River Kwai survivor Fred Seiker, dies at 101

[Boycie]

May he RIP. Lest we forget.

 

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/war-veteran-captured-japanese-forced-10572894

[colinneil]

R.I.P. sir, lest we forget.

 

 

[Rhys]

Indeed RIP soldier, lest we forget, NEVER...

[KhunAussie52]

RIP........Lest we forget!!!

[sanukjim]

Expats living in Thailand should go to Khanchanaburi on Remembrance day November 11,at least once in their stay here.You wont regret it and you wont forget it.Especially if you are          Australian,American,Dutch and English.

[Gandtee]

Rest in peace Boycie.

[Rickyoz]

50 minutes ago, sanukjim said:

Expats living in Thailand should go to Khanchanaburi on Remembrance day November 11,at least once in their stay here.You wont regret it and you wont forget it.Especially if you are          Australian,American,Dutch and English.

Likewise, Aussies should go to Hellfire Pass on Anzac Day, 25th April, Dawn service is very moving, also unforgettable. then later at the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery for the morning service. When I was there 3 years ago, there were a lot of young people, great to see them there.

[bazza73]

RIP. What a wonderful innings.

[UnkleMoooose]

1 hour ago, Gandtee said:

Rest in peace Boycie.

It may come as something of a surprise to Boycie to find out that he's dead.

Edited June 8, 2017 by UnkleMoooose

[Khon Kaen Dave]

2 hours ago, sanukjim said:

Expats living in Thailand should go to Khanchanaburi on Remembrance day November 11,at least once in their stay here.You wont regret it and you wont forget it.Especially if you are          Australian,American,Dutch and English.

Been there many times. It breaks my heart when i go to the cemetery and see all the white graves of those boys that died. What made me angry that that the book for locating the grave of a family member was held in a brass cupboard in one of  the column's of the gateway . It was available to the public visiting. I went to look for it, but there was a note saying that the book had been returned to the war commissions in the UK, due to graffiti and insulting remarks that had been written in it.Is there nothing sacred?

We beat the bastards, boy's. RIP, never forgotten.

 

 

[Khon Kaen Dave]

2 hours ago, sanukjim said:

Expats living in Thailand should go to Khanchanaburi on Remembrance day November 11,at least once in their stay here.You wont regret it and you wont forget it.Especially if you are          Australian,American,Dutch and English.

I know that it isn't easy to remember all nations, but there were Canadians there too.

[Khon Kaen Dave]

1 hour ago, Rickyoz said:

Likewise, Aussies should go to Hellfire Pass on Anzac Day, 25th April, Dawn service is very moving, also unforgettable. then later at the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery for the morning service. When I was there 3 years ago, there were a lot of young people, great to see them there.

I made the mistake of going into the Japanese war museum there. There was a warning outside. I came out of there, promising never to buy anything Japanese again.I know time passes and in time people forgive and forget, Extemely shown in the film 'The Railway man', with Colin Firth.But i cant understand why Hirohito was never tried as a criminal( the Americans said that it would cause uprisings and would hinder their works in trying to put the country back together again)Nor do i understand That Prince Phillip shook hands with him.He never apologised either. But i expect that Gods dont have to say sorry.

[Petmag]

R.I.P ...Lest we forget..

[Boycie]

Newspaper article from October 2014

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/11167561/Scars-of-the-Burma-railway-trauma-that-never-healed.html

 

[off road pat]

R.I.P. You made it to 101, lots of you're fellow soldiers didn't make half of that.....good for you ! you deserved a rest ! respect !

[IMA_FARANG]

While the work camps definitely existed I challenge you to show where the River Kwai actually was. 

In fact it was not named the River Kwai until well after the war when the movie became popular.

Check your history, and you will learn that the book that was the basis of the story of the movie, "The Bridge on the River Kwai" was actually written by a French man, and it actually referred to another bridge on the Japanese death railway north of the one tourists now  visit, which was a product of the Thai government"s renaming of the local river  at the time the movie became a hit  for tourist purposes.

In this case Fiction became fact for the  tourists money.

 

[colinneil]

18 minutes ago, IMA_FARANG said:

While the work camps definitely existed I challenge you to show where the River Kwai actually was. 

In fact it was not named the River Kwai until well after the war when the movie became popular.

Check your history, and you will learn that the book that was the basis of the story of the movie, "The Bridge on the River Kwai" was actually written by a French man, and it actually referred to another bridge on the Japanese death railway north of the one tourists now  visit, which was a product of the Thai government"s renaming of the local river  at the time the movie became a hit  for tourist purposes.

In this case Fiction became fact for the  tourists money.

 

Yes thank you for your history lesson, you have enlightened us about some facts most of us didnt know.

Sorry this thread is about a poor man who went through hell, something we can only imagine.

Please stay on topic.

[Khon Kaen Dave]

2 minutes ago, colinneil said:

Yes thank you for your history lesson, you have enlightened us about some facts most of us didnt know.

Sorry this thread is about a poor man who went through hell, something we can only imagine.

Please stay on topic.

Ahhh, Hollywood,is there no end to their greed for box office takings and totally f#####g up the truth?

[Boycie]

Apologies IMA_FARANG i should of known better than to put River Kwai in the topic title, i thought someone might comment on my spelling.  Mods please feel free to change topic title to 'Thai-Burma Death Railway survivor Fred Seiker, dies aged 101'.

 

I'll leave to Sir Rod Beattie to do the history lessons

 

[electric]

41 minutes ago, Khon Kaen Dave said:

Ahhh, Hollywood,is there no end to their greed for box office takings and totally f#####g up the truth?

 

That may be so .... but it never pretended to be a true story. It just utilised a brutal storyline from the then, very recent past. The movie was a huge success, and bought the worlds attention to a little known piece of horror that occurred in the jungles of Thailand and Burma. Let's be honest .... most of us are only aware of the Death Railway story initially because of our association with seeing the movie.

 

I've read many many books published shortly after WW2, written by Thai-Burma railway POW's with vivid fresh memories. Unfortunately I've not yet read Mr Seiker's book.

 

These guys went through hell, treated worse than animals, and when you ride the railway nowdays, you really need a very vivid imagination to comprehend what guys like Mr Seiker must have gone through.

 

He was certainly very fortunate to survive the ordeal and live a long and full life. RIP sir.

 

[Khon Kaen Dave]

2 hours ago, electric said:

 

That may be so .... but it never pretended to be a true story. It just utilised a brutal storyline from the then, very recent past. The movie was a huge success, and bought the worlds attention to a little known piece of horror that occurred in the jungles of Thailand and Burma. Let's be honest .... most of us are only aware of the Death Railway story initially because of our association with seeing the movie.

 

I've read many many books published shortly after WW2, written by Thai-Burma railway POW's with vivid fresh memories. Unfortunately I've not yet read Mr Seiker's book.

 

These guys went through hell, treated worse than animals, and when you ride the railway nowdays, you really need a very vivid imagination to comprehend what guys like Mr Seiker must have gone through.

 

He was certainly very fortunate to survive the ordeal and live a long and full life. RIP sir.

 

Yes, but those who dont read, run away with the idea that what they see is true.As a kid(and i know this is pure fiction) I ead Stoker's Dracula. When i saw what Hammer Horror did to the novel, i was so dissapointed, until Oldman, made the char actor his own.The same with Shelly's Frankenstein.Its like when you see films about the British and how we colonised 1/3 of the world. When you read 'The decline and fall of the British Empire, you realise what A,Holes we were.

[The Dark Lord]

14 hours ago, Khon Kaen Dave said:

Yes, but those who dont read, run away with the idea that what they see is true.As a kid(and i know this is pure fiction) I ead Stoker's Dracula. When i saw what Hammer Horror did to the novel, i was so dissapointed, until Oldman, made the char actor his own.The same with Shelly's Frankenstein.Its like when you see films about the British and how we colonised 1/3 of the world. When you read 'The decline and fall of the British Empire, you realise what A,Holes we were.

Harsh but probably true!

[off road pat]

21 hours ago, IMA_FARANG said:

While the work camps definitely existed I challenge you to show where the River Kwai actually was. 

In fact it was not named the River Kwai until well after the war when the movie became popular.

Check your history, and you will learn that the book that was the basis of the story of the movie, "The Bridge on the River Kwai" was actually written by a French man, and it actually referred to another bridge on the Japanese death railway north of the one tourists now  visit, which was a product of the Thai government"s renaming of the local river  at the time the movie became a hit  for tourist purposes.

In this case Fiction became fact for the  tourists money.

 

THX for the information ! interesting !

[geriatrickid]

On 6/7/2017 at 11:16 PM, sanukjim said:

Expats living in Thailand should go to Khanchanaburi on Remembrance day November 11,at least once in their stay here.You wont regret it and you wont forget it.Especially if you are          Australian,American,Dutch and English.

Sorry, but I sort of regret visiting because I felt I contributed to the commercialization of a sacred place. The though of people making money off of me as I came to   pay my respects, gnawed at me. All along the route up to Hell's Pass,  the disrespect I saw for the  area was upsetting . If I went into a Thai cemetery and behaved as the asian tourists do, I would be arrested. I was aghast at the Thais posing for selfies etc. in some places. 

The  Commonwealth  War Graves Commission  has done a wonderful job in funding and caring for the war dead, but it just irked me  to see the souvenir shops, vendors, ignorant tourists etc. treating  the area as a fun fair. I found the he behavior of many of the Japanese tourists offensive .People criticize the French for many things, but the historic war memorials and graves from WWI & II in France are respected and the locals behave accordingly.  I know, this reads like an old fart rant, but what I am trying to say is that I wish the Thais  were more respectful of the people who died  ensuring that Thailand did not  become a slave colony/vassal state of Japan as did Manchuria and Korea. Sorry for hijacking the thread.

 

[Golden Triangle]

RIP Mr  Fred Seiker, you did your bit sir and I'm so happy that you were rewarded with 101 years for your effort.

 

I have been to Kanchanaburi many times, I have visited the Death Railway museum, both the cemeteries and Hell Fire Pass. Everytime I visit the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I also know that the bridge is not the one featured in the film, but I'm sure that all those that do visit have the best interests at heart.

 

I have to agree with previous posters, geriatrickid comes to mind when he/she slates the Japanese visitors for their irreverence, also the Thais, I have seen them there with there girlfriends posing in a provocative manner unbecoming to the nature of the place.

 

If God spares me I will be there in November for Remembrance day which I think is going to be rather special as it is hoped that No. 2 Company Irish Guards with their Pipes & Drums will be on parade  in full regalia.

 

So come along and make 2017 extra special.

 

See you their, and Fred we will salute you.

 

 

 

[Thongkorn]

Utmost respect Sir. and all the other Men who suffered for Our freedom.

 

Thanks for your effort in providing me and my family with freedom ,  

As many people know,  how the hell did they work in that heat.

How the hell did they work so many hours with littel or no food, 

How did they put up with the brutality for so long and survive,

 

Rest in peace .

[BLACKJACK2]

On 6/10/2017 at 4:24 AM, geriatrickid said:

Sorry, but I sort of regret visiting because I felt I contributed to the commercialization of a sacred place. The though of people making money off of me as I came to   pay my respects, gnawed at me. All along the route up to Hell's Pass,  the disrespect I saw for the  area was upsetting . If I went into a Thai cemetery and behaved as the asian tourists do, I would be arrested. I was aghast at the Thais posing for selfies etc. in some places. 

The  Commonwealth  War Graves Commission  has done a wonderful job in funding and caring for the war dead, but it just irked me  to see the souvenir shops, vendors, ignorant tourists etc. treating  the area as a fun fair. I found the he behavior of many of the Japanese tourists offensive .People criticize the French for many things, but the historic war memorials and graves from WWI & II in France are respected and the locals behave accordingly.  I know, this reads like an old fart rant, but what I am trying to say is that I wish the Thais  were more respectful of the people who died  ensuring that Thailand did not  become a slave colony/vassal state of Japan as did Manchuria and Korea. Sorry for hijacking the thread.

 

 

I felt exactly the same way when i was at Hellfire pass for the Anzac day dawn service, the tourists (mainly western) treating it like a sideshow, it was disgusting.