Railway of Hell: A Japanese POW's Account of War, Capture and Forced Labour [Hardcover]

Reginald Burton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2002

A young captain in the Royal Norfolk Regiment, Reggie Burton was wounded in the closing stages of the disastrous defense of Malaya and Singapore. He vividly, yet calmly and with great dignity, describes the horror of captivity at the hands of the Japanese. After initial confusion, the true nature of their captors emerged as, increasingly debilitated, the POWs were forced into backbreaking work. This was only a taste of what was to come. Following a horrific journey in overcrowded cattle trucks, Burton and his dwindling band of colleagues were put to work building the notorious Burma Railway. Somehow he survived to tell this moving and shocking story.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Pen and Sword (July 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0850528720
• ISBN-13: 978-0850528725
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,454,958 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Railway of Hell, November 2, 2010

By 

Ange Jeynes - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Railway of Hell: A Japanese POW's Account of War, Capture and Forced Labour (Hardcover)

A gripping account of one man's ordeal as a prisoner of the Japanese in the Second World War. The atrocities committed against the allied prisoners of war by the Japanese has not been, in my opinion, properly documented in history books. It is only when you read these personal accounts do you get a true understanding of the horrific conditions these POWs were held under. Until I began reading I had a sanitised view of what it may have been like for these men who were forced to build a railway under the most traumatic and soul-destroying conditions. The strength each and every one of the prisoners-of-war showed is almost non-existent in today's society. The majority of men and women today would have given in and succumbed to their illnesses, abuse, and torture if they were submitted to the same conditions. I thoroughly recommend this book to all those interested in the true stories of our allied soldiers that had the misfortune to end up a prisoner of a hard and brutal regime. May we never see the likes of this again. My grandfather was one of the unlucky ones that never went home and it is only through these true accounts that I can get some idea of the horror to which he was subjected to. May we never forget the sacrifices our servicemen and women have given so we may have the freedom which we often take for granted.