Eric Lomax, The Railway Man Author, Dies Aged 93

[theblether]

Eric Lomax, The Railway Man Author, Dies Aged 93.......the following link from the BBC Scotland website gives you some more background information on this story.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...otland-19878770

Quoted paragraphs from the article

"Mr Lomax was a signals officer who was captured with many other Allies in Singapore and held at the island's Changi jail before eventually being taken to the Thai town of Kanchanaburi, where he worked on the railway link to Burma.

The horrific conditions of the prisoners as they built the line, with a terrible loss of life, famously formed the basis of David Lean's 1957 film The Bridge On The River Kwai.

Mr Lomax endured savage beatings when guards found a radio he had helped to build within his prison camp.

He went on to become a lecturer at Strathclyde University, but was haunted by his treatment and met the interpreter who had interrogated him while he was tortured, Takashi Nagase, after he wrote about his remorse in a book.

Mr Lomax's wife Patti contacted Mr Nagase and both men returned to Kanchanaburi to meet in 1993 and eventually became friends."

The story is now being filmed and is due for release next year, it's a pity that Mr Lomax did not survive to see the film come to screen. I have no doubt that when the film is released it will be of interest to many of us for various reasons, one obviously being the Thai angle to the movie.

We are losing this generation of men who endured so much for us, men who went through unimaginable tortures, men who lost their lives, and in every case, men who survived had to live with the consequences of their experiences for the rest of their lives, and by dint, their wives and families were affected too.

My Uncle Arthur "Trumpeter" Smith was another who was captured in Singapore and he endured his torturous experience of imprisonment in Taiwan. He was known as the Rabbie Burns of Kinkesaki, and till the day he died in 2002 he carried the emotional scars of that war. Here's a link to one of his poems.

http://www.fepow-day...wn_the_mine.htm

Trumpeter Smith had the sad task of playing the Last Post over far too many of his comrades, and he had a difficult time after the war. His salvation was in one regard was his extraordinary work in promoting the cause of compensation and recognition for his fellow POW's, through the Burma Star organization. He was my Uncle, and I was, still am, proud to be his nephew. His story is one of many, however this story is the story of Eric Lomax, author of The Railway Man.

Mr Lomax, thank you for your sacrifice in the cause of freedom, thank you for your strength and resilience in peace time, thank you for finding the humanity and forgiveness in your heart for Mr Nagase, thank you for showing us that men can rise above depravity, and thank you Sir, for leaving us a legacy in your own words of what it meant to be to be a POW in Thailand.

May you truly rest in peace Sir, and I hope somewhere your sitting having some chow and a chat with those young friends you lost so long ago.

Edited October 8, 2012 by theblether

[billd766]

Thank you also for sharing your uncles poem.

[theblether]

Thank you also for sharing your uncles poem.

There are dozens of poems on a website called Despair Poems, many men took the time to write down their feelings at that time.

http://www.fepow-day.org/html/despair-poems.htm

By this time next year there will be a movie out, I believe the movie concentrates more on the effect the war had on people and their families, rather than the brutality of the camps. This is the story of men that suffered in Thailand in a way that is totally unimaginable to the rest of us.

[RomanGladiator]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Lomax

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Railway_Man_(film)

While he was working on the screenplay, co-writer Frank Cottrell Boyce travelled up to Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland together with Colin Firth to meet the then-91 year old Eric Lomax.^[7] Firth said of the film: "I think what is not often addressed is the effect over time. We do sometimes see stories about what it's like coming home from war, we very rarely see stories about what it's like decades later. This is not just a portrait of suffering. It's about relationships ... how that damage interacts with intimate relationships, with love."^[5]

The film began shooting in April 2012 in Edinburgh and North Berwick in Scotland, and will later move to locations in Thailand and Queensland in Australia.^[1][6][8]

[Kan Win]

By this time next year there will be a movie out, I believe the movie concentrates more on the effect the war had on people and their families, rather than the brutality of the camps. This is the story of men that suffered in Thailand in a way that is totally unimaginable to the rest of us.

From a Kan site which is sadly no longer running only for viewing

The Railway Man

19 Sep 2010

From our good buddy Pascal

There’s a new movie coming soon about the death railway, starring Colin Firth, it’s based on former army officer Eric Lomax‘s book about his time spent captured by the Japanese and working on the construction of the ‘death railway’ between Thailand and Burma.

As well as his Prisoner Of War experiences, it also focuses on how he set out decades later to track down his tormentors and exact some revenge.

greetings, Pascal

Rest in Peace Eric Lomax

Win

[nong38]

Usually people who are interested in railways are filed under "anoracks" It is always sad to hear of the end of someone who shares mt interest as well, well one of them! Thanks for for the information and a sad blow to the railway fraternity.

[Rob8891]

This evening Radio Scotland featured Eric Lamax's passing on the news. It paid a moving tribute to him, and included two exerpts of interviews that he had given. He came across as a very wise man, at peace with his life and with his past: his understated dignity when describing some of the horrors of his time as a POW was impressive. The world needs more people of his ilk, but without the suffering he experienced.

RIP

[theblether]

A few months ago there was a topic on the news forum about the recovery of the remains of USAF Captain Charles R. Barnes, here's the link......

As is the wont on Thaivisa we ended up in a wide ranging debate......during the topic I brought up Eric Lomax and Trumpeter Smith.......here are the abridged versions of what I said......

God bless Captain Charles R. Barnes, and God rest him.

God bless the people who spend years researching and looking for the lost sons and daughters, God bless the people who tend to the graves and take the time to remember, God bless the families who live without knowing, and God bless the families that do know too.

Every country I travel too I seek out the War Memorials, I go spend time among the people that gave everything, I bow my head and I remember one thing. These men were ordinary men and women put into an extraordinary situation.

God bless my Uncle, Trumpeter Smith, who was a POW in Taiwan. He had a nervous breakdown after the war, recalling the amount of times he had to play the Last Post over the graves of his starved, beaten and tortured friends.

God bless him and the other men that formed the Burma Star organization and spent every day in life remembering those that passed and fighting for compensation for those that lived. Those men that were dropped off a ship in Southampton weighing not much more than a skeleton and told to make their own way home. Shameful.

His story was one of the untold, amongst the millions that are untold, that is the way of the world. Right now there is a movie being made about one of his compatriots Eric Lomax, telling his version of the story and aftermath.

How about we just take pride in the people that went looking for Captain Charles R. Barnes, recognize his sacrifice, and take solace in the fact that his family can now lay him to rest?

Respect for your fellow man is the foundation of civilization.

.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

I then went on to say...............................

On paper the war ended in 1945, for people like Trumpeter Smith and Eric Lomax it never ended.

The story of Eric Lomax is well known and will soon be world famous, if you can indulge me my Uncle Trumpeter Smith was imprisoned in Kinkaseke Copper Mine in Taiwan, where he was known as the Rabbie Burns of his camp. He spent all his time singing and reciting poetry to try and keep morale up. Here are a couple of links which acknowledge his work.

http://www.cofepow.o...sia_taiwan2.htm

http://claude.torres...ownTheMine.html

http://www.fepow-day...aughing_boy.htm

There are many more, the last link is from a site called Despair Poems. That gives us an idea of what these men endured.

Trumpeter Smith was the kind of man that self educated, after the war and once he had recovered as well as he could he became an expert on the works of the real Rabbie Burns. He was much sought after for his recitals as not only did he have the knowledge he also had the correct timber to his voice.

I was the little boy that sat engrossed as he told me all about his life and war experiences, I'll never forget the first time he told me all, I went out to the car and on the way home I said to my Mum, " That was amazing hearing all those stories ", my Mum replied, " It was amazing for you son, but what about your Aunt Nancy? she hears those stories every day".

That always stuck with me. Captain Charles Barnes never got a chance to bounce his nephew on his knee and tell him a story, this is the bare and abrupt fact of the matter. We can't spend every day grieving the dead, however we can show sufficient humility when the occasion arises to understand what these men, and I include Captain Barnes, endured was extraordinary.

It was my delight to work alongside the US military as a civilian for 5 years, their hospitality was superb, and working alongside the US military was a life enriching education for me.

So inasmuch as I love a good UK v US bun fight here on TV, I recognize in the words of Rabbie Burns, we're all men together.

That Man to Man, the world o'er,

Shall brothers be for a' that.

Robert Burns,

..........................................................................................................................................................................

[theblether]

Shall brothers be for all that...........

We're losing these man fast........let's try to remember what they taught us......resilience, brotherhood, love, and humanity.

[Rob8891]

Shall brothers be for all that...........

We're losing these man fast........let's try to remember what they taught us......resilience, brotherhood, love, and humanity.

....and from what I heard of Eric Lomax's interviews tonight, we can add humility to that list.

[justcruisin]

The Thai Burma railway saga is not understood by most people, let alone taught at schools here in Thailand.

Very sad news that Eric Lomax has passed away, I have his original 1995 book as well as other books including Weary Sir Edward Dunlop and

Kenneth Harrison The Road to Hiroshima.

The stories they told are horrific and the heroism displayed by ordinary people suffering from disease and starvation whilst working as slave labor for the Brutal Imperial Japanese Army is something that I hope will be remembered forever.

They Shall Grow Not Old

As We Who Are Left Grow Old

Age Should Not Weary Them

Nor the Years Condemn

[WilliaminBKK]

I've worn a Poppy my entire life for the weeks prior to November 11, it's getting harder each year as these Heroes pass on. It is my way of showing respect to Mr. Lomax & all the other Great Men who did so much for us.

Lest We Forget.

[Kan Win]

Rest in Peace Eric Lomax

Win

Form the Daily Telegraph today.

http://www.telegraph...Eric-Lomax.html

Win

[Rob8891]

Rest in Peace Eric Lomax

Win

Form the Daily Telegraph today.

http://www.telegraph...Eric-Lomax.html

Win

Thank you for the Telegraph link. It was hard reading, and I am not ashamed to say it brought tears.

[RomanGladiator]

Hey Blether -- do you know this guy

http://www.dailymail...t-new-book.html

His name is Smith.

Do you have a website?

EDIT. I'm sorry, I forgot to mention that this guy SMITH was a Scottish man.

Edited October 10, 2012 by RomanGladiator

[trainman34014]

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I visited the graves of two relatives of mine who are buried at Kanchanaburi the first year i lived here; there is also another buried at the Burmese end of the line as well but I haven't visited as yet. The young generations of Brit's know so little of the price their forefathers paid for the freedoms they enjoy today and I always make a point of passing on my knowledge of what happened to my Children and Grandchildren. These men should never be forgotten.

[theblether]

Hey Blether -- do you know this guy

http://www.dailymail...t-new-book.html

His name is Smith.

Do you have a website?

EDIT. I'm sorry, I forgot to mention that this guy SMITH was a Scottish man.

No I don't know him but I know of him, the only other two survivors that I know of were John McLean, who came from my home town of Wishaw, and a gentleman called Jimmy Caldow, who I knew quite well.

Our local regiment had the misfortune of being one of the regiments captured in Singapore so there were a lot of Japanese POW's in my families home town. This story from the local newspaper was very typical.

http://www.wishawpre...76495-23769397/

My Uncle Arthur was the type that if anything spoke too much about his experiences, Jimmy Caldow would never speak of it. My family owned a bar in Wishaw and we had a great turnout every Sunday afternoon, Jimmy was a regular and he would spend hours playing cards with his son and best pals. This one particular Sunday Uncle Arthur came down from Fife to visit us, as he entered the bar Jimmy, who was a quiet man, stood up and demanded everyone's attention. He went on to say............." This is Trumpeter Smith, the greatest man I've ever met in my life, this man campaigned every single day to have his fellow soldiers recognized after the war, and I'm proud to call him a friend ". There were tears a plenty among the people watching on as you can imagine how emotional it was. Trumpeter Smith joined Jimmy for a game of cards and they spent the afternoon reminiscing.

Trumpeter Smith was a special man but I can't allocate him any greatness over and above anybody else, the experience these men went through caused ripples through the rest of their lives, as the Eric Lomax story tell's so well, and he would be angered if he were here today at the idea of him being lauded in any way.

These men brought back real brotherhood from the camps, they were all equals in their eyes. I did enjoy spending time in his company when he was with soldiers from other regiments though, he wasn't an overly serious man, he loved a story, he could regale you with jokes and he was wells ought after as an after dinner speaker. In short, he knew how to enjoy life.

FEPOW is the organization that is doing the job of keeping the story alive, there are some quite outstanding people working so hard to compile the history and the stories before they literally die away. Eric Lomax was imprisoned in Thailand, Trumpeter Smith was imprisoned in Taiwan, here's a link to that POW website.

http://www.powtaiwan.org/

Michael Hurst is a quite outstanding man, and he is the director of the POW Society. If any of you are in Taiwan get in contact with Michael and he will direct you to the appropriate memorials, and in some cases he can arrange you to have tours of the relevant sites on the Island. One of these days I will take an unpublished manuscript that Trumpeter Smith wrote and have it placed in the Society Museum. The story was written but never published as the British government was trying to normalize trade relationships with Japan, a fact that incensed my Uncle. They didn't want to rock the boat.......

Right, I'm rambling, I could be here all day on this subject. Some of these men are still with us and we need to take the time to listen, I thank Eric Lomax for taking the time to write the book and next year I hope many more people will become aware of the reality of what happened in Thailand and the effect thereafter.

I think that's the best legacy that Eric Lomax could leave for his kin........their story will never die.

.

Edited October 10, 2012 by theblether

[marstons]

Sad to hear of the passing of Mr Lomax, i read the book and have visited Kanchanaburi a few times. How any survived is amazing, also a reminder how inhumane mankind can be.

Another amazing story and a work collegue William Reid amazing generation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Reid_(VC)

[submaniac]

Just got back from Forrest Lawn memorial today. For a moment I thought about you Blether (and the other Scotts on this board). I had forgotten that we adopted your traditions. When a police officer dies (this is LAPD by the way) there is bagpiper (even in a kilt!) playing amazing grace. I forgot how truly mournful and powerful that that instrument can be.

Anyways, to get back to the original post. My old man was in WWII. Served in the Navy on the USS Yorktown (which even saw action at a little Godforsaken island called Iwo Jima). I will always have a special place in my heart for the US Navy and (you too) Marines. All the boys in his family served. One of his brothers died during the occupation of Japan. It was after the U.S. first occupied Japan. He was on leave and some Japanese locals stoned him to death. To the day he died, I don't think he ever forgave them for that.

He never bragged or even really liked to have that many conversations about his war time experience. It was not until later that I started researching it and realized how many times that ship was hit by kamikazes and was nearly sunk. I think back, and it amazes me how tough his generation was. In the United States, the WWII generation is called "America's greatest generation", each day that passes we lose more and more of them.

There's one more thing. I didn't realize it until years later when we were doing his memorial and mom showed me his service papers. It listed a different birth year than his actual one. Then she explained. You see he had a rough home life and wanted to leave home as soon as he could. So he and his brothers signed up for the Navy. He lied about his age so. He was actually 14 years old when he enlisted.

I think about my life. I realize that the sum total of my miserable little life accomplishments pales in comparison to what he did when he was just 14 years old.

[theblether]

Just got back from Forrest Lawn memorial today. For a moment I thought about you Blether (and the other Scotts on this board). I had forgotten that we adopted your traditions. When a police officer dies (this is LAPD by the way) there is bagpiper (even in a kilt!) playing amazing grace. I forgot how truly mournful and powerful that that instrument can be.

Anyways, to get back to the original post. My old man was in WWII. Served in the Navy on the USS Yorktown (which even saw action at a little Godforsaken island called Iwo Jima). I will always have a special place in my heart for the US Navy and (you too) Marines. All the boys in his family served. One of his brothers died during the occupation of Japan. It was after the U.S. first occupied Japan. He was on leave and some Japanese locals stoned him to death. To the day he died, I don't think he ever forgave them for that.

He never bragged or even really liked to have that many conversations about his war time experience. It was not until later that I started researching it and realized how many times that ship was hit by kamikazes and was nearly sunk. I think back, and it amazes me how tough his generation was. In the United States, the WWII generation is called "America's greatest generation", each day that passes we lose more and more of them.

There's one more thing. I didn't realize it until years later when we were doing his memorial and mom showed me his service papers. It listed a different birth year than his actual one. Then she explained. You see he had a rough home life and wanted to leave home as soon as he could. So he and his brothers signed up for the Navy. He lied about his age so. He was actually 14 years old when he enlisted.

I think about my life. I realize that the sum total of my miserable little life accomplishments pales in comparison to what he did when he was just 14 years old.

It's safe to say compared to these men we don't know we're born, it put's a lot of the miserable whining we see here on the forums at times into perspective.

[RomanGladiator]

BLETHER

Did you see a war movie called The Great Escape?

The cast was mainly American, but there were a lot of Brits and some Scots.

I remember one Scot was called Archie. He cracked up; tried to climb the barbed-wire fence; and got shot.

The other Scot escaped and met up later with the Richard Attenborough character. They got driven to a kind of small mountain. They were let out for a walk and were machine gunned.

Is this a true story?

[Rob8891]

BLETHER

Did you see a war movie called The Great Escape?

The cast was mainly American, but there were a lot of Brits and some Scots.

I remember one Scot was called Archie. He cracked up; tried to climb the barbed-wire fence; and got shot.

The other Scot escaped and met up later with the Richard Attenborough character. They got driven to a kind of small mountain. They were let out for a walk and were machine gunned.

Is this a true story?

FYI ...Scots are Brits (albeit of a superior kind) pro tem.... but not all Brits are Scots.

The Great Escape was based on fact, of course with poetic licence on the part of the film-makers.Google for Stalag Luft iii, which was the name of the real camp in Lower Silesia (now part of Poland), from where the escapes ("Great Escape" and "The Wooden Horse") were made. There is a lot of information available

[RomanGladiator]

BLETHER

Did you see a war movie called The Great Escape?

The cast was mainly American, but there were a lot of Brits and some Scots.

I remember one Scot was called Archie. He cracked up; tried to climb the barbed-wire fence; and got shot.

The other Scot escaped and met up later with the Richard Attenborough character. They got driven to a kind of small mountain. They were let out for a walk and were machine gunned.

Is this a true story?

FYI ...Scots are Brits (albeit of a superior kind) pro tem.... but not all Brits are Scots.

The Great Escape was based on fact, of course with poetic licence on the part of the film-makers.Google for Stalag Luft iii, which was the name of the real camp in Lower Silesia (now part of Poland), from where the escapes ("Great Escape" and "The Wooden Horse") were made. There is a lot of information available

Done it. Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia....Stalag_Luft_III

Some quotes..............

Another notable prisoner was P. P. KumaramangalamDSO, MBE of the then British Indian Army and the future Chief of the Indian Army.

The tunnels were very deep — about 30 feet (9 m) below the surface.

As the war progressed, the German prison camps began to be overwhelmed with American prisoners.^[6] The Germans decided that new camps would be built specifically for the U.S. airmen. In an effort to allow as many people to escape as possible, including the Americans, efforts on the remaining two tunnels increased.

Of 76 escapees, 73 were captured. Hitler initially wanted the escapees to be shot as an example to other prisoners, as well as Commandant von Lindeiner, the architect who designed the camp, the camp's security officer and the guards on duty at the time.

Hitler eventually relented and instead ordered SS head Himmler to execute more than half of the escapees. Himmler passed the selection on to General Artur Nebe. Fifty were executed singly or in pairs.^[9][30] Roger Bushell, the leader of the escape, was shot by Gestapo official Emil Schulz just outside Saarbrücken, Germany.^[23]

EDIT. Charles Bronson escaped, so did James Coburn (he crossed the Pyrenees Mountains into Italy).

Edited October 11, 2012 by RomanGladiator

[Rob8891]

BLETHER

Did you see a war movie called The Great Escape?

The cast was mainly American, but there were a lot of Brits and some Scots.

I remember one Scot was called Archie. He cracked up; tried to climb the barbed-wire fence; and got shot.

The other Scot escaped and met up later with the Richard Attenborough character. They got driven to a kind of small mountain. They were let out for a walk and were machine gunned.

Is this a true story?

FYI ...Scots are Brits (albeit of a superior kind) pro tem.... but not all Brits are Scots.

The Great Escape was based on fact, of course with poetic licence on the part of the film-makers.Google for Stalag Luft iii, which was the name of the real camp in Lower Silesia (now part of Poland), from where the escapes ("Great Escape" and "The Wooden Horse") were made. There is a lot of information available

Done it. Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia....Stalag_Luft_III

Some quotes..............

Another notable prisoner was P. P. KumaramangalamDSO, MBE of the then British Indian Army and the future Chief of the Indian Army.

The tunnels were very deep — about 30 feet (9 m) below the surface.

As the war progressed, the German prison camps began to be overwhelmed with American prisoners.^[6] The Germans decided that new camps would be built specifically for the U.S. airmen. In an effort to allow as many people to escape as possible, including the Americans, efforts on the remaining two tunnels increased.

Of 76 escapees, 73 were captured. Hitler initially wanted the escapees to be shot as an example to other prisoners, as well as Commandant von Lindeiner, the architect who designed the camp, the camp's security officer and the guards on duty at the time.

Hitler eventually relented and instead ordered SS head Himmler to execute more than half of the escapees. Himmler passed the selection on to General Artur Nebe. Fifty were executed singly or in pairs.^[9][30] Roger Bushell, the leader of the escape, was shot by Gestapo official Emil Schulz just outside Saarbrücken, Germany.^[23]

EDIT. Charles Bronson escaped, so did James Coburn (he crossed the Pyrenees Mountains into Italy).

Whilst these guys sadly lost their lives, their attempted escape was successful in that they tied up a large number of german troops searching for them.

Sorry to correct you, but the Pyrenees lie between France and Spain.

[Rob8891]

Last year, I did a quick trip to Kanchanaburi, but did not really have enough time to see all I wanted. Maybe I'll try to go back later this year, then take the train up to Tha Sao and go to Hellfire Pass.

Hopefully, the experience won't be as unpleasant as a visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau 2 years ago - that still gives me the shudders. How can people be so evil?

My gf is not happy with the idea of a trip to Hellfire Pass... she thinks the area is too dangerous. Has anyone got any info on potential danger there?

None of my family were in Thailand/Burma in WWII, although an uncle died just before VJ Day. His job was to question Japanese POWs, in the Philippines (I think). One of my schoolteachers had been a POW in the far east. The poor beggar never recovered and was a permanent wreck, nerves shot to hell.

[RomanGladiator]

Last year, I did a quick trip to Kanchanaburi, but did not really have enough time to see all I wanted. Maybe I'll try to go back later this year, then take the train up to Tha Sao and go to Hellfire Pass.

Hopefully, the experience won't be as unpleasant as a visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau 2 years ago - that still gives me the shudders. How can people be so evil?

My gf is not happy with the idea of a trip to Hellfire Pass... she thinks the area is too dangerous. Has anyone got any info on potential danger there?

None of my family were in Thailand/Burma in WWII, although an uncle died just before VJ Day. His job was to question Japanese POWs, in the Philippines (I think). One of my schoolteachers had been a POW in the far east. The poor beggar never recovered and was a permanent wreck, nerves shot to hell.

I've heard that Kanchanaburi is 100% safe. I've heard that casual tourists like the place; I've heard that serious tourists dislike the rank over-commercialization of it all. Take your pick.

I did a marketing trip to Poland many years ago before I moved to Thailand. I went to Warsaw and Krakow (spelling), but I couldn't bring myself to go Auschwitz.

How can people be so evil?

You said it. You really said it. But it's nothing new. We've been slaughtering each other for centuries.

Edited October 11, 2012 by RomanGladiator

[Rob8891]

Thx.... You hit Kanch on the head...friendly but overcommecialised.... still don't know why the gf was so adamant that Hellfire Pass was not safe and did not want to go..... Maybe I'll start a thread "Why does my gf not want to go to Kanchanaburi....."

Sorry, OP...off topic again!!

Edited October 11, 2012 by Rob8891

[billd766]

Donald Pleasance was in the film The Great Escape.

From Wikipedia

During World War II Pleasence was initially a conscientious objector, but later changed his stance and was commissioned into the Royal Air Force, serving with 166 Squadron, RAF Bomber Command. His Avro Lancaster was shot down on 31 August 1944, during a raid on Agenville

He was taken prisoner and placed in a German prisoner-of-war camp, where he produced and acted in plays. He would later play Flight Lieutenant Colin Blythe in The Great Escape where much of the story takes place inside a German POW camp.