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The Forgotten Highlander, by Alistair Urquhart.

Discussion in 'The Pacific and CBI' started by T.TASKER, Oct 22, 2011.

  1. T.TASKER

    T.TASKER Member

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    Captured by the Japanese,tortured,starved,bombed and near drowned,Alistair Urquhart should never have survived.

    Shipped to Singapore with the Gordon Highlanders,the sheltered Scottish lad's war began against an exotic colonial backdrop of plantations,cocktails and dance halls. But in1942 the Japanese invaded, and the young soldier was taken prisoner and sent to work on the death railway - 415 Kms. of track through the jungle, whose construction would claim the lives of more than a 100.000 men - and the notorious bridge over the river Kwai.

    Urquhart survived starvation, cholera and the torture and brutality of the Japanese Imperial Army, only to be packed in the hold of a rusting 'hellship' bound for Japan. Torpedoed by an American submarine in the shark-infested waters of the South China Sea, he drifted for days, close to death. When eventually recaptured, Urquhart was transported to a prison camp only eleven miles from a fateful city called Nagasaki, where he bore witness to one of the most momentous and terrible actions of human history.

    A great read indeed, what i lke about it is my own Grandpa, was in the same unit the 2nd Battallion Gordon Highlander's, although my grandpa never spoke much of his time in the war except he hated the Japanese until the day he died. I have met Alistair Urquhart a few times personally and in my eyes a true Hero and Gentleman.

    Thank you for reading, Gary T. Tasker.
     
    4th wilts likes this.

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