Ex POW finally lays old ghosts to rest

OLD soldier Stan Wood has finally laid to rest old ghosts after revisiting the hell-hole where he spent nearly two harrowing years as a Japanese prisoner of war.His experiences were the stuff of nightmares and when he finally came home, he vowed to put the

OLD soldier Stan Wood has finally laid to rest old ghosts after revisiting the hell-hole where he spent nearly two harrowing years as a Japanese prisoner of war.

His experiences were the stuff of nightmares and when he finally came home, he vowed to put the painful memories of suffering and the comrades he had lost behind him.

He rarely spoke of his horrifying ordeal working in the hellish copper mine of Kinka Saki in Taiwan where death was ever present, even with close family, and refused to join reunions.

But then last month, at the age of 91, Stan from Swinton, returned to the place that held his darkest memories, for a reunion.

After a gap of 64 years he made the long trip back with daughter Gill Clarke (62) from Conisbrough, to the mountainous region of Taiwan where the camp once stood.

And there, among the pleasant wooded slopes of Kinka Saki, with six other survivors, he confronted the troubling memories he had so long pushed to the back of his mind.

Stan, who worked for 46 years on the railways, was persuaded to make the trip, organised by the Far Eastern Prisoner of War Society, by grandson Greg Brown (39) who served in the RAF.

Stan said: "It was a place I never wanted to see again, but I am glad I went back. We were treated with so much kindness and respect by the people.

"It has helped me come to terms with things I have had at the back of my mind for a long time and dispel a lot of bad thoughts."

Gill added: "We were worried how the trip might affect my dad, but we had a wonderful time and we were treated like royalty.

"The mine is still there, but it is a memorial garden now and the camp has long gone. Going back has helped him lay things to rest."

Stan was taken prisoner at the fall of Singapore in February 1942.

He was put aboard the notorious prison ship England Maru where 900 men, many of them with dysentery, were forced into a hold and had to share two lavatories for the two-week trip to Taiwan.

Worse was to come when they arrived at the mine and found they were working in strength-sapping temperatures of 40C.

Many died from starvation, appalling ill treatment and overwork, and Stan's weight fell to 6.5 stones.

"You learned the true meaning of comradeship,” said great granddad Stan."We helped each other as best we could. “Those who were too ill to work did not get food, so we shared our rations. The Japanese could not understand that.

"It was the atom bombs dropped on Japan that brought it all to an end and we were finally set free.

"I came home and drew a veil over it. I was determined not to sit brooding and I wanted to put the memories behind me. Now I’m glad that I have finally confronted them."

Gill added: "It was a moving experience and they treated the veterans with great respect. We went into one mountain village where the whole village aged three to 93 turned out to welcome us. The band played Amazing Grace and many of us were in tears.

"For my dad, at the age of 91, the trip was now or never. It was the journey of a lifetime and one I will never forget."

On the day of their release, the camp commandant rode into the camp on a horse.

“He told us our countries were now at peace and we should go home to our loved ones,” said Stan. “He told us to kill the horse for food.

“We did. It was the first meat we had tasted in three years.”

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