Ebook: Surviving the Death Railway: A PoW's Memoir and Letters from Home

The ordeals of the POWs put to slave labour by their Japanese masters on the Burma Railway have been well documented yet never cease to shock. It is impossible not to be horrified and moved by their stoic courage in the face of inhuman brutality, appalling hardship and ever-present death.While Barry Custance Baker was enduring his 1000 days of captivity, his young wife Phyllis was attempting to correspond with him and the families of Barrys unit. Fortunately these moving letters have been preserved and appear, edited by their daughter Hilary, in this book along with Barrys graphic memoir written after the War. Surviving the Death Railways combination of first-hand account, correspondence and comment provide a unique insight into the long nightmare experienced by those in the Far East and at home. The result is a powerful and inspiring account of one of the most shameful chapters in the history of mankind which makes for compelling reading.;Title Page; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Acknowledgements; Notes to Reader; Preface; Timeline; Family Tree; Maps; Part One: Barry, Phyllis and 27 Line Section; Chapter 1: Britain: Spring 1937 to Spring 1941; After the ball, Barry and Phyllis; Honeymoon and war; 27 Line Section created; Part Two: 6,000 Miles East; Chapter 2: Britain to Malaya: July to December 1941; Dancing on the docks; Singapore and all's well; Wires across the jungle; First casualty; Chapter 3: Britain: Late 1941; Phyllis in the White House; Chapter 4: Malaya: December 1941; Japan and the UK at war.