Now George was a man well known to me
A mild and gentle man
He was my brother in law you see
And when WW2 began
He like most young men enlisted
In the Army to fight the foe
Not ever knowing for sure
To which part of the world he would go
He joined the Essex Regiment
But wasn’t there for long
He was transferred to the Suffolk’s
And on a large troopship ‘fore long
However before he bad his Wife goodbye
He was told he was going to be a Dad
And this was to stand him in good stead
When his future turned quite bad
For he was bound for Singapore
As reinforcements were in dire need
To fight the advancing Japanese Army
Travelling at alarming speed
Through the Burmese Jungles
Approaching Singapore from the rear
Defence was set for a seaborn attack
And created the Allies biggest fear
By the time George’s convoy had landed
It was all too little too late
As they waited to repel the Japs at Changhi
On the golf Course they were left in a hell of a state
As they moved on the order to advance they were hit
By machine gun, shell and Mortar as well
And before they reached the halfway mark
Half of the regiment fell
Regroup cried the Officers and we’ll try once again
And George had to run to HQ to request support
But he never made the journey
As in a mortar blast he was caught
And taken to Changhi Hospital
To patch up this wounded soldier bold
Till he regained conciousness
His mates had perished he was told
So now he was a POW of the dreaded Japanese
For they had over-run Singapore
They’d taken it with ease
They lived in concentration camps
Waiting for shipment to Japan
And this is where there life of terror
Truthfully began
George said they’d eaten anything
Chickens rats and snakes
As when you’re really starving
A strong stomach is what it takes
And resolve to live as well you can
In order to survive
And return to blighty when it’s over
The reason to stay alive
They sailed to Japan eventually
Ship after ship with soldiers loaded
Antiquated vessels all rusty and corroded
They all worked hard in the daylight hours
Despite the lack of food
But they did there bit to upset their captors
When caught their punishment was crude
Boots and whips and rifle butts
Were the general methods they used
Any thought of Convention and Humanity
Were Oh ! so sadly abused
Eventually 4 years later the War was over
Via New Zealand and Australia by ship they came
Leaving behind so many of their colleagues
Fatalities to that nation of shame
When George left the shores of England
A fit young 12 stone man was he
And as he underwent a medical on his return
He weighed a mere 6 stone 3
To live a normal life again forever he would strive
As when he walked back into the arms of his wife
He saw his daughter for the first time and she was five
And even till the day he died
No malice did he bear
I’ve written this for you Benny Lim
As sadly George is no longer here