20th Century
The Death Railway, Part Four
Step forward to the present day; SWMBO and I have been visiting Thailand for many years and decided it was time to head out to the Death Railway as Grandad Humbug had been in Burma [more…]
WW II
20th Century
In The Steps of The First Army, Part Four
“In the fourth of his articles John Alldridge writes of Longstop Hill as it is today — “a totally unremarkable hill” — and recalls the fighting which has made its name a legend.” – Manchester [more…]
20th Century
The Death Railway, Part Three
Railway Construction Initially, the railway construction schedule allowed reasonable working conditions to be imposed on the POWs who, at that time, formed the majority of the skilled workforce. This combined with the fact that the [more…]
20th Century
In The Steps of The First Army, Part Three
“In the third of his articles John Alldridge writes of Medjez el Bab, a name which he says the Lancashire Fusiliers will one day carry on their regimental colours.” – Manchester Evening News, November 14 [more…]
20th Century
The Death Railway, Part Two
The preparatory work was completed by early September 1942 and construction began both in Burma and Thailand on the 16th of that month. Many of the Japanese engineers had attended British universities before heading back [more…]
20th Century
In The Steps of The First Army, Part Two
“In the second of his articles from North Africa, where he is re-covering the ground of the war in Tunisia, John Alldridge revives memories of the 600-mile railway journey between Algiers and Tunis. The railway [more…]
20th Century
The Death Railway
Most Puffins will have watched David Lean’s 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai which is based on a novel published five years previously by French author Pierre Boulle. Whilst both book and film [more…]
20th Century
In The Steps of The First Army
“Seven years ago today — on November 8, 1942 — Anglo-American forces landed on the coast of French North Africa between Casablanca and Algiers. It was the beginning of a campaign which could have been [more…]
20th Century
Postcard From Kaunas
As 2nd cities go Kaunas, seems at least, at first glance, to be a pretty unprepossessing sort of place regardless of whether you arrive by air, road or rail. Arriving by train reveals an industrial [more…]