Description
Title: My Side of the Kwai – Reminiscences of an Australian prisoner of war of the Japanese
Author: Atkinson, Les
Condition: Near Mint
Edition: 1st Edition
Publication Date: 2001
ISBN: 0731810112
Cover: Soft Cover without Dust Jacket – 226 pages
Comments: Les Atkinson was only seventeen when he managed to persuade recruiting officers to accept him into the AIF. He landed in Singapore on 8 December 1941, the day war broke out. And with that, Les’s battle for survival began in earnest. He was to spend nine weeks under harsh rule at Selerang Barracks before being sent to work up-country. In Apri11943 Les became a member of F. Force on the notorious Burma- Thailand railway.
Rather than being a bleak tale, My Side of the Kwai is an adventure story, as Les rides his motorbike through the danger and chaos of Singapore, recovers from cholera against all the odds, and conducts secret raids to steal food and equipment as he and his fellow prisoners try to survive in the POW camp. Les recounts his experiences with the humour, energy and brashness . of the very young man he was.
My Side of the Kwai is a testament to the endurance, courage and inventiveness of the soldiers who slaved under the most appalling conditions imaginable, but who maintained their humour and dignity throughout.
