26th February
Everyone's heard of or seen the film. So it was exciting, but also poignant, to visit the real Bridge over the real river Kwai built by Asian labourers and Japanese prisoners of war, during World War 2.
The film is a fictional story, but based on truth, and was filmed in Kitulgala, Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) along the Kelani river rather than in Thailand. The production built a massive temporary wooden bridge, for the film, and the concrete foundations can still be seen today. So if you want to visit the film set you need to go to Sri Lanka. (The Dutch man on my trip was confused as to why the bridge wasn't wooden, like in the film.)
History
Perfidy:
Wooden, trestle bridges were built along the railway, like in the film
Prisoners forced to March through the jungle
But the real story happened here.
I took a trip, through 'Get your Guide' and we were picked up early, at 6 am, in order to get to the Kwai river, which is 130 km west of Bangkok. We visited the bridge first and were able to walk over it.
These are original sleepers fron WW2 and the rounded sections of the bridge are also the original.
After entering the Second World War in December 1941, Japanese forces quickly overran most of South East Asia.
In 1942, in order to find a shorter and more secure line of supply between Burma (now Myanmar) and Siam (now Thailand), the Japanese decided to use prisoners of war and civilian labour to build a single line railway to link existing railheads at Thanbyuzayat in the west and Ban Pong in the east.
Two forces, one based 10 Siam and one in Burma, worked from opposite ends of the line, meeting at Konkuita in October 1943. The project cost the lives of approximately 15,000 prisoners of war and 100,000 civilians as a result of sickness, malnutrition, exhaustion and mistreatment.
Some statistics on this plaque near the river.
After visiting the bridge we went to the museum - called 'The Death Railway Museum'
This was really interesting. We were a bit rushed, to be honest, as I could have spent more time reading and looking at the exhibits.
Japanese expansion:
Clip from museum video:
Some of the POWs were given the impression that conditions at the camps were good:
Most of the groups leaving Changi had been told by the Japanese that they were going to areas where conditions were better then those existing in Singapore.
With the early groups the fact that this was not so had little bearing on the eventual fate of the prisoners selected for these groups.
However by the time 'F Force (a group of 3,660 Australians and 3,340 Bitish PoWs) was being formed in April 1943 very few fit men remained in Changi.
This was not considered to be a major problem since the PoW Command was assured by the Japanese that
1. The climate of the new location would be similar to that of Singapore.
2. The force would be distributed over 7 camps each of 1,000 men All camps would be in pleasant and healthy surroundings.
3. Sufficient medical personnel to staff a 300-bed hospital could be included.
4. As many blankets and mosquito nets as possible were to be taken by individuals and more of these items would be issued after arrival.
5. A band would accompany each group of 1,000 men.
6. Canteens would be established within 3 weeks of the concentration of the men at their destination.
7. No restriction would be placed on the amount of personal equipment to be taken. Officers could take their trunks and valises.
8. Tools and cooking gear to maintain the Force were to be taken. This included an electric generating set for the hospital and Force Headquarters.
9. Transport would be available for the cartage of heavy personal equipment, camp and medical store and unfit men.
10. There would be no long marches.
The reality was very different...........
Reality:
The hopes and aspirations of the men selected for work parties leaving Singapore were quickly dashed - almost as soon as they left they were forced into steel railway boxcars or confined in tiered layers in ship's holds.
Those who travelled to Thailand by train were crammed-28 to a closed freight wagon approximately seven metres long.
As well as the men themselves there was their personal equipment, a share of the group's community gear and Japanese equipment.
For the four days and nights of the dreadful trip to Thailand it was impossible for anyone to lie down completely to sleep.
With the only ventilation coming from the single sliding door the days were spent in oven like agony, broken only by the occasional stop when the locomotives required fuel or water.
The nights, by contrast, were very cold.
As well-as these extreme conditions the Japanese provided very little food and water throughout the trip north. Some groups going for more than 40 hours without-a meal.
Then on arrival at Ban Pong the harsh reality of conditions in Thailand was driven home. Those who arrived during the dry season of 1942 - 1943 were greeted by a dust bowl.
These were the more fortunate, since those who arrived during the rains marched into a swamp of black mud and waste from overflowing latrines.
Once at the camps they were set to work
Brutality
The fact that extreme brutality occurred on the railway is well documented - the files of the War Crimes Tribunals describe many
cases. What are less well documented are the reasons and causes of this brutality.
The engineers were professional, mainly educated, soldiers who would tolerate no interference to their building the railway.
During the early months of railway construction there was little pressure on the engineers from higher command so they, as a group, applied little pressure to the labour force. Individuals did carry out acts of brutality but these were largely just single acts carried out by individuals. The reasons could be one of many; disobeying or misunderstanding an order, breaking the Japanese imposed rules, the particular Japanese suffering 'loss of face ' for whatever reason or simply that he was in a bad mood.
As the pressure to complete the railway increased there was a corresponding increase in the brutality inflicted.
Much the of this engineers brutality was of a group nature the engineers collectively forcing the entire workforce to greater productivity.
It is important to understand that no nation uses its most intelligent and best troops to guard prisoners.
Many of the guards were Japanese considered unsuitable or unworthy for combat, or Koreans drafted into the Japanese Army as auxiliaries.
With much of the discipline within the Japanese military being maintained by physical punishment (any rank could inflict corporal punishment on a lower rank) and with the Koreans at the bottom of the ladder it is not surprising that many ot the Koreans took out their frustrations and rage on the POWs and Asian workers.
Adding to the fear of possible brutality was the unpredictability and inconsistency of the Japanese and Koreans behaviour. What could
elicit no response one moment could result in a terible beating the next.
Poor conditions:
Prisoners possessions & ingenuity
The end of the war
Many of the Japanese were later charged with war crimes.
Our next stop was the Kanchanaburi war cemetery.
This cemetery, the largest of three on the Burma-Siam Railway, is located near the site of the former "Kanburi" Prisoner of War Base Camp through which most prisoners passed on their way to other camps.
The cemetery, designed by Colin St Clair Oakes, was created after the war by the Army Graves Service who transferred graves into it from camp burial grounds and solitary sites all along the southern half of the railway and from other sites in Thailand.
More than 5.000 Commonwealth and 1,800 Dutch casualties are commemorated in the cemetery, including some 300 men who died of sickness at Nicke and Changaraya and who were cremated. Their ashes are buried in two graves in the cemetery and their names appear on panels in the shelter building.
It is always sad to walk through a war cemetery, especially when you see the names of so many young men, not unlike my own boy.
After this we went to ride a train along the railway - the train was delayed by 52 minutes but we didn't mind waiting.
Our tour guide - rushing us on to get seats. It was busy so we were lucky.
The train is quite old with wooden seats
It was an enjoyable experience but also important to remember the poor men who died. I had mixed feelings.
We got to ride over the Kwai river bridge
Then an hour's journey through rice and crop fields with the mountains in the distance.
Ending with the section they call the 'Death Railway Section' - a 400m stretch between the steep mountain rock & the Kwai river - an extremely difficult place to build. The men had to hang over on ropes. It took only 17 days to complete.
We got off here and went for lunch.
It was a beautiful view
It wasn't part of the plan but I asked the guide if we could walk over to the 'Death section' which some of us did.
There were only six of us on our trip. A couple from Poland, a couple from Holland, me and an Indian lady from Bangladesh - and boy, was she a Princess! - it was funny.
She complained all day. First, that we didn't get breakfast (it wasn't part of the itinerary), then ' the guide was not giving us enough information'
At lunch, she refused to sit at the balcony with the lovely view - she needed to be near the fan - and the lunch wasn't good enough - she couldn't eat any of it.
To be fair - it wasn't the best - a bit dry - but the experience of the day made up for these small things.
Later, back in Bangkok, I caught up with Mon & we went for tea again & chatted.
Then another early-ish night. It rained again, quite heavily, for about half an hour.
Some picks of the street at night:
