RNZAF Pilot on the Death Railway

[rbwannabe]

On a recent trip to Thailand I went up to Kanchanaburi, which is the site of the "bridge over the river Kwai"

The cemetery is contains mostly Australian, American, British and Dutch graves (over 6000!) and few Kiwi's.

The only one I could find was a RNZAF Pilot.

Does anyone have more details on how he managed to find himself and ultimately remain there?

[errolmartyn]

From my trilogy 'For Your Tomorrow - A record of New Zealanders who have died while serving with the RNZAF and Allied Air Services since 1915 (Volume Three: Biographies & Appendices)':
Tue 11 Sep 1945
AIR COMMAND SOUTH-EAST ASIA

Squadron move from Zayatkwin to Singapore via Penang, Malaya
152 Squadron, RAF (Zayatkwin, Burma - 909 Wing, 221 Group, RAF Burma)
Supermarine Spitfire LF.VIII MV142 - took off at 0830 with the Squadron, the aircraft setting out for Penang in loose formation. En route MV142’s pilot reported to his leader by signs that his r/t had become unserviceable. Later he began to lag behind and fall away from the formation, his absence going unnoticed by the others. As the formation flew over Thailand a British Army Air Corps captain in a prisoner of war camp at Prachuap Khiri Khan, about 150 miles SSE of Bangkok, saw the Spitfire fall out of control at 1115. The pilot baled out but his parachute rigging lines caught on the tail. He was carried down with the aircraft and died instantly when it crashed in the jungle 5 miles from the camp. His body was buried in the camp’s cemetery that evening, but later reinterred at Kanchanaburi, Thailand.
Pilot: NZ425493 Plt Off Donald Sidney ANDERSON, RNZAF - Age 23. 531hrs. 60+ ops.

One other New Zealander also buried there (from my Vol One: Fates 1915-1942):

Sat 24/Sun 25 Jan 1942
India Command
Raid on Bangkok docks
113 Squadron, RAF (Mingaladon, Burma - 221 Group)
Blenheim IV Z7582/L - took off at 1916 captained by Flt Sgt P N Keeley, RAF, with seven others and brought down by flak from a Japanese gunboat, crashing about 1km SW of Talat Plu Railway Station, Bangkok. All three crew were buried nearby in a collective grave by local villagers, but in 1948 the remains were reinterred at Kanchanaburi.
Observer: NZ402125 Sgt Alvin Messines DINGLE, RNZAF - Age 24.

The crew's grave reference is 10.M. collective grave 10-12

Errol

[rbwannabe]

Thanks for that Errol

A sad ending, at least he didn't suffer the horrors that many others did.

[Dave Homewood]

Indeed. I know a chap in Tauranga, Ron Reid, who was an RNZAF pilot with No. 36 Squadron RAF, flying Vildebeests in Singapore. He and his colleagues valiantly tried to defend Singapore, but eventually all their Vildes were destroyed, many of them on the famous Endau raid which he was on. He then took over a Fairey Albacore that they found left by the FAA, and continued to fly. He flew this to Indonesia in the end, and there he continued the fight as did other squadron mates in another Albacore. In the end they drew lots to see who'd pack into the two aircraft and fly west in an effort to get as close as possible to Inida as they could and to ditch next to a boat to be rescued and taken to safety (as fuel was not enough to go the whole way). Some plan. He drew a winning seat on the plane but then an RAF officer talked him into swapping as the officer's wife was in India. He let the seat go. A good thing, the plane ditched next to the boat as planned, and went straight under, with all but one person packed aboard being killed.

Ron stayed put, with around five others, and they sat down, burned their logbooks and awaited the Japs. Taken POW he was sent on a ship towards Japan in a prison convoy. The ship in front of him and the ship behind were both sunk by Allied bombers who did not realise there were hundreds of Allied POW's aboard. His ship was almost to Japan when it was suddenly diverted from the convoy and he ended up in Sumatra. He and about 500 others were tasked with building a 250 mile railway. Ron was a good worker and the Japs made him the lead spiker, and for three years he built the railway. He witnessed huge amounts of brutality in that time. He said just as they finally finished the railway the atomic bomb was dropped. What is really annoying for him is after three years work and hundreds of lives lost, the locals set to and ripped up the railway in its entireity after the war, as the rails had been stolen by the Japs from elsewhere and they wanted them back. So it never even had a chance to benefit the locals after the war. And because it was ripped out in the late 1940's the whole thing has become forgotten, overshadowed entirely by the Thai-Burma railway. It is an amazing experience to meet and interview someone who's been though such an experience.

[buffnut453]

Sgt Charters was another RNZAF pilot who lost his life while a PoW of the Japanese. He flew Buffalos with 488 Sqn but was shot down and captured in Jan 42. IIRC, Sqn Ldr Wilf Clouston also was captured after the fall of Singapore but I'm struggling to come up with evidence for that.

[Dave Homewood]

Clouston was indeed. It was not till he was released at the end of the war that he could corroborate the rest of the squadron's story that they'd been ordered by him to evacuate. Some people had accused them of leaving without orders, but he had definately given the order.

[Dave Homewood]

I must say it's really nice to see that his headstone is so well kept after 70 years.

[rbwannabe]

The Cemetery is probably the only well kept thing in all of Thailand, but then it is paid for by the Governments of those that lay there.

The JEATH Museum about 5 k's down the river is an absolute disgrace, it is an embarrassment to those that run it.

[Dave Homewood]

Very colourful, that is a really nice cemetery.

[flyjoe180]

Great photos Richard, I would like to visit the Bridge on the River Kwai some day. Maybe on a return trip from Gallipoli.

[trx850]

May 31, 2011 11:40:48 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

Indeed. I know a chap in Tauranga, Ron Reid, who was an RNZAF pilot with No. 36 Squadron RAF, flying Vildebeests in Singapore. He and his colleagues valiantly tried to defend Singapore, but eventually all their Vildes were destroyed, many of them on the famous Endau raid which he was on. He then took over a Fairey Albacore that they found left by the FAA, and continued to fly. He flew this to Indonesia in the end, and there he continued the fight as did other squadron mates in another Albacore. In the end they drew lots to see who'd pack into the two aircraft and fly west in an effort to get as close as possible to Inida as they could and to ditch next to a boat to be rescued and taken to safety (as fuel was not enough to go the whole way). Some plan. He drew a winning seat on the plane but then an RAF officer talked him into swapping as the officer's wife was in India. He let the seat go. A good thing, the plane ditched next to the boat as planned, and went straight under, with all but one person packed aboard being killed.

Ron stayed put, with around five others, and they sat down, burned their logbooks and awaited the Japs. Taken POW he was sent on a ship towards Japan in a prison convoy. The ship in front of him and the ship behind were both sunk by Allied bombers who did not realise there were hundreds of Allied POW's aboard. His ship was almost to Japan when it was suddenly diverted from the convoy and he ended up in Sumatra. He and about 500 others were tasked with building a 250 mile railway. Ron was a good worker and the Japs made him the lead spiker, and for three years he built the railway. He witnessed huge amounts of brutality in that time. He said just as they finally finished the railway the atomic bomb was dropped. What is really annoying for him is after three years work and hundreds of lives lost, the locals set to and ripped up the railway in its entireity after the war, as the rails had been stolen by the Japs from elsewhere and they wanted them back. So it never even had a chance to benefit the locals after the war. And because it was ripped out in the late 1940's the whole thing has become forgotten, overshadowed entirely by the Thai-Burma railway. It is an amazing experience to meet and interview someone who's been though such an experience.

Dave, I'm presently reading a book (courtesy of Damon Edwards) by a Kiwi ex-No.100 Squadron survivor, Claude Thompson called 'Into the Sun' giving his story on the conditions and treatment given to the POW's under the Japanese on Java and Sumatra.

Well worth searching out and reading.

Cheers,
Pete M.

[chinapilot]

Fascinating stuff...
Yes, the museum is a 'disgrace' but at least it does attract some local interest in a country that played both sides in the war, pragmatically letting the Japs have bases there and flying Jap aircraft.
Clandestine landings and contact with the sympathetic Thai military became the norm with C-47s with both the OSS & SOE being active.
There were some raids carried out ,even a B-29 mission against the Bangkok rail yards but generally POWs that were captured in Thailand [as against the POWs that were transported there by the Japs] were treated well and usually not 'handed over'.
BTW I guess it's common knowledge that the bridge there today is not 'The Bridge'..

[Dave Homewood]

What is in the museum you guys are discussing?

[Peter Lewis]

May 31, 2011 22:16:05 GMT 12 chinapilot said:

BTW I guess it's common knowledge that the bridge there today is not 'The Bridge'..

. . . or even on that river.

I was there years ago, the museum was small but reasonably well kept at that time.
We did a train trip over 'the bridge', and later on walked along part of the railway line site. The rails were pulled up soon after the war finished as the Thais did not want easy access to be available for the Burmese, who were their historical enemies, so yes it was all wasted effort.
Quite a spooky and sobering experience, when you consider how many people died in that episode.
Little know fact - although a large number of POWs worked and died on that railway, many many more local and imported coolies died than number of POWs.

[rbwannabe]

Yes, quite right.

The current bridge was stolen by the Japanese from Java (I think) during the war and replaced the original wooden bridge which was about 300 meters downstream, nothing remains of that bridge.

The current steel bridge was bombed in 1945 by American B24's out of India and then by B24's of the RAF. The story (told by the Americans) was very interesting with them having three passes (because of a hung bomb) and then getting hit by flak and having to make a forced landing at cox's bazaar.

The museum is the JEATH museum, named after Japanese,English,Australian/American, Thailand and Holland

Poor photo but shows the two bridges after the bombing raid.

[chinapilot]

Little know fact - although a large number of POWs worked and died on that railway, many many more local and imported coolies died than number of POWs

Yep...no graves and nobody knows their names but thousands died.Lot's of fathers and sons that somebody must have missed.
Faceless nonentities in the background of our war heroes.

Japs weren't the only exponents of this lack of concern though as most Colonial powers pre-war didn't really give a stuff about the 'locals'.

[corsair67]

Jun 1, 2011 12:40:13 GMT 12 chinapilot said:

Little know fact - although a large number of POWs worked and died on that railway, many many more local and imported coolies died than number of POWs

Yep...no graves and nobody knows their names but thousands died.Lot's of fathers and sons that somebody must have missed.
Faceless nonentities in the background of our war heroes.

Japs weren't the only exponents of this lack of concern though as most Colonial powers pre-war didn't really give a stuff about the 'locals'.

Well, 'we' had to get our tea, cotton, gold, silver and ivory somehow!