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The Burma-Siam Railway
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Those known to have been held in or employed at The Burma-Siam Railway during the Second World War 1939-1945. The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed,
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Records from The Burma-Siam Railway other sources.
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Want to know more about The Burma-Siam Railway? There are:-1 items tagged The Burma-Siam Railway available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. |
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Pte. George Sidney Tubb 5th Btn. Suffolk Regiment My granddad George Tubb was in Singapore in 1942 when the British Army surrendered to the Japanese. He was imprisoned first in Changi, then in Chungkai, and he worked on the Burma Death Railroad.
He never spoke about his time in captivity, but he was a very happy man. It wasn't until he died in 1999 that my aunt found a lot of his momentoes and maps that he kept. He lost a lot of his comrades while in POW camps and was lucky to survive.
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Pte. James Howe 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion My uncle James Howe was actually William Howe from Hemel, Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Following a row with his mother in the early 1930s, Bill emigrated to Australia without informing his family. There, he worked as a tractor driver.
At the outbreak of war, he volunteered to serve, but he used a different Christian name and gave his birthplace as Victoria. He was assigned to a machine-gun unit, and the unit was posted to Singapore, where he was captured at the fall of the island. We have Japanese Army postcards from him to say he was in POW Camp Niki Niki in Thailand and a further card from a POW Camp in Moulmein, Burma. I believe that these cards were the first contact his family had from him since he left the UK. He survived the ordeal, and we have a telegram saying that he was safe in British hands and a further letter from the Australian Military saying that he is believed safe but not confirmed.
He lived out the rest of his life in Australia, starting a quarrying business with a fellow POW and using the knowledge gained cutting rock on the Death Railway. He returned to meet family in the UK in 1976 and was visited by his sister at Coffs Harbour in 1980. He passed away peacefully in the mid 1980s.
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Spr. James Buck 560th Field Coy. Royal Engineers (d.31st Jul 1943) I purchased a cased, mounted set of 'Badge and Bombs' comprising cap, collar and shoulder badges. The case has the trademark of Frank Pricket Watchmaker and Jeweller Finkle Street Sedbergh. Behind the mount is a letter on lined paper written in pencil from Jim Buck to Dearest Glad leaving the case in her care as a memento. Jim gives his address as Sapper J Buck, 8th Independence Company, Old Prep School, Sedbergh, West Riding Yorkshire. From research, Jim served with 560 Field Company in Malaya and was a POW in Burma working on the infamous railway. Jim died on 31 July 1943 and lies in Kanchanaburi Cemetery in Thailand.
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Pte. Cecil Alfred Garrould 6th Btn. Royal Norfolk Regiment My father, Cecil Garrould enlisted on the 13th of June 1940 and was posted to Singapore. Documents show that he and thousands of others there were ordered to surrender when Singapore fell to the Japanese. As a POW he was assigned to No. 1 Railway Battalion, which worked on constructing the Thai-Burma Railway, from 4th of December 1942 to 11th of February 1944. During this time he was held in work camps at Ban Pong, Nong Pladuk, Tahlua, Kanburi (Kanchanaburi), Ban Kau, Wampo (Wang Po), Tan Yen, Conchon, Nam Pei, Kinsaiyok, Pran Kiash, Tomajo, and Hindato. From 12th of February 1944 to 2nd of February 1945 he was involved with camp construction (Nong Pladuk), then dock and general work (Singapore), and was ultimately sent to Saigon on 8th of February 1945, remaining there until 13th of August 1945.
Like all POWs held by the Japanese, he endured horrendous conditions and hardship. His medical history during this time included bouts of malaria, colitis, fever, and dysentery. I cannot read the name but the designation on one of the documents is by a major with the Gordon Highlanders, and he wrote "A man who endured the hardships of this period without being evacuated has something to be proud of".
His military release certificate, issued at the Warwick Record Office, is signed and dated 26 March 1946.
My father did not talk of his time as a POW. There is a letter awarding him medals but I understood from my mother that he refused them. We believe this was to do with the circumstances around the surrender. Strangely enough, having lived on little except rice during his captivity, it was still one of his favourite dishes.
Sadly, my father died far too early, in 1982.
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Gnr. Leslie Nowell 5th Searchlight Regiment Royal Artillery (d.12th Sep 1944)  On 13th May 1915, Leslie was born at Fishgate, York, Yorkshire, the son of George Ernest Nowell and Eliza Nowell. He left school as a teenager and was employed by York Council, where he worked as a general labourer and road sweeper. In 1936, Leslie married Eleanor Atkinson. They had two children and lived at 21 Temple Avenue, Tang Hall Estate, York.
In 1939, after the outbreak of the war, Leslie left his wife and two children to go into the Army. He was assigned to the 5th Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery, and was posted to Singapore. There, he was stationed at Changi Barracks.
On 15th February 1942, Leslie became a prisoner of war when Singapore was captured by the Japanese; his POW number was M-903. He, his comrades, and many other prisoners were kept at Changi Barracks, which the Japanese converted to use as a prison. He remained there until early April.
On 4 April 1942, Leslie was one of the first thousand prisoners to leave Singapore and be transported on the ship Nissyo Maru to Saigon, where he and the other prisoners were made to work at the docks.
On 22 June 1942, he was transferred to Thailand where, along with 700 other men, he was put to work building a railway. On the way, they were interned briefly at Tarsao Camp, and then spent a couple of weeks building the Kinsayok Camp.
On 23rd June 1944, Leslie and 500 other prisoners were taken from Tha Muang, Thailand to Singapore, where they awaited final transfer to confinement in Japan. On 4 September, he and 900 other prisoners boarded the Kachidoki Maru, which joined convoy Hi-72 en route to Japan. The convoy also included the Rakuyo Maru, which held 1,317 Australian and British prisoners. The two transport ships were not marked as carrying prisoners of war.
On 12th of September, the convoy was attacked by American submarines. At 22.40 hours, the USS Pampanito fired three torpedoes at the Kachidoki Maru. The ship was holed, flooded quickly, and sank. The only survivors were those who were able to jump overboard. Along with more than 400 other brave men who were aboard as prisoners, Leslie lost his life that night.
Sadly, while Leslie was a prisoner of war, his wife Eleanor contracted tuberculosis and died on 28 January 1944, at age 24. She left behind their two young children, Leslie age 8 yrs and Christine 6 yrs, not knowing that what lay ahead for them was to be placed in an orphanage, or knowing the fate of her husband.
Always remembered and never forgotten.
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Edward Frederick George Hardingham Edward Hardingham was captured at the fall of Singapore and forced to work on the Burma Siam Railway.
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Sgt. Joseph Prendergast Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (d.31st May 1943) My Mum's brother, Joseph Prendergast sadly died as POW working on the Burma Thai Railway.
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Gnr. John Edward Storey 125th Anti Tank Regiment Royal Artillery (d.20th Jun 1943) My dad and his brother both served in Burma but with different units.
My dad was in the Green Howards and he survived the war. His, John Storey brother was in the 125th Anti Tank Regiment and I think he joined when the unit was a Territorial unit based in Seaburn, Dyklands Road Sunderland. I know before his unit actually got into any active service they were on civil defense duties firstly in Glasgow then Liverpool.
After training in Scotland the unit set sail and arrived in Singapore in 1942. The ship was bombed but many of the unit made it ashore to reform but without much ammunition they were ordered to surrender by the Japanese.
They were then marched to Changhi and spent 3 and half years in captivity. Many died and my uncle died on the Burma-Siam railway.
He died of dysentery and is now buried in Kanchanaburi War Cemetery in Thailand.
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Thomas Francis Grogan Thomas Grogan enlisted on the 9th of September 1944 and served as a driver.
He was taken POW and worked on the Thai Burma Railway. He returned to Australia and was husband to Edith Grogan, He was born in 1914 and dided in 1958.
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Sgt. Thomas Prior 18th Regiment Reconnaissance Corps (d.31st May 1943) Sergeant Tom Prior served with the 5th Battalion, The Loyal Regiment and 18th Reconnaissance Regiment died 31st of May 1943 on the Burma Siam railway and is buried in Thanbyuzayat Cemetery.
He is the son of James and Sarah, husband of Margaret. Home was in Ince Wigan Lancashire
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Herbert O'Looney Bert O'Looney was conscripted with four friends. Only two came home.
He was captured on the island of Singapore by the Japanese and brutalized building the railway of death for 3 and half years before coming home a shadow of the man he was and hating the Japanese with a devil's vengeance
He recounted everything to me they had done to him and countless others in great graphic detail and I have to say I struggle to fathom how a man can be so cruel to another. These men were abandoned by the British government and he hated them just a bit less than the Japs.
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Gnr Harold Thomas Loader 5th Searchlight Regiment Royal Artillery (d.8th Nov 1943 ) Harold Loader was a prisoner of war in Burma. In 1942 he was on the Burma railway. He got an infection in his leg and had it amputated. He died as a prisoner of war in Burma 1943 aged 21.
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William Nicholas Roe 18th Recce Regiment Reconnaissance Corps (d.21st August 1943) Nick Roe was the eldest son of Peter and Anastasia Roe. Nick was born in Dublin Ireland, his parents moved to Liverpool in 1911 which meant that in reality he did not have to join up but, as his brothers were joining up he wanted to do the same. He married about 1940 and had one son.
He was part of the 18th (5th Loyal) Regiment, Reconnaissance Corps and was captured along with all his regiment. He died on the 21st August 1943, a P.O.W. whilst working on Burma railway He is buried in Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery.
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Pte. Edward Day 2nd Btn. Gordon Highlanders (d.16th August 1943) Edward Day is buried in Kanchanaburi War Cemetery in Thailand.
I believe he was one of the very unlucky 600 soldiers that were chosen by the Japanese to be transferred to Thailand and forced to work on the railway.
Edward was the son of Arthur and Agnes Gwenneth Day (nee King)
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Capt. Michael William Harter 2nd Btn. Gordon Highlanders (d.18th June 1943 ) Michael Harter was one of the Old Etonian, Gordon Highlanders in WW2, based in Singapore in 1942. My Mum, 80 years old, has shown an interest in finding out about her Uncle Michael. The information she has is that he was captured and put to task on the Burma Railway. She thinks he died from malaria etc.
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Pte. George Sidney Tubb 5th Btn. Suffolk Regiment My granddad George Tubb was in Singapore in 1942 when the British Army surrendered to the Japanese. He was imprisoned first in Changi, then in Chungkai, and he worked on the Burma Death Railroad.
He never spoke about his time in captivity, but he was a very happy man. It wasn't until he died in 1999 that my aunt found a lot of his momentoes and maps that he kept. He lost a lot of his comrades while in POW camps and was lucky to survive.
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Pte. James Howe 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion My uncle James Howe was actually William Howe from Hemel, Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Following a row with his mother in the early 1930s, Bill emigrated to Australia without informing his family. There, he worked as a tractor driver.
At the outbreak of war, he volunteered to serve, but he used a different Christian name and gave his birthplace as Victoria. He was assigned to a machine-gun unit, and the unit was posted to Singapore, where he was captured at the fall of the island. We have Japanese Army postcards from him to say he was in POW Camp Niki Niki in Thailand and a further card from a POW Camp in Moulmein, Burma. I believe that these cards were the first contact his family had from him since he left the UK. He survived the ordeal, and we have a telegram saying that he was safe in British hands and a further letter from the Australian Military saying that he is believed safe but not confirmed.
He lived out the rest of his life in Australia, starting a quarrying business with a fellow POW and using the knowledge gained cutting rock on the Death Railway. He returned to meet family in the UK in 1976 and was visited by his sister at Coffs Harbour in 1980. He passed away peacefully in the mid 1980s.
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Spr. James Buck 560th Field Coy. Royal Engineers (d.31st Jul 1943) I purchased a cased, mounted set of 'Badge and Bombs' comprising cap, collar and shoulder badges. The case has the trademark of Frank Pricket Watchmaker and Jeweller Finkle Street Sedbergh. Behind the mount is a letter on lined paper written in pencil from Jim Buck to Dearest Glad leaving the case in her care as a memento. Jim gives his address as Sapper J Buck, 8th Independence Company, Old Prep School, Sedbergh, West Riding Yorkshire. From research, Jim served with 560 Field Company in Malaya and was a POW in Burma working on the infamous railway. Jim died on 31 July 1943 and lies in Kanchanaburi Cemetery in Thailand.
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Pte. Cecil Alfred Garrould 6th Btn. Royal Norfolk Regiment My father, Cecil Garrould enlisted on the 13th of June 1940 and was posted to Singapore. Documents show that he and thousands of others there were ordered to surrender when Singapore fell to the Japanese. As a POW he was assigned to No. 1 Railway Battalion, which worked on constructing the Thai-Burma Railway, from 4th of December 1942 to 11th of February 1944. During this time he was held in work camps at Ban Pong, Nong Pladuk, Tahlua, Kanburi (Kanchanaburi), Ban Kau, Wampo (Wang Po), Tan Yen, Conchon, Nam Pei, Kinsaiyok, Pran Kiash, Tomajo, and Hindato. From 12th of February 1944 to 2nd of February 1945 he was involved with camp construction (Nong Pladuk), then dock and general work (Singapore), and was ultimately sent to Saigon on 8th of February 1945, remaining there until 13th of August 1945.
Like all POWs held by the Japanese, he endured horrendous conditions and hardship. His medical history during this time included bouts of malaria, colitis, fever, and dysentery. I cannot read the name but the designation on one of the documents is by a major with the Gordon Highlanders, and he wrote "A man who endured the hardships of this period without being evacuated has something to be proud of".
His military release certificate, issued at the Warwick Record Office, is signed and dated 26 March 1946.
My father did not talk of his time as a POW. There is a letter awarding him medals but I understood from my mother that he refused them. We believe this was to do with the circumstances around the surrender. Strangely enough, having lived on little except rice during his captivity, it was still one of his favourite dishes.
Sadly, my father died far too early, in 1982.
|
Gnr. Leslie Nowell 5th Searchlight Regiment Royal Artillery (d.12th Sep 1944) On 13th May 1915, Leslie was born at Fishgate, York, Yorkshire, the son of George Ernest Nowell and Eliza Nowell. He left school as a teenager and was employed by York Council, where he worked as a general labourer and road sweeper. In 1936, Leslie married Eleanor Atkinson. They had two children and lived at 21 Temple Avenue, Tang Hall Estate, York.
In 1939, after the outbreak of the war, Leslie left his wife and two children to go into the Army. He was assigned to the 5th Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery, and was posted to Singapore. There, he was stationed at Changi Barracks.
On 15th February 1942, Leslie became a prisoner of war when Singapore was captured by the Japanese; his POW number was M-903. He, his comrades, and many other prisoners were kept at Changi Barracks, which the Japanese converted to use as a prison. He remained there until early April.
On 4 April 1942, Leslie was one of the first thousand prisoners to leave Singapore and be transported on the ship Nissyo Maru to Saigon, where he and the other prisoners were made to work at the docks.
On 22 June 1942, he was transferred to Thailand where, along with 700 other men, he was put to work building a railway. On the way, they were interned briefly at Tarsao Camp, and then spent a couple of weeks building the Kinsayok Camp.
On 23rd June 1944, Leslie and 500 other prisoners were taken from Tha Muang, Thailand to Singapore, where they awaited final transfer to confinement in Japan. On 4 September, he and 900 other prisoners boarded the Kachidoki Maru, which joined convoy Hi-72 en route to Japan. The convoy also included the Rakuyo Maru, which held 1,317 Australian and British prisoners. The two transport ships were not marked as carrying prisoners of war.
On 12th of September, the convoy was attacked by American submarines. At 22.40 hours, the USS Pampanito fired three torpedoes at the Kachidoki Maru. The ship was holed, flooded quickly, and sank. The only survivors were those who were able to jump overboard. Along with more than 400 other brave men who were aboard as prisoners, Leslie lost his life that night.
Sadly, while Leslie was a prisoner of war, his wife Eleanor contracted tuberculosis and died on 28 January 1944, at age 24. She left behind their two young children, Leslie age 8 yrs and Christine 6 yrs, not knowing that what lay ahead for them was to be placed in an orphanage, or knowing the fate of her husband.
Always remembered and never forgotten.
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Edward Frederick George Hardingham Edward Hardingham was captured at the fall of Singapore and forced to work on the Burma Siam Railway.
|
Sgt. Joseph Prendergast Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (d.31st May 1943) My Mum's brother, Joseph Prendergast sadly died as POW working on the Burma Thai Railway.
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Gnr. John Edward Storey 125th Anti Tank Regiment Royal Artillery (d.20th Jun 1943) My dad and his brother both served in Burma but with different units.
My dad was in the Green Howards and he survived the war. His, John Storey brother was in the 125th Anti Tank Regiment and I think he joined when the unit was a Territorial unit based in Seaburn, Dyklands Road Sunderland. I know before his unit actually got into any active service they were on civil defense duties firstly in Glasgow then Liverpool.
After training in Scotland the unit set sail and arrived in Singapore in 1942. The ship was bombed but many of the unit made it ashore to reform but without much ammunition they were ordered to surrender by the Japanese.
They were then marched to Changhi and spent 3 and half years in captivity. Many died and my uncle died on the Burma-Siam railway.
He died of dysentery and is now buried in Kanchanaburi War Cemetery in Thailand.
|
Thomas Francis Grogan Thomas Grogan enlisted on the 9th of September 1944 and served as a driver.
He was taken POW and worked on the Thai Burma Railway. He returned to Australia and was husband to Edith Grogan, He was born in 1914 and dided in 1958.
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Sgt. Thomas Prior 18th Regiment Reconnaissance Corps (d.31st May 1943) Sergeant Tom Prior served with the 5th Battalion, The Loyal Regiment and 18th Reconnaissance Regiment died 31st of May 1943 on the Burma Siam railway and is buried in Thanbyuzayat Cemetery.
He is the son of James and Sarah, husband of Margaret. Home was in Ince Wigan Lancashire
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Herbert O'Looney Bert O'Looney was conscripted with four friends. Only two came home.
He was captured on the island of Singapore by the Japanese and brutalized building the railway of death for 3 and half years before coming home a shadow of the man he was and hating the Japanese with a devil's vengeance
He recounted everything to me they had done to him and countless others in great graphic detail and I have to say I struggle to fathom how a man can be so cruel to another. These men were abandoned by the British government and he hated them just a bit less than the Japs.
|
Gnr Harold Thomas Loader 5th Searchlight Regiment Royal Artillery (d.8th Nov 1943 ) Harold Loader was a prisoner of war in Burma. In 1942 he was on the Burma railway. He got an infection in his leg and had it amputated. He died as a prisoner of war in Burma 1943 aged 21.
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William Nicholas Roe 18th Recce Regiment Reconnaissance Corps (d.21st August 1943) Nick Roe was the eldest son of Peter and Anastasia Roe. Nick was born in Dublin Ireland, his parents moved to Liverpool in 1911 which meant that in reality he did not have to join up but, as his brothers were joining up he wanted to do the same. He married about 1940 and had one son.
He was part of the 18th (5th Loyal) Regiment, Reconnaissance Corps and was captured along with all his regiment. He died on the 21st August 1943, a P.O.W. whilst working on Burma railway He is buried in Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery.
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Pte. Edward Day 2nd Btn. Gordon Highlanders (d.16th August 1943) Edward Day is buried in Kanchanaburi War Cemetery in Thailand.
I believe he was one of the very unlucky 600 soldiers that were chosen by the Japanese to be transferred to Thailand and forced to work on the railway.
Edward was the son of Arthur and Agnes Gwenneth Day (nee King)
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Capt. Michael William Harter 2nd Btn. Gordon Highlanders (d.18th June 1943 ) Michael Harter was one of the Old Etonian, Gordon Highlanders in WW2, based in Singapore in 1942. My Mum, 80 years old, has shown an interest in finding out about her Uncle Michael. The information she has is that he was captured and put to task on the Burma Railway. She thinks he died from malaria etc.
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