Newsletter May Please find below some recent topics, developments and experiences of Death Railway Tours.

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1 Newsletter May 2016 Hello fellow travellers, Please find below some recent topics, developments and experiences of Death Railway Tours. April Tour 2016 A fantastic tour that covered a lot of ground including ANZAC Day in Hellfire Pass. We stay near Hintok River Camp that enables an easy trek down the road to the Cutting. Tours of the past we have stayed at the Felix and had to drive an hour up the road and then back again for the service at Kanchanaburi staying local was a good addition to the itinerary and saves time and a 3AM departure. Still an early rise but not too crazy we started this Dawn Service by leaving at 0445 hours. We even bumped into a Thai Army General who was staying at the resort in the morning (prior to the Dawn Service) who had a chat with us. Scott Campbell and the Thai General. Plenty of places to visit in Thailand we combined some touristy sites together with the railway story; started at the Cabbages and Condoms Restaurant in Bangkok to the Grand Palace and up to the Railway as far north as Hintok Mountain Camp and a lot in between. We read a few poems in the war cemeteries two that I have penned and one in Chungkai from a brother of one of the lads who is buried there. The younger brother Death Railway Tours

2 died at 22 years of age of diphtheria on the railway his older brother was an ExPOW who survived the coal mines of Japan the latter lived into his 80 s. Our group just after the Dawn Service at Hellfire Pass (Hintok End) behind a Trestle Bridge site. New Additions Several new additions to the April tour which included the following: River Kwai Jungle Rafts a stay in the floating hotel on the Kwai Noi River established in it s a great place to finish in the area situated between two National Parks and in the heart of railway territory. Peechmanekan Resort is our stay prior to ANZAC Day as Hellfire Pass is just down the road. Clean and well-appointed rooms our view from the window was of the Kwai Noi River and Hintok River Camp. A cold Chang beer and gaze along the river was relaxing. Other Developments Visit to Thakhanun Embankment. Prior to the tour commencing, my wife and I located the 2m embankment at Thakhanun near the current day village and golden Buddhas highway 323 turns at this point. The section of embankment was still in good nick, it wasn t a thoroughfare for locals due to the presence of bamboo, vines and leaf litter. Thakhanun is about 65kms north of Hellfire Pass and 218 kms from Non Pladuk (the starting point of the railway in Thailand). Death Railway Tours

3 Here we are standing on the embankment (photo doesn t do it justice) Visit to Kinsaiyok POW Camp. Also pre-tour we visited the Kinsaiyok POW Camp that was situated near the present day waterfall of Sai Yok Yai. We had to pay THB630 to enter the National Park but I thought the visit warranted the entry fee to see the two sites we were coming to view if I was coming to see the waterfall alone I would have wanted a refund. We located the former massive site of the Three Tier Bridge and gazed at the canyon where the wooden bridge would have soared. Still evident on the lip of the bridge abutment were steel pegs that secured the bridge to the bank. Near the lip of the bridge bank the canyon to my left. Death Railway Tours

4 On the way was the former Japanese Cook House complete with some brick cooking stoves (picture to the right). We saw a bright green tree snake near here and kept a wide berth. At its height there was around 1,500 POWs here; with around 487 Australians. A loop line existed here so trains could pass each other heading north and south. A coal dump and water pipe was also present. Part of K and L Forces established a Coolie Hospital here as the impressed Asian labourers were dying in large numbers. Boon Pong also traded in this camp that is set right next to the Kwai Noi River a Suspension Bridge now exists near the waterfall. Weary Dunlop said of Kinsaiyok: Things at Kinsaiyok are very much at sixes and sevens.... Each group looks after its own sick, the hospital being run by a Soviet of captains, but no common policy, no common stores, no arrangements for diets or special segregation of disease.... Sanitation poor, with only one big latrine for all... More latrines are being put down, of the open type unfortunately, though otherwise well made. Flies as usual and an offensive smell. For ablution a little stream pouring down to the river with a walk of 440 yards. This is also, alas, used by numerous Tamils. (The War Diaries of Weary Dunlop, Melbourne, Nelson, 1986) Photo with Neil McPhereson in Hellfire Pass. I interviewed ExPOW Private Neil McPhereson about 18 months ago. I got in contact with him and interviewed him all via . It was recently that he learned how to use modern technology and communicate with family and friends. It felt like having a time machine when speaking with Neil via . I asked him a question of a Corporal we visit in Kanchanaburi War Cemetery and if he knew him (served in the same Battalion) he couldn t recall any info of this particular Soldier but it was great to have the opportunity to ask. I met Neil face to the face for the first time at the Dawn Service in Hellfire Pass at almost celebrity status I had to queue to get an audience with him. It was worth the wait. He said this might be his last ANZAC Day in Thailand but according to his daughter, He s been saying that for 8 years. Death Railway Tours

5 Coffee with Rod Beattie at the Thai-Burma Railway Centre. I caught up with Rod and had a coffee with him at the Centre. Always good to catch up with him. I was interested in discussing two topics: a. A PTE George Aspinall (Changi Photographer) display in his museum and b. Identifying the area of Cholera Hill at Songkurai. Many years ago I used some of George s photos in my book; his son got in touch with me and sent me two original photos that his dad had taken with F Force on the Railway in 1943 with his smuggled camera. These photos didn t make it to the Australian War Memorial and were misplaced and later found. I kept them for a while studying them and then donated them to the Centre. Hey Rod, What about a small section with the Aspinall/Camera story, put these two pics on display; with maybe some sort of magnification to enhance the small photos? Rod sounded keen and had some ideas on the subject so hopefully this can be done. One of the pictures George took (that I had) was of Cholera Hill up near the border as Ive studied the picture over a long period of time I want to visit the actual spot where he took it. So we discussed the area and I got him to draw me a mud map. In the next two years I will visit the area and hope to stand in the same spot as George was with his camera will be an adventure and awesome connection with the past. Death Railway Tours

6 With Rod Beattie and Julie McKenzie at the Coffee Shop (2 nd Floor) Thai-Burma Railway Centre over-looking Kanchanaburi War Cemetery. HMS Repulse Sailor. We visit a lad from the Prince of Wales (at Chungkai) and now have added a Sailor who died on the railway from HMS Repulse (sank in the battle of Malaya/Kuantan). He was only 20 years old and died during the Speedo. He is behind PTE Hilton who was executed for fighting with a guard. Burma. Wow what a trip. So much unspoilt railway still exists there. I so wanted to walk about with a metal detector. Julie and I got down to the 55 Kilo Camp (Kohn Kahn) where her dad had his big toe amputated in the POW Death Railway Tours

7 hospital by Sir Albert Coates. Visiting the 50 and 55 Kilo camps was amazing and the journey just to get there all part of the action and adventure. Karen National Union Checkpoint. We had to get special permission and a permit to get there. We then needed another introductory letter signed by a former General of the Karon National Union who is now a Liaison Officer; copies of our passports as well and two cartons of British cigarettes (AUD$10 each). We left a gift of several packets of cigs for the General (who said he was trying to give them up but thought it too late) and via one Checkpoint we left several packs with the former Insurgents. They mentioned that in future they prefer American Cigarettes like Marlboro LOL. The rest of the cigs we didn t need and donated to our driver who resembled the Disney character Kung Fu Panda. Some of the bridge pylons are still there at the 50 and 55 Kilo spots. The sheer size of these pylons would have raised the railway from the swampy ground in the area (helpful during the monsoon) and would have taken maximum effort of man-power and muscle to create. Just lugging the concrete powder and mixing the water would have been labour intensive and taxing for the men the cement was carried in what look like 40kg barrels/kegs. The creation of these pylons was done in monsoonal conditions with starving and sick men. The attention Death Railway Tours

8 to detail is amazing as you can see level on level how the concrete would have been poured secured and shaped with bamboo. It was a 13 hour day heading from Thanbyuzayat down to the 55 Kilo Camp but certainly well worth the visit. We needed a 4WD to get down that far as the road is unsealed and bumpy in areas. Pictured: Bridge Pylon and swampy ground at the 55 Kilo Camp at Kohn Kahn. The Blue Haze. Wow what a book by ExPOW Les Hall on the story of Ramsay, Williams and Green Forces on the Burma end. I have read it once before and was reading it again whilst traveling, finishing it on the flight home. Whilst in Burma we visited of course the Tavoy 8 in Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery - the Australians who escaped where subsequently captured and all eight executed. Whilst reading the book I learned of three other lads who escaped in Burma and we also got to visit and pay respects to them in addition. Julie McKenzie with Lofty Reeve her dad s best mate and one of the Tavoy 8. Julie said her dad gave Lofty some better clothes and boots for the escape and they argued about if he should go. We spoke with the Cemetery Manager who introduced us to two other British lads: Trooper Rostron whose wife sent flowers every year in November up until about November was their wedding anniversary. Maybe she died? Maybe she is in a Nursing Home and unable to organise the flowers anymore? This Trooper was certainly not forgotten by her. Death Railway Tours

9 Able Seaman Forster who served on the Prince of Wales he is one of a few 18 year olds in the cemetery. Taukkyan War Cemetery Burma. We visited many lads in this war cemetery including two RAAF Pilots who died flying their Thunderbolts in One died crashing into a Harvard aircraft on a sortie return. The other shot down by Anti-Aircraft fire and flack in Burma. Death Railway Tours

10 With Flying Officer Cambridge who was shot down by AA Fire in his Thunderbolt. A Victoria Cross Recipient is also in Taukkyan War Cemetery and we got to visit this British man and pay respects. He served with the South Staffordshire Regiment (SSR) and in a combined SSR and Gurka/Chindit operation his group was tasked with establishing a roadblock across Japanese lines of communication. This was achieved and in a Japanese counter attack LT Albert Cairns came face to face with a Japanese Officer wielding a Samurai/Katana Sword. The Japanese Officer hacked off LT Cairns arm; the latter shot dead the Japanese Officer; picked up the sword (with good arm) and continued attacking his enemy. His troops were so inspired and impressed with the LT s action they achieved their mission in routing the Japanese which until that time had dominated the area. That action was on the 12 March 1944; he died a week later of his wounds. Death Railway Tours

11 VC Recipient LT Albert Cairns. On a brighter note - Did you know there was a POW Love Story on the Railway? Hard to believe but according to Hall s book, one Aussie Soldier made a contact outside the camp (for trading purposes) and fell in love with the Trader s Daughter - a local Thai girl in 1945 she became pregnant and he was planning on staying in Thailand indefinitely after the war. He had grown up in boys homes and had no ties back in Australia so was keen to stay. She had supplied much needed medicine (Iodoform liquid) used as a disinfectant and for tropical ulcers later in the war. I wonder if they married? I wonder where they lived and how life turned out for the Australian? I wonder about the child and how he or she grew up? I wonder if he ever came home? Andrew Manager Death Railway Tours Death Railway Tours