General Chat

Me too!! Take care,

Magpie,

If I had rr'd your post I would have certainly said it was me. and thank you for your apology about thinking it was me that RR'd your post.

Now that is my very last words on the film.

See you.

I take that back with an apology where you're concerned Sue as rather naturally I thought it was you. But whoever it was, the comment still stands. You're right it IS a sensitive subject and one I'm not prepared to discuss anymore. All I will say is that PLEASE don't anyone compare the European and Far East POW camps as being comparable - they most certainly were NOT!

Ive deleted :-|

I can assure everyone that it wasn't me that RR'd Magpie's post.
Never read her post as I was having my meal.

For goodness sake I am repeatedly seeing on here how we all are entitled to our opinion. I did not see the offending post so can not comment. it is obviously a very sensitive subject for many people, some of whom have family connections. Please show some respect.

Requested for review?!! how pathetic is that!!

Oooops :-S

Then don't post comments that are blatant rubbish. You clearly have no first hand knowledge of anything to do with WW2 either in Europe or the Far East, perhaps you are too young, or perhaps no one directly connected to you participated in this war.

Magpie,

It is not very often I watch war film.I prefer the truth from the Archives that the BBC shows which is Veterans of WW2 telling their story about what they went through.

Yes I know the Japanese were monsters and meted out punishments just if and when they wanted wether it left a body or a man that went home to their families broken.

But please don't take it out on anyone on here if we want to talk about a film we have wanted to see and enjoyed the acting of all the people that starred in the film.

And please don't try and lecture me on the war.

Paula, I have heard and seen film footage of the Chindits. They were an amazingly brave international force, working as you say behind enemy lines in appalling conditions. How these survivors remained remotely sane is beyond me, never mind having to pick up their lives again after the war with no help whatsoever from anyone, and a largely indifferent public attitude to 'the forgotten army'. My S.Father was lucky insomuch that he had a loving family to go home to and the family business to employ and help him, also marrying my mother was a good move!. He was a lovely man, but later in life it was as if the past that he had so successfully managed to contain, suddenly reared up again to haunt him, which he combatted by smoking (they all did I know) excessively and drinking far too heavily particularly after my mother died and he was ill with cancer. As his sister once said to their concerned father, we don't know what 'brother' went through during these dreadful years, and effect it must have had on him. My mother always said that he would, smoke and drink himself to death, which is exactly what he did. It was just so sad to see an intelligent caring loving man felled by the horrors of long ago. As I've said before Railwayman is not the film for me, nor any other film about the nightmare of the war in the Far East as I can't see that anything about such horrors is even remotely interesting.

Maggie I have to agree with you. My late FIL was in the Special force and was trained in Commando methods to infiltrate behind the Japanese lines in Burma. They were known as the Chindits, a name given to them by their leader, Major-General Orde Wingate, They suffered many casualties and fatalities , or dreadfully wounded. My FIL was one of the many taken prisoner. Many of the survivors suffered for the rest of their lives from the hardship, rigours and strain of the two long arduous campaigns, when the only contact with base was by radio, all supplies came by air-drop. The Chindits were very much an International Force, which include British, Burma Rifles, Hong Kong Volunteers, Gurkhas and West African Serviceman. The R.A.F. and First Air Commando , U.S.A.A.F. provided air support.

My FIL was not the easiest man to get along with but we can never really understand for fully appreciate what they endured.

I can assure you Sue in Yorkshire that the treatment the Japanese meted out to their POW's far far outweighed the treatment in brutality and sadism given to POW's in German POW camps. Have you never seen Colditz? Slalag 17 etc? these camps and the treatment of their inmates, although stark and pretty unpleasant were by comparison luxury!!! You are probably comparing the Far East where brutality was a way of life with the concentration camps which were appalling and the treatment of the inmates comparable to that of the Japanese, but THEY were NOT where allied POW's were sent!! I know this, my S.Father was a 'guest of the Japanese for over 4 years. The Germans were 'Pussy Cats' by comparison! Make no mistake, the Japanese were monsters!!!

I went to see this film Yesterday(Monday) pm and I quite enjoyed the portaral of Eric Lomax by Colin Firth and the man who played young Eric Lomax very good acting.

I think this film was typical of the treatment of POW's in any WW2 camp wether it was in Germany or the Far East.

But the film portrayed just how the POW's were determined to get through the war and survive the ill treatment and go home to their families even if they couldn't tell the families want had happened to them.

I wish the film industry would make a film about Alistair Urquhart who by reading his book went through Hell and survived the war in the Japanese POW camps and the ship(Hell Ships) he was on being transported to Japan being blown up by Friendly fire and being captured again and taken to another camp and still survivng the war and coming home.

After 70 years telling his story of how he survived.

Very interesting book to read,I would recommend people read it.

A good Book to read is ""The Forgotten Highlander""" Author Alistair Uruquhart.

He lived through all the war in the Far East and was a POW.

Interesting read.

I didn't enjoy The Railway Man at all, it seemed to be all violence and I felt quite traumatised when I came out. I usually like to see and feel I should see what kind of things happened in the past and was very moved by Schindlers List, but this film was too much for me although the acting was superb. I didn't enjoy Osage County either, but Meryl Streep's acting was brilliant in it. A film I thought was really good was 12 Years A Slave. I really appreciated being 'free' after watching that!

We took Fred to Chatham a few years ago. They have a ship there like the one he was on in the Arctic and he found the commentary of the guide most amusing and, while he could still talk properly, would ask if we wanted our tea brought round in a bucket.

There was some embellishment about jam sandwiches that he particularly enjoyed as well. Shame I can't remember what it was now.

For anyone that may be interested in reading the book Amazon.co.uk have the Kindle version for just £2.99 at the moment.

Rollo. Your relative sounds very much like my FIL, except that he would become very angry and aggressive. Obviously, I did not know him as a young man, his sisters adored him but they said he was never the same after he came home.

I understand what you are saying Paula, and yes they were known as 'The forgotten Army' rather adding insult to injury. I'm probably over-reacting a bit, and no doubt it is a good thing for people to see and perhaps understand what an awful business this was. I can't help feeling though that it could stir up anti Japanese feeling? what with that and the dolphins! Having to get a bit of a grip not to feel that way myself!