Page 95 - All About History - Issue 09-14

All About
Prisoners of war in Burma
YOUR HISTORY

A drawing of Allied prisoners of war and
their confinement on display at the Hellfire
Pass Museum in Kanchanaburi in Thailand

The ‘uniform’ he was forced to
A letter from King George VI
wear as a prisoner of war
welcoming Ingle home
He was eventually rescued by US troops and not be the case and no such opportunity was
was taken to Australia with other prisoners of war given. There is also a letter from a captain who was
on the SS Emperor of Australia and a US bomber, a prisoner of war in the same camp as grandpa.
where he was served a huge meal by an air He writes about his self sacrifices and loyalty,
hostess. He stated in a letter he wrote aboard the unfortunately this had no bearing on his future
bomber to his family that he was: “...surrounded in the army. He was offered a house to be built as
by chocolate, sweets, coffee, cigarettes, books and were so many soldiers and located in Peterborough
any other commodity I wish to ask for so I am to a new development.
really being treated like a lord in a palace.” It must He worked as a policeman on the railways
have been so strange to have been surrounded by and soon met and married my grandma, who
all these things. There are several telegrams from was a clerk in the booking office at Peterborough
his family that he was sent in the camp which he Station. He had a son and a daughter but found
returned with too; even in these he tries to pretend it very difficult to adjust after the war and had a
A letter written by Ingle’s
that everything is fine. When he returned he had breakdown. He was in hospital for a long time and fellow prisoner of war
a dental and medical check by doctors, which became good friends with the nurse who looked
showed he was suffering from a case of tropical after him.
ulcers, he had previously had diphtheria as well as All of his life grandpa worried about things
dengue fever. and collected things, saved his money carefully Do you have family
After the war, grandpa received his medals and and never wasted anything, all because he was a history to share?
was expected to rise to a senior rank in the army prisoner of war. I wish I would have known what
for looking after his regiment in the camp and he had been through and I wish he could have /AllAboutHistory
keeping their spirits up. Unfortunately, this would spoken about it. @AboutHistoryMag

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