Survival on the Death Railway and Nagasaki

Survival on the Death Railway and Nagasaki

Author: Jim Brigginshaw

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2018-06-30

Total Pages: 157

ISBN-13: 1526740133

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This is a remarkable and unique story of Jim Brigginshaw. Having been captured by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore in 1942, Jim was first sent to work in Burma, to build what has become known as the Death Railway. Unlike many of his comrades, Jim survived this ordeal, only to be transferred to Nagasaki, Japan, where he was sent to work in the mines of Sendryu.Jim describes how the conditions in the 'Hell pits of Sendryu' were even worse than those experienced in Burma, but were ultimately the reason why he survived the war. On the 9th August 1945, the Americans, dropped the second nuclear bomb on Nagaski. Jim was fortunately underground at the time, but through this book re-lives the harrowing aftermath of the attack when the ground shook violently.


Book Synopsis Survival on the Death Railway and Nagasaki by : Jim Brigginshaw

Download or read book Survival on the Death Railway and Nagasaki written by Jim Brigginshaw and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2018-06-30 with total page 157 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a remarkable and unique story of Jim Brigginshaw. Having been captured by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore in 1942, Jim was first sent to work in Burma, to build what has become known as the Death Railway. Unlike many of his comrades, Jim survived this ordeal, only to be transferred to Nagasaki, Japan, where he was sent to work in the mines of Sendryu.Jim describes how the conditions in the 'Hell pits of Sendryu' were even worse than those experienced in Burma, but were ultimately the reason why he survived the war. On the 9th August 1945, the Americans, dropped the second nuclear bomb on Nagaski. Jim was fortunately underground at the time, but through this book re-lives the harrowing aftermath of the attack when the ground shook violently.


HELL PIT OF SENDRYU

HELL PIT OF SENDRYU

Author: JIM. BRIGGINSHAW

Publisher:

Published: 2020

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9780369349460

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Book Synopsis HELL PIT OF SENDRYU by : JIM. BRIGGINSHAW

Download or read book HELL PIT OF SENDRYU written by JIM. BRIGGINSHAW and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


The Hell Pit of Sendryu

The Hell Pit of Sendryu

Author: Jim Brigginshaw

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2018-05-05

Total Pages: 7638

ISBN-13: 1925675769

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Jim Bodero spent much of World War Two in several versions of hell. Taken prisoner when Singapore fell into Japanese hands early in 1942, he – along with thousands of fellow POWs – was conscripted as a slave labourer. He was deep underground, in a coal mine near Nagasaki, when the US dropped its second atomic bomb, on 9 August 1945. The blast that obliterated the city and incinerated 66,000 people freed Jim from his living hell below the ground. But his struggles were far from over. Badly debilitated by the daily privations of working in the mine, weakened by chronic starvation, as well as suffering from the tropical diseases he contracted during his time on the Death Railway and on nightmarish prisoner-transport ships, he was more dead than alive. Jim was repatriated to Australia, but his war never really ended, its legacy a lifetime of pain. Jim’s story reveals some of the darkest chapters of the twentieth century. His suffering at the hands of a sadistic enemy was extreme, but through those and all the subsequent years, he never lost his sense of humour. His story is infused with it and, as such, is a glowing testament to the resilience that has sustained Australians at war, especially when the going got tough.


Book Synopsis The Hell Pit of Sendryu by : Jim Brigginshaw

Download or read book The Hell Pit of Sendryu written by Jim Brigginshaw and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2018-05-05 with total page 7638 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jim Bodero spent much of World War Two in several versions of hell. Taken prisoner when Singapore fell into Japanese hands early in 1942, he – along with thousands of fellow POWs – was conscripted as a slave labourer. He was deep underground, in a coal mine near Nagasaki, when the US dropped its second atomic bomb, on 9 August 1945. The blast that obliterated the city and incinerated 66,000 people freed Jim from his living hell below the ground. But his struggles were far from over. Badly debilitated by the daily privations of working in the mine, weakened by chronic starvation, as well as suffering from the tropical diseases he contracted during his time on the Death Railway and on nightmarish prisoner-transport ships, he was more dead than alive. Jim was repatriated to Australia, but his war never really ended, its legacy a lifetime of pain. Jim’s story reveals some of the darkest chapters of the twentieth century. His suffering at the hands of a sadistic enemy was extreme, but through those and all the subsequent years, he never lost his sense of humour. His story is infused with it and, as such, is a glowing testament to the resilience that has sustained Australians at war, especially when the going got tough.


Nagasaki: The Forgotten Prisoners

Nagasaki: The Forgotten Prisoners

Author: John Willis

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2022-08-02

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 1912914433

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This is one of the most remarkable untold stories of the Second World war. At 11.02 am on an August morning in 1945 America dropped the world's most powerful atomic bomb on the Japanese port city of Nagasaki. The most European city in Japan was flattened to the ground 'as if it had been swept aside by a broom'. More than 70,000 Japanese were killed. At the time, hundreds of Allied prisoners of war were working close to the bomb's detonation point, as forced labourers in the shipyards and foundries of Nagasaki. These men, from the Dales of Yorkshire and the dusty outback of Australia, from the fields of Holland and the remote towns of Texas, had already endured an extraordinary lottery of life and death that had changed their lives forever. They had lived through nearly four years of malnutrition, disease, and brutality. Now their prison home was the target of America's second atomic bomb. In one of the greatest survival stories of the Second World War, we trace their astonishing experiences back to bloody battles in the Malayan jungle, before the dramatic fall of Fortress Singapore, the mighty symbol of the British Empire. This abject capitulation was followed by surrender in Java and elsewhere in the East, condemning the captives to years of cruel imprisonment by the Japanese. Their lives grew evermore perilous when thousands of prisoners were shipped off to build the infamous Thai-Burma Railway, including the Bridge on the River Kwai. If that was not harsh enough, POWs were then transported to Japan in the overcrowded holds of what were called hell ships. These rusty buckets were regularly sunk by Allied submarines, and thousands of prisoners lived through unimaginable horror, adrift on the ocean for days. Some still had to endure the final supreme test, the world's second atomic bomb. The prisoners in Nagasaki were eyewitnesses to one of the most significant events in modern history but writing notes or diaries in a Japanese prison camp was dangerous. To avoid detection, one Allied prisoner buried his notes in the grave of a fellow POW to be reclaimed after the war, another wrote his diary in Irish. Now, using unpublished and rarely seen notes, interviews, and memoirs, this unique book weaves together a powerful chorus of voices to paint a vivid picture of defeat, endurance, and survival against astonishing odds.


Book Synopsis Nagasaki: The Forgotten Prisoners by : John Willis

Download or read book Nagasaki: The Forgotten Prisoners written by John Willis and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2022-08-02 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is one of the most remarkable untold stories of the Second World war. At 11.02 am on an August morning in 1945 America dropped the world's most powerful atomic bomb on the Japanese port city of Nagasaki. The most European city in Japan was flattened to the ground 'as if it had been swept aside by a broom'. More than 70,000 Japanese were killed. At the time, hundreds of Allied prisoners of war were working close to the bomb's detonation point, as forced labourers in the shipyards and foundries of Nagasaki. These men, from the Dales of Yorkshire and the dusty outback of Australia, from the fields of Holland and the remote towns of Texas, had already endured an extraordinary lottery of life and death that had changed their lives forever. They had lived through nearly four years of malnutrition, disease, and brutality. Now their prison home was the target of America's second atomic bomb. In one of the greatest survival stories of the Second World War, we trace their astonishing experiences back to bloody battles in the Malayan jungle, before the dramatic fall of Fortress Singapore, the mighty symbol of the British Empire. This abject capitulation was followed by surrender in Java and elsewhere in the East, condemning the captives to years of cruel imprisonment by the Japanese. Their lives grew evermore perilous when thousands of prisoners were shipped off to build the infamous Thai-Burma Railway, including the Bridge on the River Kwai. If that was not harsh enough, POWs were then transported to Japan in the overcrowded holds of what were called hell ships. These rusty buckets were regularly sunk by Allied submarines, and thousands of prisoners lived through unimaginable horror, adrift on the ocean for days. Some still had to endure the final supreme test, the world's second atomic bomb. The prisoners in Nagasaki were eyewitnesses to one of the most significant events in modern history but writing notes or diaries in a Japanese prison camp was dangerous. To avoid detection, one Allied prisoner buried his notes in the grave of a fellow POW to be reclaimed after the war, another wrote his diary in Irish. Now, using unpublished and rarely seen notes, interviews, and memoirs, this unique book weaves together a powerful chorus of voices to paint a vivid picture of defeat, endurance, and survival against astonishing odds.


Building the Death Railway

Building the Death Railway

Author: Robert Sherman La Forte

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 9780842024280

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Generosity amid the greatest cruelty, Building the Death Railway gives the American perspective on events that shocked the world.


Book Synopsis Building the Death Railway by : Robert Sherman La Forte

Download or read book Building the Death Railway written by Robert Sherman La Forte and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 1993 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Generosity amid the greatest cruelty, Building the Death Railway gives the American perspective on events that shocked the world.


Saved by the Bomb

Saved by the Bomb

Author: Eric Leadbetter

Publisher: Digital Publishing Centre

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 9781921869198

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The stories of Gallipoli and Kakoda are well known, but few people know what really happened at the Battle of Singapore. Many soldiers lost their lives during the battle and many others died in appalling conditions when they were forced to work on the Burma Railway and in the construction of the Bridge over the River Kwai. This book gets at the truth still hidden away in Government archives from the perspective of one digger who survived the Burma Railway project only to be sent to the coal mines near Nagasaki.He was working above ground when the war was ended by the dropping of the bomb on that city. This book is dedicated to the memory of Eric and the men who fought to defend Singapore and Malaya.


Book Synopsis Saved by the Bomb by : Eric Leadbetter

Download or read book Saved by the Bomb written by Eric Leadbetter and published by Digital Publishing Centre. This book was released on 2011 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The stories of Gallipoli and Kakoda are well known, but few people know what really happened at the Battle of Singapore. Many soldiers lost their lives during the battle and many others died in appalling conditions when they were forced to work on the Burma Railway and in the construction of the Bridge over the River Kwai. This book gets at the truth still hidden away in Government archives from the perspective of one digger who survived the Burma Railway project only to be sent to the coal mines near Nagasaki.He was working above ground when the war was ended by the dropping of the bomb on that city. This book is dedicated to the memory of Eric and the men who fought to defend Singapore and Malaya.


A Thousand Cups of Rice

A Thousand Cups of Rice

Author: Kyle Thompson

Publisher:

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13:

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A Thousand Cups of Rice by Kyle Thompson, is an intimate account of what happened to this American teenager when he and his battalion of field artillery men were captured early in the war, and spent three and one half years under the heel of Imperial Japanese Army. This small group of mostly Texas National Guardsmen along with hundreds of thousands of Allied POWs and Asian coolie laborers were forced to undergo inhuman mental and physical stress while constructing the 265-mile "Death Railway" through the jungles of Burma and Thailand, and before it was completed in late 1943, more than 100,000 of them had been killed or died of horrible diseases. The heartless Asian monsoon contributed to these deaths, but mostly they were caused by long hours of hard labor, an extreme shortage of food, and little or no medical treatment for the numerous jungle diseases that struck these laborers.


Book Synopsis A Thousand Cups of Rice by : Kyle Thompson

Download or read book A Thousand Cups of Rice written by Kyle Thompson and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Thousand Cups of Rice by Kyle Thompson, is an intimate account of what happened to this American teenager when he and his battalion of field artillery men were captured early in the war, and spent three and one half years under the heel of Imperial Japanese Army. This small group of mostly Texas National Guardsmen along with hundreds of thousands of Allied POWs and Asian coolie laborers were forced to undergo inhuman mental and physical stress while constructing the 265-mile "Death Railway" through the jungles of Burma and Thailand, and before it was completed in late 1943, more than 100,000 of them had been killed or died of horrible diseases. The heartless Asian monsoon contributed to these deaths, but mostly they were caused by long hours of hard labor, an extreme shortage of food, and little or no medical treatment for the numerous jungle diseases that struck these laborers.


One For Every Sleeper

One For Every Sleeper

Author: Jeffery English

Publisher: Robert Hale

Published: 2015-02-28

Total Pages: 198

ISBN-13: 0719827507

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First written in note form on stolen lavatory-paper, this is the harrowing eyewitness account of 400 British prisoners of war put to work on the Burma to Siam railway. Jeffery English was a major in the 'N' Corps Signals Regiment when he and his men were captured by the Japanese at the fall of Singapore. The author was among 3,000 men of H Force who were shipped north from Changi on 8 May 1943 to begin work on the railway. Their job was to excavate cuttings, using the most primitive of tools. The prisoners were half starved, ridden with malaria, cholera and dysentery, and frequently beaten with bamboo canes for not working hard enough: the death rate was horrendous. (Of the author's own squad of 400 only ninety-eight eventually survived.) The prisoners were treated with bestial cruelty, and reached the limits of human degradation. When the job was finally done, the men were returned to base camp. The death rate continued unabated, and putrefying bodies lay for days between the rows of bamboo beds. The prisoners were convinced that the Japanese would have killed them before surrendering if they could. Their lives were saved only by the speed of events following the dropping of the atom bomb. Every sleeper on the railway cost the life of a prisoner of war or coolie, and two out of every three men died.


Book Synopsis One For Every Sleeper by : Jeffery English

Download or read book One For Every Sleeper written by Jeffery English and published by Robert Hale. This book was released on 2015-02-28 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First written in note form on stolen lavatory-paper, this is the harrowing eyewitness account of 400 British prisoners of war put to work on the Burma to Siam railway. Jeffery English was a major in the 'N' Corps Signals Regiment when he and his men were captured by the Japanese at the fall of Singapore. The author was among 3,000 men of H Force who were shipped north from Changi on 8 May 1943 to begin work on the railway. Their job was to excavate cuttings, using the most primitive of tools. The prisoners were half starved, ridden with malaria, cholera and dysentery, and frequently beaten with bamboo canes for not working hard enough: the death rate was horrendous. (Of the author's own squad of 400 only ninety-eight eventually survived.) The prisoners were treated with bestial cruelty, and reached the limits of human degradation. When the job was finally done, the men were returned to base camp. The death rate continued unabated, and putrefying bodies lay for days between the rows of bamboo beds. The prisoners were convinced that the Japanese would have killed them before surrendering if they could. Their lives were saved only by the speed of events following the dropping of the atom bomb. Every sleeper on the railway cost the life of a prisoner of war or coolie, and two out of every three men died.


The Forgotten Highlander

The Forgotten Highlander

Author: Alistair Urquhart

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2010-10-01

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 1628731508

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Alistair Urquhart was a soldier in the Gordon Highlanders, captured by the Japanese in Singapore. Forced into manual labor as a POW, he survived 750 days in the jungle working as a slave on the notorious “Death Railway” and building the Bridge on the River Kwai. Subsequently, he moved to work on a Japanese “hellship,” his ship was torpedoed, and nearly everyone on board the ship died. Not Urquhart. After five days adrift on a raft in the South China Sea, he was rescued by a Japanese whaling ship. His luck would only get worse as he was taken to Japan and forced to work in a mine near Nagasaki. Two months later, he was just ten miles from ground zero when an atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. In late August 1945, he was freed by the American Navy—a living skeleton—and had his first wash in three and a half years. This is the extraordinary story of a young man, conscripted at nineteen, who survived not just one, but three encounters with death, any of which should have probably killed him. Silent for over fifty years, this is Urquhart’s inspirational tale in his own words. It is as moving as any memoir and as exciting as any great war movie.


Book Synopsis The Forgotten Highlander by : Alistair Urquhart

Download or read book The Forgotten Highlander written by Alistair Urquhart and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010-10-01 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alistair Urquhart was a soldier in the Gordon Highlanders, captured by the Japanese in Singapore. Forced into manual labor as a POW, he survived 750 days in the jungle working as a slave on the notorious “Death Railway” and building the Bridge on the River Kwai. Subsequently, he moved to work on a Japanese “hellship,” his ship was torpedoed, and nearly everyone on board the ship died. Not Urquhart. After five days adrift on a raft in the South China Sea, he was rescued by a Japanese whaling ship. His luck would only get worse as he was taken to Japan and forced to work in a mine near Nagasaki. Two months later, he was just ten miles from ground zero when an atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. In late August 1945, he was freed by the American Navy—a living skeleton—and had his first wash in three and a half years. This is the extraordinary story of a young man, conscripted at nineteen, who survived not just one, but three encounters with death, any of which should have probably killed him. Silent for over fifty years, this is Urquhart’s inspirational tale in his own words. It is as moving as any memoir and as exciting as any great war movie.


No Mercy from the Japanese

No Mercy from the Japanese

Author: John Wyatt

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2009-04-21

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 1844684520

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By the laws of statistics John Lowry should not be here today to tell his story. He firmly believes that someone somewhere was looking after him during those four years. Examine the odds stacked against him and his readers will understand why he hold this view. During the conflict in Malaya and Singapore his regiment lost two thirds of its men. More than three hundred patients and staff in the Alexandra Military hospital were slaughtered by the Japanese he was the only known survivor. Twenty six percent of British soldiers slaving on the Burma Railway died. More than fifty men out of around six hundred died aboard the Aaska Maru and the Hakasan Maru. Many more did not manage to survive the harshest Japanese winter of 1944/45, the coldest in Japan since record began. Johns experiences make for the most compelling and graphic reading. The courage, endurance and resilience of men like him never ceases to amaze.


Book Synopsis No Mercy from the Japanese by : John Wyatt

Download or read book No Mercy from the Japanese written by John Wyatt and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2009-04-21 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the laws of statistics John Lowry should not be here today to tell his story. He firmly believes that someone somewhere was looking after him during those four years. Examine the odds stacked against him and his readers will understand why he hold this view. During the conflict in Malaya and Singapore his regiment lost two thirds of its men. More than three hundred patients and staff in the Alexandra Military hospital were slaughtered by the Japanese he was the only known survivor. Twenty six percent of British soldiers slaving on the Burma Railway died. More than fifty men out of around six hundred died aboard the Aaska Maru and the Hakasan Maru. Many more did not manage to survive the harshest Japanese winter of 1944/45, the coldest in Japan since record began. Johns experiences make for the most compelling and graphic reading. The courage, endurance and resilience of men like him never ceases to amaze.