1000 Days on the River Kwai: The Secret Diary of a British Camp Commandant

Written by H C Owtram

Narrated by Trevor Winslow

Memoirs by former prisoners of war of the Japanese invariably make for moving reading but Colonel Owtrams account of his years of captivity has a special significance.

After being captured in Singapore and transported to the infamous Burma railway he was appointed the British Camp Commandant at Chungkai, one of the largest POW camps.

Many ex-prisoners testified to the mental and physical courage that he showed protecting POWs from the worst excesses of their captors. Of course his account does not admit to this but what is clear is that in addition to the deprivation and hardship suffered by all POWs, the author bore heavy responsibility for those under his charge and the daily trauma of dealing with the unpredictable Japanese.

It is not only the prisoners who suffered but their families at home. The postscript written by the authors daughters vividly demonstrates the agonies of doubt and worry that loved ones went through and the effect of the experience on all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
• Release date: May 18, 2020
• ISBN: 9781526764270

Reviews for 1000 Days on the River Kwai

[Mark McLeod · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A real gem. Was bummed when I realized Bridge on the River Kwai wasn't based on a true story and wanted to dig into a sadly obscured theater of The Big One. The far west of the Far Eastern Theater - Burma and Thai camps where Japanese POWs festered nobly amid utter squalor - were as environmentally gruelling and fascinating as any WWII battlefield.