RIP

Death of man thought to be Burma Railway last survivor

Charlotte Cox - BBC News
Mon, January 22, 2024 a

Schoolchildren sang Happy Birthday to Mr Jennings when he turned 103

A former soldier thought to be the last surviving veteran of the infamous Burma Railway has died aged 104.

Jack Jennings was among 60,000 Allied prisoners forced by the Japanese to build a railway between Thailand and Myanmar, then Burma from 1942 to 1943.

In his final weeks at a Torquay care home, Mr Jennings was still playing his harmonica which he had used to entertain fellow troops.

His family said he had lived "a wonderful life".

Daughter Carol Barrett said: "I think we've been very lucky, that we had such a long time knowing him, loving him."

Mr Jennings' family believed he was the last survivor of 85,000 soldiers killed or captured when Singapore fell to the Japanese in World War Two.

The story of the World War Two prisoners of war camp featured in the Oscar-winning film starring Alec Guiness, The Bridge on the River Kwai.

Mr Jennings marked his 103rd birthday with a sing-along to the sound of his harmonica

Tens of thousands of people died during the construction and it became known as the "death railway".

The railway project led to the deaths of 90,000 Asian civilian workers and 16,000 prisoners of war.

Daughter Carol Barrett told the BBC: "He played his harmonica as a prisoner, I'm sure it helped him, and he was still playing it a week before he died.

"He was a carpenter and joiner by trade and he also made his own chess set, it gave them something to do while they were prisoners."

Captured on 15 February 1942 in Singapore as part of the Cambridgeshire Regiment, Mr Jennings remained a prisoner of the Japanese until the end of August 1945.

He survived his ordeal, and overcame a period of serious illness, to return to his childhood sweetheart Lilian Mary, whom he married in December 1945.

They were together, said Mrs Barrett, until her mother's death 20 years ago.

Mr Jennings did not talk about his experiences "for many years".

However, after penning a memoir aged 73, that changed, said son-in-law Paul Barrett.

"Once he wrote the book and found people were interested in what he had written he then spoke about nothing else," he said.

A member of the Far East Prisoners of War association, the great-grandfather-of-three attended regular reunions, Mrs Barrett said, including four trips back to Singapore and Thailand, often with other family members.

Mr Jennings recalled being captured in Singapore and held for five days with 500 fellow prisoners on a tennis court before being taken to Thailand, where he was held at various camps along the railway.

On his return to the region many years later, Mrs Barrett said, "he remembered everything".

"But the scenery had changed so much and he was greeted with such generosity, so much respect, he found it quite cathartic, it was a healing process for him and he was able to lay his ghosts to rest," she added.

Mr Jennings died at a care home in St Marychurch, with his family by his side.

Originally from the West Midlands, Mr Jennings moved to Torquay in 2007 to be closer to his daughter Hazel Heath.

"He absolutely loved Torquay - going to Oldway Mansions, playing his harmonica," said Mrs Barrett.

The BBC met Mr Jennings in March 2022, when he celebrated turning 103 at the Oldway Tearooms in Paignton, with a sing-along to some tunes on his harmonica.

The Royal British Legion laid on an honour guard and schoolchildren from Oldway Primary sang Happy Birthday.

"I was surprised to see so many people here," said Mr Jennings at the time.

"If they are here and enjoying it, that's the thing in life isn't it?"