Prisoners of the Sumatra Railway: Narratives of History and Memory

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Dr Lizzie Oliver (Independent Scholar, UK) Professor Stephen McVeigh (Rmit University in Melbourne Australia)

Prisoners of the Sumatra Railway

Narratives of History and Memory

Dr Lizzie Oliver (Independent Scholar, UK), Professor Stephen McVeigh (Rmit University in Melbourne Australia)

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English

Bloomsbury Academic
14 December 2017

Memoirs; British & Irish history; Asian history; Second World War

Series: War, Culture and Society

Prisoners of the Sumatra Railway is the first book to detail the experiences of British former prisoners of war (POWs) who were forced to construct a railway across Sumatra during the Japanese occupation. It is also the first study to be undertaken of the life-writing of POWs held captive by the Japanese during the Second World War, and the transgenerational responses in Britain to this period of captivity.

This book brings to light previously unpublished materials, including:

· Exceptionally rare and detailed diaries, notebooks and letters from the railway

· Memoirs from Sumatra, including detailed recollections and post-war statements written by key personnel on the railway, such as Medical Officers and interpreters

· Remarkable original artwork created by POWs on Sumatra

· Contemporaneous photographs taken inside the camps

Employing theories of life-writing, memory and war representation, including transgenerational transmission, Lizzie Oliver focuses particularly on what these documents can tell us about how former POWs tried to share, preserve and make sense of their experiences. It is a wholly original study that is of great value to Second World War scholars and anyone interested in 20th-century Southeast Asian history or war and memory.

By: Dr Lizzie Oliver (Independent Scholar UK)
Edited by: Professor Stephen McVeigh (Rmit University in Melbourne Australia)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 449g
ISBN: 9781350024120
ISBN 10: 1350024120
Series: War, Culture and Society
Pages: 192
Publication Date: 14 December 2017
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

List of Figures List of Maps Preface: The Man in the Photograph Acknowledgements Note on Text List of Abbreviations Introduction 1. Building the Sumatra Railway 2. Writing the Sumatra Railway 3. Guard Your Tongue 4. The Body of the Prisoner 5. Aftermath Afterword Appendix: Research Resources Selected Bibliography Index

Lizzie Oliver completed her PhD at the University of Leeds, UK, and Imperial War Museum, London.

Reviews for Prisoners of the Sumatra Railway: Narratives of History and Memory

Memoirs from Sumatra, including meticulous recollections from former POWs, post-war statements, diaries, notebooks, and letters, as well as explorations of life-writing from POWs held captive at the railway, transgenerational responses in Britain, notes, a bibliography, and an index distinguish this exceptional contribution to public and college library world history and military history collections. Highly recommended. * Midwest Book Review * Based on original sources, like memoirs and diaries, this book superbly explores the lived experience of British POW's on the forgotten Sumatra Railway during World War II and their struggles in remembering and transmitting their experiences after their liberation. Written in highly accessible prose, it will prove to be indispensable reading for anyone interested in the Pacific War, the experiences of Far Eastern POW's (FAPOW's), and the cultural importance of memory. * Arnout H.C. van der Meer, Assistant Professor of History, Colby College, USA *