Not a dry eye in the house

The True Story of local Japanese Prisoners of War

With the 80th Commemoration of VE and VJ Day celebrated this year, many Norfolk families can relay stories experienced by relatives from the time. VJ Day, or Victory over Japan Day, is marked each year on 15 August - the date in 1945 when Japan surrendered to the Allied forces and World War Two ended.

The Race family are no different, as Town & Around recently profiled some of the experiences of their father, Captain Jack Race MBE, in the Japanese Prisoner of War camps. He was in the 6th Battalion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment and fought in Malaya and spent three and half years as a POW.

Son, Jim Race, recently choreographed a show covering not just about his father's experiences but also stories from other local families, in a documentary show at Heacham Village Hall, called At The Going Down Of The Sun.

It followed the war experiences through the eyes of six local men - Captain Jack Race, Captain Hugh Pilkington, Richard Wing, Bert Grimes, Cyril Bix and Horace Chilvers - from enlistment, through the war, being held captive to finally being reunited with their loved ones. Whilst many were not lucky enough to survive the war, miraculously all six returned. Poignantly, Ryan Chilvers played the part of his Great Grandfather, Horace.

Over 100 people attended each of the matinee and evening performances on Saturday, 16th August to coincide with the 80th Anniversary of VJ Day.

The first half of the show took the audience through the experiences of the men and their families from their enlistment, war exploits through to capture. In 1942, the surrender of Singapore to the Japanese meant 85,000 British and Commonwealth troops found themselves at the mercy of their ruthless foe. Many found themselves transported in metal cattle wagons lacking ventilation in oven like conditions in the day and freezing ice box like conditions during the night for five days to work on the Thailand/Burma Railway, which became known as the Death Railway.

The second half of the show certainly played on the heart strings as it depicted the men’s experiences from capture through to their freedom. Several songs were played throughout each scene which depicted the mood of the men and their families at the time. Ryan Chilvers rendition of Hugh Jackman’s From Now On (The Greatest Showman) for the scene depicting the end of the war was particularly moving.

If the men thought they had survived the worst from their war time experiences, they were very much mistaken. They had to endure hard, manual physical work, sometimes for 18 hours a day, on a very poor diet, with no medical supplies, subject to all types of tropical diseases, cholera and dysentery, whilst subject to beatings and torture. Many didn’t survive and executions by the Japanese were common.

The show was a remembrance to all those that did not return from the Far East and could not tell their story through the eyes of some of those who did.

Ryan said, “I am very proud to be part of this show and to play Horace. He was understandably very closed off to this part of his life and getting to learn more about him has been an incredibly moving experience. Horace and Ruby this one's for you”.

Horace Chilvers with wife Ruby

Private Horace Chilvers played by his Great Grandson Ryan and wife Ruby played by Lauren Matthews

Narrator, Jim Race, relayed the words of a letter Jack sent to his wife, May, in an emotional citing that was read out to the audience word for word. Credit must go to Jim, the actors and supporting staff for putting on such a realistic portrayal of the mood and experiences of the men and their families at the time.

Peter Everingham, who played Captain Hugh Pilkington, said, “the production resonated with me as I served in the Army for 26 years. The final scene was particularly moving as I too have returned to loved ones after time away, but I cannot imagine what these men felt after years away, living in the daily shadow of death, their stories are remarkable”.

Jim said, “it has been my privilege to narrate my Dad’s story, which was typical of so many local men at the time”. When Jack returned, weighing just seven stone, he met his first born, Joan, for the first time and went on to have a further seven children with May who all live locally today. Jack was awarded the MBE for his services to the Army Cadet Force. He passed away in 1993.

On the Sunday, memorabilia, photographs and letters from the time were put on display in the Village Hall which could be viewed by the public.

It really was a different world, something today’s generation and youngsters will never, hopefully, experience. Many went in to war in anticipation, excitement even, but returned different people. We have to remember these people fought for our country, they won, we owe them so much. Time is passing but the world would be a different place if Britain and their allies had not been victorious.

So many families were formed and so many families were not. Lest we forget.