AUDIO - William Carthew Wilder recounts his experiences in Far East
William Carthew Wilder
British gunner served with 135th Field Regt, Royal Artillery in Malaya, 12/1941-2/1942; POW in Changi and Sime Road POW Camps, Singapore, on Burma-Thailand Railway and at Ubon POW Camp in Thailand, 1942-1945
REEL 1 Aspects of period as gunner with 135th Field Regt, Royal Artillery in Malaya, 12/1941-2/1942: voyage to Singapore aboard USS Mount Vernon; withdrawal to Singapore; reaction to news of surrender, 2/1942. Aspects of period as POW in Changi and Sime Road POW Camps in Singapore, Malaya, 1942-1943: dock work parties; POW stealing and selling petrol; Wilder’s drawings of Japanese war shrine at MacRitchie reservoir; POW nicknames; Japanese roll call. Aspects of period as POW on Burma-Thailand Railway, 1943-1944: conditions on Burma-Thailand Railway at Chungkai camp; foot injury at Nong Pladuk. Aspects of period as POW at Ubon POW Camp, Thailand, 1945: airstrip construction work; POW deaths during Allied air raids on railway; liberation of Ubon, 9/1945. Humorous aspects of POW experiences, 1942-1945.