大象传媒

I was not even born when my great uncle Abe died. All I knew about him as I was growing up was that he was my grandfather鈥檚 brother.

He died in the war, and a photograph of him in uniform always had pride of place on my grandmothers mantlepiece,this is one of my early memories and 50 years later,a search of the commonwealth war graves commission website, returned the following-:

4613869 O鈥橬iel Abraham
1st Battallion Manchester Regiment
Died 02/11/43

He is buried at Thanbuzayat war Cemetery, Myanmar.

Thus began a long trawl through the records and documents of the Manchester Regiment.

We discovered that he joined the Army on 1st April 1937, as a regular soldier and was posted to 鈥淒鈥� Company of the Battallion.

The Battallion sailed for Singapore on the 4th October 1938, arriving 16 days later on the 20th October 1938.

At the outbreak of the Second World War the Manchesters were assigned to a beach defence role, which entailed setting up of Machine gun posts, searchlights and ant-ship, and landing craft obstacles.

When the Japanese attacked Singapore all units took up their positions ready for a seaborne invasion which never came, unfortunately it was never envisaged that the Japanese would land in the North of Malaya and come South over land.

The defenders of Singapore fought like tigers against overwhelming odds, but on the 15th February 1942 the order to surrender was given.

My uncle Abie was amongst those who had to make their way to the notorious Changi Jail.

The sanitary facilities were none-existent due to the water mains having been blown up, and the only food was that which they had brought with them, and that didn鈥檛 last long.

Vitamin deficiency diseases quickly broke out, such as, beri-beri, and Dysentery which most of the lads suffered.

During this time there is something in the Regimental records which is puzzling everyone,

We know my uncle Abie apparently 鈥渨ent missing鈥� for 20 days from 13/03/42 until 02/04/42, and was awarded 21 days loss of pay and 14 days detention for being AWOL, by the C.O.

We still can鈥檛 find out what he was doing for that time, and I suppose we never will.

April 24th 1943.

A party of 320 officers and men under Major Hyde set off for Burma Siam Railway as part of 鈥淔鈥� force, part of which entailed a march through the jungle of 190 miles to the dreaded San Krie Camps.

Of the 320 officers and men from the Manchester Regiment who set off for this Hell hole, 223 died by the time the railway was completed in November 1943,

And my great uncle Abie was one of them.

Kami San Krie 2nd November 1943
Aged 25 years old.

At first my Uncle Abraham was just a name and photograph.
Now after 12 months of searches, he is more real.

We are coming to understand some of the things he went through. He is a person now, a real person.

My uncle, and part of my family.

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