It is with regret that due to the comparatively high infection rates and the resulting uncertainties, we have reached the decision that we are unable to stage the conference, originally planned for 2020, in 2022.
We have explored the potential for running an online conference, but have concluded that whilst technically this may be possible, we would lose many of the benefits of hosting the conference. We know from the feedback that we have had from our delegates over the past 15 years that we have been organising conferences, that the strength in what we do is to bring like-minded people together to meet others with similar (or not) research interests. Delegates are used to open access to the range of experts who agree to share their knowledge at the conferences, all within a convivial social setting. We simply cannot replicate this aspect of the conference virtually for our community.
The good news is that the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) have agreed to us deferring the conference until June 2023. This means that it would fall within the school’s 125th anniversary year. This would inevitably help us to reach a wider audience than previously. We will let you know in due course how to register your interest for this event.
We may need to make some alterations to the original proposed conference programme to reflect any changes to speakers and any travel restrictions that we may need to consider. We also hope to be able to accept contributions from remote speakers via online platforms. We would like to hear from anyone who has any ideas for potential topics, either new or revisited, for the programme. We have also previously had some interest in the possibility of us holding a smaller online event during the coming year. If there is sufficient interest, we would like to hear from those of you who would like to join an event like this remotely later in 2021. Please click hereto share your thoughts on this.
We thank you for your continued interest and also your patience during these challenging times.
Best wishes,
Martin Percival, Chair of the Researching FEPOW History Group
I have worked at the Lancashire Infantry Museum in Preston for 15 years. The Museum houses a wonderful collection, full of interesting objects and archival material; from an account describing the Peninsular Wars and Waterloo to letters back home from the Front during WW1, we hold everything that you can think of.
My favourite collection, without a doubt, is that of the 2nd Battalion, The Loyal Regiment dating from WW2. The Battalion was present at Singapore on the 15th February 1942 when the island fell to the Japanese. Over three years of incarceration began, first of all at Changi prisoner of war camp and then later on (for the majority of the Battalion) in Keijo, Korea.
I first ‘discovered’ the collection when I came across a bound ‘book’ called “Nor Iron Bars”. Looking inside, the ‘book’ was remarkable. It was full of magazines compiled by the Battalion’s Officers whilst being held as POWs. Written on any scrap of paper they could find, mainly old Naval message pads and paper from Red Cross parcels, a series of magazines were produced containing humorous drawings, poems, educational lectures and essays about the Officer’s situation. Photographs were also attached including ones of the men erecting defenses on Singapore before the Japanese invaded and also photographs of activities within the camp in Keijo itself. These included photographs of camp shows, the vegetable patch and the funeral of a POW attended by Japanese Officials.
I found these photographs quite extraordinary and at odds to what I knew about other Japanese POW camps. These photographs of men from the Battalion seeming to enjoy themselves were so different to what I had read about the men from 18th Recce (previously the 5th Battalion, The Loyal Regiment) and their experience as POWs on the Thai-Burma Railway. Further digging about the camp at Keijo was required and, after seeing those photographs it was no surprise to find that the Japanese treated Keijo as a ‘show camp’. A camp that would be held up as a beacon of good treatment.
The fact that Keijo was a ‘show camp’ should not distract from the harsh conditions that 2 Loyals lived under. Second Lieutenant Pigott was caught exchanging an old shirt with a Korean for a small loaf of bread. His punishment was to spend the remainder of his time as a POW in the civil prison, without heating and in winter, a nightly 40 degrees of frost. Near the end Lieutenant Piggot re-joined the camp, but only lasted a few days. He died on the 29th August 1945.
The danger of being caught with the magazine was summed up by Brigadier Elrington ‘If they were caught with the magazine their punishment would have been terrible. Production of it was punishable by torture and death’ – ‘ these pages were surreptitiously produced, passed from hand to hand and eventually smuggled out of captivity, in spite of the grave risks involved; indeed this constant fear of secrecy added spice to our enjoyment and each successive edition of Nor Iron Bars gave a fresh fillip to our morale.’
For the duration of the war the copies of the magazines were kept in a safe place, hidden from the view of the camp guards. In 1947 the magazines were bound together and presented as an album to the museum where it is on display now.
Photo courtesy of the Lancashire Infantry Museum
Photo courtesy of the Lancashire Infantry Museum
Photo courtesy of the Lancashire Infantry Museum
Photo courtesy of the Lancashire Infantry Museum
Photo courtesy of the Lancashire Infantry Museum
Photo courtesy of the Lancashire Infantry Museum
Nor Iron Bars
Remembering captivity across Southeast Asia and the Far East during the Second World War
RFHG 