Railroad, by Otto Kreeft
Fepows – Far Eastern POWs
Countless films and books concerned with the Second World War have, through the decades, concentrated on Europe and the Holocaust and the Far East prisoners of war have barely been mentioned. The official 5 volumes of British history for this war include only 10 pages devoted to the subject, compared to the Australian history with 170 pages.
sketch by Jack Chalker, Fepow;British Army, Konyu, Thailand
Japan’s army conquered the Far East in 1941-42. Prisoners were taken from Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaya, Thailand, Java, Sumatra, Ambon, New Britain, Celebes, Guam and the Philippines. According to the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, Japan took more than 50,000 British and Australian troops in Singapore alone; 42,000 Dutch (N.E.I.); 10,000 British in Java and 25,000 Americans in the Philippines and then transported to the mainland camps.
The Japanese government made…
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First Night History 
I commented on the original.
Like David, my uncle (my father’s brother) was a prisoner of the Japanese after being captured in Burma. Their treatment was appalling, and I doubt that there was much evidence of ‘stiff upper lips’
Thanks for a much-needed reminder gp.
Best wishes, Pete..
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