大象传媒

Marching again, now to Nakniouk. Here we had to dig gun emplacements in case our troops invaded.

One morning we walked to the village and a naturalised Swedish man said to us, "I hope to have some good news for you" and sang, to the tune of "After the Ball is Over", "I've heard the War is Over". We didn't dig any more that day; we went back to the camp and told the other lads what we had heard. Some didn't believe us. Many just cried.

Our own officers came from a camp nearby and told us not to retaliate against the Japanese.

A couple of days later, American paratroopers who were spies and had been dropped into Kachanaburi earlier, came into our camp bringing medical supplies, rations an - of course - cigarettes. One of the paratroopers came up to Lance Corporal Edwards and said, "Do you remember me?". Eddy said "No", and the American said "Did you pinch some banana fritters from a stall the other day?"; Eddy said "Yes", and the American said "That was me on that stall". We all had a good laugh and said they were good fritters!

I had been a Prisoner of War for three-and-a-half years, and now the war was over. It was 1945.

Apparently, the Japanese had already recieved orders to shoot us all; and if the Atom Bomb had not been dropped, thousands of soldiers would not have lived - and I would not be here today to tell my story.

The next day, we were taken by wagon to Bangkok and put into transit camps until travel arrangements were made for our return home. Twenty-five of us were to fly from Bangko to Rangoon, and the pilot took our names as we boarded. The engine on the Dakota wouldn't start, so we boarded another one and were taken to Rangoon hospital for checkups. After the okay, we then boarded a ship and sailed for home. Stopping at Port Saez, one of my regiment said his family had recieved a telegram to say he was missing, presumed killed in an air crash. Leaving Port Saez, we gave the soldiers on the docks money to telegram home for us and say we were safe and not on the first Dakota, which had apparently gone down in the jungle. Because the pilot had taken our names, we were presumed dead. It was ten days later when my family received a telegram from the Ministry to say I was alive!

After a tremendous welcome and spending some time with my family in my hometown of Bungay, I came up North to Blackburn to see my girlfriend, Elsie. I was made very welcome and stayed with her family, and Elsie and I married despite her father telling her not to marry me because I "wouldn't last long, after what I'd been through". Needless to say, I outlived my wife and apart from family holidays to my hometown, I have lived happily in Blackburn ever since.

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