16 October 2025 19:30
Kevin Patience - “The True Story of The Bridge on the River Kwai”
The Talk: In 1942 following the invasion of Malaya and annexation of Siam (now Thailand) and the fall of Singapore the Japanese turned their attention to the invasion of Burma and ultimately India, the Jewel in the British Crown. Japanese ships began the long voyage from Japan to Rangoon via the west coast of Malaya, but attacks by allied submarines were causing concern with ship losses. It was decided to build a 240 mile long railway linking the Burma to Siam railways across mountainous jungle terrain in a year beginning in June 1942. The work force comprised Japanese troops, allied prisoners of war from Singapore and thousands of locally recruited natives. The construction of the line was completed on 23 October 1943 with a horrifying death toll of prisoners and natives and became known as the Death Railway. Designed to carry around three thousand tons of freight per day it only managed a thousand. The invasion of Burma continued culminating in a battle at Kohima where the tide of war changed against the Japanese. The railway was bombed by the USAF and RAF and the line closed in 1944 followed by the end of the war in the Far East in August 1945.
Author / historian Kevin Patience tells the story of the film and the railway having travelled extensively in the region researching material on the Death Railway and the Fall of Singapore for a military journal. His contacts with ex Prisoners of War helped recount the horrific experiences of their three year captivity in the hands of the Japanese during World War II, and discusses the difference between the 1957 film and WW2 reality and what is left to see today.
About the Speaker: Kevin is a well travelled experienced speaker with a number of fascinating illustrated talks in a power point format.
Tickets: Entry is free but we rely totally on donations to cover our costs! - Hall, speaker, drink etc. We suggest £5 per person - or whatever you can afford. You do not need to book to attend, but it would help us if you did (i.e. hall preparation and refreshments etc.).
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