British POW Eric Lomax had a life-long fascination with trains and railways. As a boy he spent his holidays trying to spot rare locomotives near his home in Edinburgh, Scotland.
In JAN 1945, he prisoners in the Kanchanaburi camp where Lomax is being held build a secret radio receiver, which is discovered by the prison authorities. Lomax and several other prisoners are severely beaten, and two of them die from their injuries. Later, when guards discover Lomax has drawn a detailed map of the Siam-Burma railroad, which the prisoners are being forced to help build, he endures intense questioning and torture, including being waterboarded. He and the others are found guilty of anti-Japanese activity and are sent to a harsher prison, where they are starved nearly to death.
He told his story of his love of trains and the conflict with the real life Takashi Nagase who in his role as an interpreter took part in if not perpetrated Lomax’ torture. That book was made into a movie starring Colin Firth in 2013.
At the time of Lomax’ initial arrest, he relates that 2 other POWs (likely British) as a result of the initial beatings they all received, but he does not name them.
We do know, however that two of the US POWs at that same camp were swept up in these same raids by the Japanese Secret Police, the Kempe Tai.
One of these was the Executive Officer (#2 in the command line) of the 2/131 MAJ Winthrop “Windy” Rogers and a survivor of the USS Houston, Seaman 1c Melford Forsman. Both were tried and convicted. Rogers was sent to the civilian jail in Bangkok while Forsman spent six months at the Outrum Road Jail in Singapore.
| 3213085 | SM1c | FORSMAN MELFRED LAVERNE “Gus” |
In January 1945 while working as a goat herder at the Kanchanaburi POW camp, he was approached by a Portuguese doctor in the underground who was asking for information about the camp.
After being given permission by Captain W.D. Parker and Major W.M. Rogers he carried news of the camp to the doctor and began smuggling in newspapers, which contained war news, as well as medications into the camp in a hollowed out bamboo pole. His smuggling activities were discovered by the Japanese Kempe Tai (secret police) and he was arrested along with Major Rogers and Captain Parker. He was sent to Bangkok to appear before a Japanese military trial and was sentenced to 6 years solitary confinement. He was taken to Outrum Road Jail and for the next 6 months was held in solitary confinement in a 10 x 4 foot cell.
| O-266339 | MAJ | ROGERS Winthrop Hammond “Windy” |
MAJ Winthrop Rogers’ most prominent mention comes in Eric Lomax’s book, The Railway Man, where he is described as one of the group who were arrested by the Kempe Tai when a radio was found in the quarters where he was assigned. He was tortured, courts marshaled and sentenced to life imprisonment by the IJA. He was liberated from the Bangkok Jail where he was serving that sentence.
MAY 2025 Update:
I have been able to verify that British Lieutenants STANLEY RHODES ARMITAGE and JACK DREW HAWLEY were the two POWs who were beaten to death soon after their arrest along with Lt. Lomax. Neither of their remains were recovered and they are memorialized on the Singapore Memorial tablets.