Suzy Henderson

Follow the link for a post on the inspirational Bert Stiles, B-17 pilot who served in WW2. https://suzyhenderson.wordpress.com/2016/08/27/the-unpredictable-writing-journey/

On VE day in May 1945, while the nation celebrated and partied, British and Commonwealth Armed Forces continued to fight in Burma, Singapore and Thailand. Japan had yet to surrender. It was a bloodied, ferocious few months, which finally came to an end following the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August. Images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons: POW camps, & work on the Death Railway The British Forces over there had been stuck for three solid years, as even on a three day leave, it was simply too far to come home. They would only see their homes once victory in Japan was achieved.  There were around 300,000 Allied POWs in Japanese camps, and of these only 200,000 would survive. Life in those camps was extremely harsh with torture and executions being commonplace. Their rations were extreme too, with many surviving on meagre amounts of boiled rice and river water. As a result, disease was rife - beriberi, dysentery and malaria were common. Many,