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Royal Norfolk Regiment
4th Battalion
History
Compiled by Ron Taylor
In memory of my father and his mates in the 4th Battalion
Thailand-Burma Railway
‘Private 5776807’ by Frederick Noel Taylor
After five days in those cattle trucks, which were very cold at night and stiflingly hot during the day, we were very grateful to arrive at Non Pladuk and were treated very well, the food was a lot better then at Changi. Our first job was to clear a large area of trees and put up our atapi shelters, we were told a Japanese workshop was to be built there, then word got around that it was to be the start of a railway line to go 415kms to Burma.
As the Jap engineers started to arrived a cook house was set up, Jimmy O'Conner was Divisional HQ cook and he asked me to volunteer with him to help the Jap cooks. We settled down to making manjou cakes for the Japs, we had to grind the rice into a kind of flour by hitting it with a mallet, soya beans were then given the same treatment, then water was added to the rice making a kind of dough, the soya beans were then added and the Japs ate these raw. Jimmy had the idea of baking them like we would buns, he talked the Japanese cook into trying this, and they were an immediate success. The Japanese cook's name was Otto, he took us under his wing making about 1,000 manjou cakes a day using Jimmy's recipe.
By October the now infamous Death Railway was under way and the guards now arriving were Koreans and Sikhs, they were a lot more sadistic then the Japs, being held under by the Japs for a long time, it was now their turn to serve out the punishment and this they did with gusto. A large bamboo cane was carried by the guards, this was nicknamed the 'bamboo interpreter', if they wanted to get the message across, you would feel it on the most sensitive parts of your body.
Prisoners were passing through Non Pladuk to work further up the track, they were expected to clear virgin jungle with next to no food, dysentery, malaria and beriberi with hardly any tools and equipment. Prisoners were returning with various ailments but the large ulcers that ate their way into the legs were particularly nasty, the only way to stop the ulcer was to amputate the limb. Jimmy O'Conner developed bad sores on his arms and legs and the Japs decided he could no longer work in the bakery. Unfortunately Jimmy was sent upcountry.
The Kurra Kurra Club was formed at Non Pladuk camp, to help the sick survive. The official description of the club was:-
'A club formed in order to buy medical stuffs etc, for the ever increasing sick.'
The Jap engineers were by now needed elsewhere and my brother Jack and I were sent further up the railway. The food was very poor, the living conditions were deplorable and the guards pushed even harder. Then when the monsoons of 1943 hit us and the cholera followed. Your mates feeling ill in the morning were dead by night time. There was also a terrible stench in our camp from the fires that burnt the corpses, the nightmare that all the men were not dead when they were placed in the flames will never leave me.
The Japs wanted the railway finished as soon as possible, so they introduced 'speedo'. It caused many deaths by malnutrition, men just gave up the fight to live and died. To think of home was a quick way to the grave. In these bleak days I talked to my father who had died some five years previous, he was always with me and I would not have made it without his help. The vitamins from the manjou cakes helped my body survive this ordeal, just going below 9st, but as for my mind time will tell.
I wrote this verse with the despair and disbelief of the situation we were in:-
Special Parade
The bugle played the men fell in
Some of them tired and all of them thin,
Patched up shirts and shorts they wore,
Some with less, but none with more,
Bandaged arms and legs by scores,
Old rags that covered their ulcered sores,
Others straight from the malaria bed
With pains in their feet and in their head,
Everyone who could walk was there.
Dark sunken eyes fixed in a stare.
In two lines the men fell in,
And not one was wearing a grin,
Everyone was grim and stern
You wonder why, well you shall learn,
Not a word on that parade was spoken,
Not a word or familiar joke,
Jesting and joking were far apart
For each one there had an ache in his heart.
No funeral march with it's plaintive verse,
No gun carriage there to act as a hearse,
The coffin was carried shoulder high
By four of his pals with a tear in their eye,
The coffin was just a box of wood,
Not a flower or wreath to make it look good,
But the Union Jack was in evidence there
And stopped the box from looking bare.
With steps the procession passed by,
And with it the lad who was sent here to die,
Twelve months of suffering and toil,
Only to be buried on Thailand soil.
But his soul has risen to the heavens above
And with it goes his friends great love,
He's gone to a billet far better then ours
A haven of rest and happy hours,
The parade dismissed and one could note
Every one there had a lump in his throat.
Life it passes like sand through the hand
But the way they saluted, pal it was grand.
Frederick Noel Taylor
(Written 1943-44 as a Japanese POW, in Thailand)
The railway tracks from Burma and Thailand were joined at Konkoita in October 1943.
The price paid 12,614 Allied deaths
Plus an estimated 80,000 Romusha (Native Labour) deaths.
Death Roll
Thailand-Burma Railway
| |
Died
|
Name
|
Service/No
|
 |
1942/08/07-1942/08/10
|
Wootton, John Reginald
|
5572272
|
|
1942/11/10
|
Larter, Harold David
|
5774930
|
|
1942/12/14
|
Giles, Stanley Frederick
|
5774000
|
|
1943/01/23
|
Holker, Volney
|
5774296
|
|
1943/01/26
|
Marshall, Stanley
|
5776728
|
|
1943/03/31
|
Clark, Lionel Milne
|
5776312
|
|
1943/04/02
|
Sowels, William Francis
|
5773039
|
|
1943/05/08
|
Softley, Cyril George
|
5776797
|
|
1943/05/23
|
Garner, James Norman
|
5775198
|
|
1943/05/29
|
Hall, Francis
|
5775537
|
|
1943/05/30
|
Ford, Cyril Richard
|
5774833
|
|
1943/05/31
|
Douglas, Alexander Henry Beaney
|
5780527
|
|
1943/06/01
|
Hewlett, David Cockburn (Alias Barry)
|
13031772
|
|
1943/06/02
|
Beales, Christopher Robert
|
5774887
|
|
1943/06/04
|
Goleby, Clarence Victor
|
5780231
|
|
1943/06/05
|
Lake, Fred
|
5770421
|
|
1943/06/06
|
Vertigan, William George
|
5772379
|
|
1943/06/06
|
Carter, Robert Frederick
|
5771376
|
|
1943/06/07
|
Andrews, William Ernest
|
5573345
|
|
1943/06/11
|
Leverett, George Henry
|
5774845
|
|
1943/06/18
|
Buckenham, William George
|
5778685
|
|
1943/06/20
|
James, William Arthur
|
5774164
|
|
1943/06/21
|
Bryant, Alfred Douglas
|
5573364
|
|
1943/06/22
|
Jarmey, Robert Thomas
|
5770036
|
|
1943/06/26
|
Harris, Edward Edmund
|
5773950
|
|
1943/06/28
|
Deeks, Alfred Frederick
|
5572304
|
|
1943/06/28
|
Rice, Stanley Robert
|
6203037
|
|
1943/06/28
|
Brighton, James Albert
|
5776159
|
|
1943/06/29
|
Marston, Frederick Thomas
|
5775125
|
|
1943/07/03
|
Berry, Edward Albert
|
5772876
|
|
1943/07/04
|
Hopson, Sidney George
|
5573428
|
|
1943/07/05
|
Collins, Norman Alexander
|
5770060
|
|
1943/07/10
|
Goodacre, Albert Alfred Daniel
|
5775400
|
|
1943/07/11
|
Fuller, Frederick
|
5774347
|
|
1943/07/12
|
Sentance, Alfred
|
5775714
|
|
1943/07/13
|
Minns, Harold Arthur
|
5779032
|
|
1943/07/15
|
Skuse, James Douglas
|
5573554
|
|
1943/07/24
|
Wisken, Walter
|
5771946
|
|
1943/07/24
|
Tappin, Alfred Jerome
|
5775522
|
|
1943/07/27
|
Huckstepp, Richard
|
5773272
|
|
1943/07/27
|
Perfitt, Albert
|
5771196
|
|
1943/07/27
|
Whittall, Edwin Oliver
|
5774690
|
|
1943/08/01
|
Gawthrope, Frederick Arthur
|
5780542
|
|
1943/08/02
|
Mann, Horace Frederick
|
5769383
|
|
1943/08/03
|
Matthews, Walter John Keith
|
5573421
|
|
1943/08/03
|
Scase, Charles William
|
5775126
|
|
1943/08/04
|
Daines, Arthur Silvanus
|
5781986
|
|
1943/08/09
|
Rice, Leslie Leonard
|
5573528
|
|
1943/08/09
|
Lewis, Leonard James Arthur
|
5573339
|
|
1943/08/11
|
Copping, Eric Edward
|
5781894
|
|
1943/08/14
|
Edwards, George
|
5775482
|
|
1943/08/14
|
Youngman, Ivan George
|
5774224
|
|
1943/08/18
|
Bryant, Harold Roland
|
5573460
|
|
1943/08/19
|
Durrant, Kenneth
|
5776832
|
|
1943/08/21
|
Sturgeon, Charles William James
|
5775651
|
|
1943/08/21
|
Waldron, John Elias
|
5774066
|
|
1943/08/23
|
Smyth, Frank Joseph
|
5573478
|
|
1943/08/24
|
Horner, Percy James
|
5778997
|
|
1943/08/25
|
Teece, Leonard
|
5776712
|
|
1943/08/25
|
Dutton, Edward John Rupert
|
5771746
|
|
1943/08/30
|
Berry, Edward George
|
5771098
|
|
1943/08/30
|
Pratt, George Arthur
|
5774848
|
|
1943/08/31
|
Foster, Newton
|
5573581
|
|
1943/09/01
|
Smitten, Harry
|
5573014
|
|
1943/09/01
|
Knott, Edward William
|
5774195
|
|
1943/09/03
|
Pettingill, Edward Thomas
|
5776769
|
|
1943/09/04
|
Wright, John Thomas
|
5771809
|
|
1943/09/05
|
Harwood, George Gilbert
|
5774218
|
|
1943/09/06
|
Duffy, James
|
5779376
|
|
1943/09/06
|
Payne, Norman
|
5781842
|
|
1943/09/06
|
Gray, Leonard L.
|
5773778
|
|
1943/09/09
|
Bond, Edward
|
5573398
|
|
1943/09/10
|
Barrett, Allan Walter
|
5573361
|
|
1943/09/12
|
Sturman, Alan Jack
|
5775704
|
|
1943/09/13
|
Brown, Alfred Charles
|
5774340
|
|
1943/09/17
|
Bonner, Maurice Norman
|
5779370
|
|
1943/09/19
|
Ecclestone, William John
|
5772968
|
|
1943/09/20
|
Dennis, Noel
|
5776325
|
|
1943/09/21
|
Muskett, Cyril
|
5773996
|
|
1943/09/22
|
Lawrence, Allen Palmer
|
5772374
|
|
1943/09/23
|
Gray, Albert Edward
|
5770202
|
|
1943/09/23
|
Dye, Henry Robert
|
5774375
|
|
1943/09/23
|
Tomkins, John Richard Moore
|
148870
|
|
1943/09/26
|
Daubney, Frederick Reginald
|
5572957
|
|
1943/09/26
|
Futter, Clifford
|
5781799
|
|
1943/10/01
|
Goodings, Stanley
|
5778787
|
|
1943/10/04
|
Bailey, Newton Charles
|
5573346
|
|
1943/10/05
|
Miller, Douglas Carl
|
5775584
|
|
1943/10/07
|
Herwin, Thomas William
|
5774223
|
|
1943/10/08
|
Larkin, George Albert
|
5781189
|
|
1943/10/08
|
Chaplin, Ronald Leslie
|
5774850
|
|
1943/10/13
|
Kedge, Clifford Arthur
|
5776378
|
|
1943/10/15
|
Elwin, Frank Robert
|
5775630
|
|
1943/10/20
|
Gidney, George Mack
|
5782327
|
|
1943/10/22
|
Norman, Bernard Burnham
|
5773920
|
|
1943/10/23
|
Crowe, George Thomas
|
5778720
|
|
1943/10/26
|
Drew, Lawrence Edward
|
5774091
|
|
1943/10/28
|
Burton, Richard Walter
|
5774451
|
|
1943/10/29
|
Duffield, Frederick John
|
5769955
|
|
1943/10/30
|
Gillingwater, Roy
|
5775715
|
|
1943/10/30
|
Beck, Samuel Robert
|
5773746
|
|
1943/10/31
|
Stone, Edward John
|
5775213
|
|
1943/11/01
|
Chapman, James
|
5573494
|
|
1943/11/03
|
Bryan, Clarence
|
5776619
|
|
1943/11/04
|
Hunt, Harold
|
5782259
|
|
1943/11/08
|
Harsent, Frederick William
|
5775591
|
|
1943/11/10
|
Osborne, Harold
|
5782286
|
|
1943/11/14
|
Hoar, Robert James
|
5573515
|
|
1943/11/17
|
Southgate, John Richard
|
5779081
|
|
1943/11/17
|
Herwin, Eric George
|
5772113
|
|
1943/11/21
|
Cole, Ernest George
|
5775765
|
|
1943/11/25
|
Arnold, Harry
|
5774217
|
|
1943/12/03
|
Annis, William George
|
5774693
|
|
1943/12/03
|
Farmer, Ernest James
|
5573424
|
|
1943/12/03
|
Rose, Charles William
|
5777852
|
|
1943/12/04
|
Edgington, Albert Radge
|
5112688
|
|
1943/12/09
|
Merrix, Denis Frederick
|
6826910
|
|
1943/12/14
|
Neale, Ormonde Stewart
|
5777820
|
|
1943/12/21
|
Whittaker, Alfred
|
5780678
|
|
1943/12/31
|
Jarvis, Cecil
|
5573576
|
|
1944/01/03
|
Everett, Wilfred Claude
|
5774513
|
|
1944/01/12
|
Robinson, James Harry
|
5773208
|
|
1944/01/14
|
Macklin, Frederick George
|
5573293
|
|
1944/01/16
|
Duggan, Albert Henry
|
5573511
|
|
1944/01/27
|
Claxton, Frederick Richard
|
5775118
|
|
1944/02/06
|
Bullen, Frank Horace
|
5778683
|
|
1944/02/12
|
Cossey, Percy William Stanley
|
5771364
|
|
1944/03/31
|
Snelling, Frank James
|
5774851
|
|
1944/04/12
|
Osborne, William George
|
5769804
|
|
1944/04/14
|
Holt, George Alfred
|
5769632
|
|
1944/09/04
|
Green, John Arthur
|
5771367
|
|
1944/09/07
|
Thurston, Cyril Kenneth Sidney
|
5775232
|
|
1944/11/29
|
Longshaw, Ernest William
|
5775787
|
|
1944/12/08
|
Bendall, Harry Henry
|
5775527
|
|
1945/06/10-1945/06/11
|
Willburn, Frederick Vincent
|
5774132
|
|
1945/07/07
|
Barnes, Bertie Benjamin
|
5774673
|
|
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