Prisoners of the Sumatra Railway
Prisoners of the Sumatra Railway

Author: Lizzie Oliver

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2017-12-14

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 1350024147

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Prisoners of the Sumatra Railway is the first book to detail the experiences of British former prisoners of war (POWs) who were forced to construct a railway across Sumatra during the Japanese occupation. It is also the first study to be undertaken of the life-writing of POWs held captive by the Japanese during the Second World War, and the transgenerational responses in Britain to this period of captivity. This book brings to light previously unpublished materials, including: · Exceptionally rare and detailed diaries, notebooks and letters from the railway · Memoirs from Sumatra, including detailed recollections and post-war statements written by key personnel on the railway, such as Medical Officers and interpreters · Remarkable original artwork created by POWs on Sumatra · Contemporaneous photographs taken inside the camps Employing theories of life-writing, memory and war representation, including transgenerational transmission, Lizzie Oliver focuses particularly on what these documents can tell us about how former POWs tried to share, preserve and make sense of their experiences. It is a wholly original study that is of great value to Second World War scholars and anyone interested in 20th-century Southeast Asian history or war and memory.

The British Occupation of Indonesia: 1945-1946
The British Occupation of Indonesia: 1945-1946

Author: Richard Mcmillan

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2006-05-17

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 1134254288

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Original and critical scholarship with a high standard of writing: crisp and measured Relevant to a wide range of undergraduate courses in history This book revises history and presents new ideas: on the British official interpretation of post-war events in Southeast Asia; the condemnation of British policy by many Dutch scholars; and the ideas popularly held in Indonesia and by those sympathetic to the nationalist cause that Britain was playing a Dutch game

Singapore’s Dunkirk
Singapore’s Dunkirk

Author: Geoffrey Brooke

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 1990-12-31

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 0850520517

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When Singapore fell so ignominiously to the Japanese in February 1942, many tens of thousands of men, women and children were left to their own devices. To stay in Singapore meant certain captivity. This book tells of some of the remarkable and shocking experiences that lay in store for those who decided to escape by whatever means. A shocking and inspiring book that embraces great courage and endurance.

A Cruel Captivity
A Cruel Captivity

Author: Ellie Taylor

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2018-05-30

Total Pages: 302

ISBN-13: 1526732629

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“The harrowing story of the brutality and cruelty of life in a Japanese POW camp has been told in many books but this is a novel and sensitive presentation.” —Firetrench Differing in a number of respects from other moving POW accounts, this book covers the experiences of twenty-two servicemen from the Army, Royal Navy, RAF and volunteer forces who were held captive in numerous locations through South East Asia including Thailand, Burma, Hong Kong, the Spice Islands and Japan itself. Some had to endure the inhumane conditions during hazardous journeys on the hellships and all suffered appalling cruelty, starvation, disease and prolonged degradation on an epic scale. Yet these were the fortunate ones—many thousands perished and their graves were unmarked. The book also examines the differing mental and physical effects that the prisoners’ captors’ cruel treatment had on them. The author’s handling of the “legacy” of their experiences during the post-war years makes this moving book particularly important. For a full understanding of this dreadful aspect of the Second World War, A Cruel Captivity is a must-read. “Ellie Taylor has produced a poignant tale of not only the suffering of these men but of the comradeship that sustained the survivors. The work has been well researched and help was received from the Imperial War Museum, Java FEPOW club and the Thai Burma Railway Centre.” —The Army Rumour Service (ARRSE)

The Indian Army and the End of the Raj
The Indian Army and the End of the Raj

Author: Daniel Marston

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2014-04-24

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 1139915762

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The Partition of British India in 1947 resulted in the establishment of the independent states of India and Pakistan and the end of the British Raj. The decision to divide British India along religious lines led to widespread upheaval and communal violence in the period leading up to and following the official day of independence, 15 August 1947. In this book, Daniel Marston provides a unique examination of the role of the Indian army in post-World War II India. He draws upon extensive research into primary source documents and interviews with veterans of the events of 1947 to provide fresh insight into the vital part that the Indian Army played in preserving law and order in the region. This rigorous book fills a significant gap in the historiography of the British in India and will be invaluable to those studying the British Empire and South Asia more generally.