Simpson Jack's War

One Man’s Return from the River Kwai

John Henry (Jack) Simpson was conscripted in late 1939 and served as a truck driver in the Royal Army Service Corps. After witnessing parts of the Battle of Britain while stationed in Kent, he was assigned to a convoy bound for the Middle East but was diverted to Singapore en route. Just weeks later, he was taken prisoner by the Japanese following the fall of Singapore in February 1942. Suffering from beriberi, dysentery, and delirium, he survivedalbeit narrowlythe grueling conditions endured while building the "Death Railway" (the Burma-Thailand Railway). He eventually recovered and, on the advice of an Allied doctor, volunteered for transport to Japan, partly because he knew his mother longed to see him again. In September 1944, the ship carrying him and other Allied POWs to forced labor in Japan was mistakenly torpedoed by the US Navy in the South China Sea. After spending 36 hours in the waterhaving initially been left by the Japanese to face certain deathhe was finally rescued; he was among the few survivors. Following a harrowing voyage aboard a Japanese-controlled former whaling ship, he finally arrived in Moji, Japan, where the next chapter of his captivity began. He was taken to Sakata in northeastern Japan, wheresome 400 miles from the actual siteshe witnessed the hysteria and shock that followed the dropping of the two atomic bombs further south. Jack returned to his hometown of Nottingham in the middle of the night, where his mother greeted him with the words: "Where have you been, you naughty boy?" Against all odds, he lived on into the 21st century. However, due to ongoing health issues, his personal war lasted a lifetime. The story of this unassuming man deserves to be shared with a wider audience. In 1991, he sat down in front of the camera with his nephew to record his story for posterity. Thirty-five years later, his nephew John turned it into a book.