Sacrifice, captivity and escape : the remarkable memoirs of a Japanese POW

This powerful memoir of a WWII POW recounts his incredible journey from joining the British Army to life as a prisoner of the Imperial Japanese military. Peter Jackson was young and recently married when he was drafted into the British Army at the start of World War II. He was sent to Singapore just as the city was being evacuated, and within days he was taken prisoner by the Imperial Japanese Army. Peter was one of the very few to survive the hardship, illnesses and brutality that followed. Like so many he was forced into labor, first in Singapore and then on the infamous Thai-Burma railway. But while there, he remarkably escaped with seven other soldiers. When recaptured, he was treated harshly. Jackson’s memoir brings to life both the characters of his comrades and the Japanese soldiers and guards he encountered. Though the experience was truly harrowing, and many of his fellow prisoners despaired at losing years of their young lives, Jackson maintained a sense of hope that they would one day return home Sacrifice, Captivity and Escape is an exceptional story. Peter Jackson was young and recently married when he was drafted into the army at the start of World War II. He had no wish to be there but like most of his generation he was given no choice.Peter arrived in Singapore just as the city was being evacuated and within days he was a prisoner of the Imperial Japanese Army. Peter was one of the very few to survive the hardship, illnesses and brutality that followed. Like so many he was forced to work for the Japanese, first in Singapore and then on the infamous Thai-Burma railway. While there, remarkably, he escaped with seven other soldiers and, when recaptured, he was treated harshly.His memoir brings alive the characters of his comrades and also of the Japanese who he encountered. Some of the Japanese treated their prisoners humanely and Peter was able to form a relationship with them but others were sadistic psychopaths.But throughout his memoir there is a sense of hopefulness that, as young men, they would survive and get back to their homes; this was despite the despair many of them felt at losing four years of their lives as prisoners. [Elib]