The Real Hero of The Bridge On The River Kwai

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The true story behind the epic wartime film.
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“The Bridge On The River Kwai” has often been referred to as one of the greatest war films of all time.
Certainly Sir David Lean’s epic was the top box office earner in 1957, the year it was released, and it scooped 7 Academy Awards, including best film, best producer, best actor, and best musical score.
Alec Guinness, plays the commander of the British POW’s, Lt. Colonel Nicholson, who somewhat bizarrely insists on building the best possible bridge for the Japanese as a testament to British engineering and hard work.
In the end, a commando unit blow up the bridge as the first Japanese locomotive passes over it.
The film is based upon a real bridge that was built by British POW’s, as part of the “Death Railway” through the Burmese and Thai jungles.
I say based, in the very loosest of terms.
Yes, there was a bridge over the River Kwai.
Yes, it was built by British Prisoner’s of War.
Yes, there was a lieutenant Colonel in command of those prisoners.
However, there were actually two bridges, and they crossed a tributary of the River Kwai not the main river itself.
Whilst British Prisoners helped build it, the film ignores the thousands of civilians who were also forced to work on the construction, and whose treatment and death rates were even worse than the British.
The bridges were put out of action, but only in the last year of the year and by RAF bombing rather than commandos.
Above all, the Lt. Colonel was no Japanese sympathiser or turn-coat.
He was a man, who rather than trying to build the best bridge possible actually did his best to sabotage the construction.
This is the story of the "Death Railway" (the Thai-Burma Railway) during the construction of which, 16,000 allied POW's and 90,000 civilians died.
it also tells the story of the real Bridge on the River Kwai and the real British commander - Lt. Colonel Philip Toosey DSO.
It also has a poignant twist in the tale too!
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:58 Shout Out
2:31 Japanese Offensive
3:30 Thai-Burma Railway
4:36 POW Slave Labour
5:50 Treatment of POW's
8:00 Illness & Death
9:45 The Bridge On The River Kwai
11:03 lt. Colonel Toosey
14:00 The Death Railway
16:55 Survivors
18:05 A Twist In The Tale
19:00 The History Chap
#thebridgeontheriverkwai #deathrailway #ww2 #ad
Sources for this episode include:
"Railroad of Death" by John Coast
The Impoerial War Museum
QJM - international journal of Medecine
dva. gov. au (Anzac portal)
Julie Summer.com
Follow me at:
www.thehistorychap.com
Instagram:bit.ly/3iySrAj
Facebook:bit.ly/37IUfkH
/ thehistorychap
My name is Chris Green and I love to share stories from British history. Not just because they are interesting but because, good or bad, they have shaped the world we live in today.
History should not be stuffy or a long list of dates or kings & queens.
So rather than lectures or RU-vid animations, I tell stories that bring the past to life.
My aim is to be chat as if I were having a coffee or meal with you. Jean in Maryland, USA recently wrote: "Chris, is the history teacher I wish I had at school!"
Just for the record, I do have a history degree in Medieval & Modern history from the University of Birmingham.
Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Chris Green Communication Ltd t/a The History Chap. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Chris Green Communication Ltd does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.

Опубликовано:

12 июн 2024

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Комментарии : 742

@cheshirepiper9254 7 месяцев назад

Thanks very much, my wife's Grandfather was captured at Singapore and ended up on the railway and building the actual bridge. Happily he survived. My wife tells me he mocked the film.I also saw his paybook giving his discharge and medical details, a very long list of diseases endured. An absolute miracle he survived.

@davegoldsmith4020 7 месяцев назад

I had an operation in RAF Ely in the eighties, when in the RAF. They also treated a lot of ex FEPOW,s for a large number of diseases. The old guy in the bed next to me being one. He told me he had been in Ely in 1945 for an emergency operation, being so weak and malnourished he ended up in a coma for a few weeks, forty years later he was back for another operation, very nervous. I told him about my uncle wally, also captured in Singapore, and on the railway. Being laid up for a couple of days after our operations we chatted for hours and hours. Him and my uncle were on my mind when I visited the bridge and graveyard close by. Your wife’s grandfather, and all those who survived were very special people, although most never wanted to talk about that time, they never forgot those they left behind, nor should we. I hope your wife’s grandfather lived to a good age, he deserved it.

@cheshirepiper9254 7 месяцев назад

@@davegoldsmith4020 Thankyou, he did, I would have loved to have met him. He became a local postie, I also saw red cross letters. A local guy who worked with my dad had a brother who never made it back from there. A terrible shame.

@eamonnclabby7067 7 месяцев назад

@@cheshirepiper9254a debt of gratitude to them all...Mrs C, s da served in the Chindits in Burma and suffered bouts of malaria all his life...RIP...

@mickcraven980 7 месяцев назад

Have you read "King Rat"? Great book!

@cheshirepiper9254 7 месяцев назад

@@mickcraven980 I have indeed but around 30 years ago. I must reread at some point. Thankyou

@johnhudghton3535 7 месяцев назад

That true story should become a remake of the film. It would honour the courage, honour, bravery and faith of the men who served.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

An interesting suggestion. Who knows what will happen in the future?

@Antonnick 4 месяца назад

I am afraid that in my cynisism, there never will be a film ( if indeed it is important that one be made?) The British would never finance such a venture, US Americans could but as Sir Toosey was British, they would have no interest. Australians might though. That aside - a great documentary you have put together "history chap" - many thanks.

@billt6116 Месяц назад

This and they should do a movie about the batan Garrison, And the death March that they endured. Ray Pasco, A neighbor was a survivor.

@user-wm3bf7pi3u 17 дней назад

@@TheHistoryChap "Burma!" "Why did you shout Burma?" " I panicked."

@stevenholt4936 7 месяцев назад

Thanks for this, Chris. My wife and I spent our honeymoon in and around Kanchanaburi (she is Thai). The river Kwae Noi flowed at the bottom of the garden outside our bedroom. We were about to descend into the 'Death railway ' cutting near the then (23 years ago) new museum when we noticed an elderly gent sitting on a bench. He was an Aussie and former POW who had worked on the railway. His wife and children were down in the cutting but he was too frail to make the trip - he had been twice before. I cannot tell you the contempt he felt for the portrayal in the film. Bearing out your comments, he said they went as slow as they could and did their utmost to sabotage the project. Incidentally, the museum that moved us more than the flashy new one built by the Aussies, was a small, ramshackle affair comprising mainly yellowing newspaper cuttings. It was built and paid for by a former Japanese soldier on the railway who repented of his behaviour and became a Buddhist monk in Thailand for a while after the war and created this museum. He, we later learnt, was the translator in Alan Lomax's account of the events in his book, 'The Railway Man.' I believe it was turned into a film many years later but I haven't watched it: films take too many liberties with the facts in my eyes.

@wampuscat1831 7 месяцев назад

Yep the vets hated most war movies as stupid

@12dougreed 7 месяцев назад

Hi I also live in Thailand, I have been many times to the Kwai also Hellfire Pass Where the Musium is situated. Unbelievable the amount of rock they had to move to create the pass.

@chriskirkman5425 7 месяцев назад

Excellent movie😢

@georgelintott9943 6 месяцев назад

Hello, one of my uncles was a "Chindit" he was in command of some Gurkhas in the jungle, they sometimes came within speaking distance to many of these " P.O.W's. ", to which they supplied food and medicines at the risk of being captured by the Jap's.

@brettmccardle9303 3 месяца назад

The railway man movie is really good

@derekp2674 7 месяцев назад

Thanks Chris. As for all the prisoners who died or suffered there, at the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

I am intending to do a video about the Kohima Epitaph for 11th November

@Johnson-9871 7 месяцев назад

You'll remember them then go about your day while it doesn't occupy my mind

@Nunofurdambiznez 7 месяцев назад

@@Johnson-9871 what?!!?

@eamonnclabby7067 7 месяцев назад

@@TheHistoryChapvery poignant...

@derrickchapman3870 7 месяцев назад

WE will remember them.

@Ugnaught82 7 месяцев назад

My father served in the US Marine Corps in WW2, first in a Defense Battalion, then a AAA Battalion, then last in the 4th Regiment, 6th Marine Division. My Mother told me after he died that it took about two years after the war before he stopped waking up in the night, failing his arms and screaming. She said that the radio had a doctor telling wives what to do, so she would leap out of bed, go to the door, and call his name softly until he came to his senses. She said once he cried bitterly because he was afraid he'd hurt her. He wasn't bitter toward the Japanese that I ever saw, and he once expressed to me that the Japanese soldiers were well trained and completely dedicated. During the war, he managed to mail home a lot of stuff. Today I have a large box filled with small Japanese flags, pictures of him and his friends, Japanese military stuff, and a lot of paperwork from his service.

@BAM-jc7uy 3 месяца назад

my dad (d.1951) had same back home experiences and a suitcase fiilled with like items. dad (200th coast art. +) survived the oryoku maru and was prisoner at fukuoka camp 17. We also grew up non-bitter towards the Japanese. nice to meet you. gr-granny NM

@TheHistoryChap 15 часов назад

Thanks for watching my video & for sharing your family story.

@spikeyflo 7 месяцев назад

My mother, as an Australian Army physiotherapist, treated many returned POWs after the war. I also had no idea about Toosey. Great respect to Brig. Toosey. I knew nothing of Sgt Saito either. All very fascinating. Thank You. Mike Floyd

@SilverDreamer62 7 месяцев назад

One of the best history segments you've ever done. Thank You for helping to right a wrong and set the record straight.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

That’s very kind of you thank you

@petersteen4014 7 месяцев назад

As is said, "never let the truth get in the way of a good story." Thank you Chris, from the son of a Royal Australian Engineer, 1st Field Coy, 6th Division, PNG campaign. I truly do believe much of his war experience was an important reason for me becoming a History teacher in Australia, later moving to Japan, [!] teaching English as a Foreign Language, then relocating to S/E Asia for a final career shift.

@alanssnackbardailyrelaxati8155 7 месяцев назад

Great work as ever. Thank you. Growing up in the 70s, i remember my grandfather had an absolute hatred of the Japanese, refusing to buy anything from Japan. Guess he or friends or family had some horrendous experience during this time.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

A former POW live down my road in Nottingham

@jameshepburn4631 6 месяцев назад

Many of my friends in Singapore & Malaysia disliked the Japanese and made no bones about it, especially the older folks who had lived through the Japanese occupation.

@harryshriver6223 7 месяцев назад

A wonderfully told story which page respect can the man who survived and the men who died . The portrayal of lieutenant colonel Tooaey should be redone in modern times so that his real story can be told. I agree with the fact he was slighted by the film portrayal of him as a collaborator. Kudos to you, Chris, for your accuracy and your passion for history

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Harry, thanks for your thoughtful comment. Glad you enjoyed the video.

@lorlabear 7 месяцев назад

You may be interested to know that Frank Pantridge - the doctor from Northern Irelad, who invested the heart defibrilator - was a Japanese POW. His hands were so wrecked that he was unable to carry out an operations after the war. Hence his diversification into other types of medicine. subject for a future video?!

@StevenKeery 7 месяцев назад

Lorlabear: I think you mean invented, not invested the portable defibrillator.

@eamonnclabby7067 7 месяцев назад

Kudos....

@AncoraImparoPiper 7 месяцев назад

You are not correct. The external defibrillator as known today was invented by Electrical Engineer William Kouwenhoven in 1930.

@daveferguson935 7 месяцев назад

@@AncoraImparoPiperHe IS correct! Frank Pantridge invented the portable defibrillator. He was a cardiologist from Northern Ireland. A simple search would confirm this.

@AncoraImparoPiper 7 месяцев назад

@@daveferguson935 He invented the *portable* defibrillator. Not the defibrillator.

@DrPowerElectronics 7 месяцев назад

I had a good friend who was a Japanese POW. The horror of it was such that he never said much. On seeing a streaker he said, ‘I’ve seen too many naked men and don’t want to see another’. Simple but shocking. I believe he was a wartime Major.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Thank you for sharing. There was a former POW who live down my road when I lived in Nottingham.

@Fred-px5xu 7 месяцев назад

As great as the "The Bridge On The River Kwai" was. I hated the portrayal of lead actor. And that the real story of infamous bridge would be told. And you did just as I hoped, and your narration was spot on. Thank you for bringing joy too an elderly gentleman. God bless you and family!🎉

@TheHistoryChap 20 дней назад

Thanks for watching my video & apologies for late reply.

@martinhogg5337 7 месяцев назад

Thanks for putting the record straight!

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Thank you for watching

@nigelhamilton815 7 месяцев назад

To compare Toosey to the film character is a travesty. A brave and selfless officer who worked everyday to improve the lot of his men and took beatings for them on many occasions for being stubborn. His brave contacts with the civilian resistance increased food and medicines into the camp. He should be revered IMO.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Totally agree with you. Many veterans were angry with the film portrayal of the british commanding officer.

@jacktattis 7 месяцев назад

@@TheHistoryChap I think too much influence by US producers

@rachelhenderson2688 6 месяцев назад

Any American film; you can guarantee that the only heroes in the story are Americans! @@jacktattis

@snorkherder 7 месяцев назад

Thank you for telling their story, so we can understand the horror they went through.

@andrewsteele7663 7 месяцев назад

Good morning. Chris, we visited the bridge a number of years ago, my brother and I having both served wanted to see this famous bridge. We visited the war graves on the way and was really pleased to see that the Graves Commision look after them so well. We did note that some of the lettering on the stones were faded or erased. We asked our guide why this was happening. He explained that the locals bring paper out and place it across the stone to create an etch copy with chalk/pencil, as they believe it brings them good luck. My brother and I were emotionally exhausted by the end of the day trip, having found long lost uncles etc. My mother also told me that they had a couple of chaps from the Thai prisons, return to our village at the end of the war. They were so thin, nobody recognized them. And when I asked what became of them. I was told not to ask. But I am led to believe that they were very traumatized and didn't live very long upon their return. Thanks for another great telling, sorry I rambled on. Cheers

@kennyw218 7 месяцев назад

Didn’t you find it bad most if not all the museums are sponsored by Australia

@andrewsteele7663 7 месяцев назад

@@kennyw218 Ken, not sure what you mean by your comment. other to say that the Australian War Graves Commission is a brilliant organization. And if you have seen their work in Africa and even Europe, you may not feel the need to comment

@stillstanding123 7 месяцев назад

The Australian museum at Hell Fire Pass certainly provides greater information than the museum in Kanchanaburi but the serenity and peace at the cemetery is modelled exactly the same as other notable war graves and provides a typically British understatement. Both seem appropriate. What did offend me was the Thais complete lack of respect to this bridges significance by the errection of a mock " PoW camp" targeting the sale of junk food and trinkets on the opposite side of the bridge.

@yvoheaton6402 7 месяцев назад

Some years ago whilst working in Thailand I had the opportunity to visit the area. Very moving as was the walk through Hell Fire Pass and all the history of that too. The detailed information boards erected by Australian Army were very informative. One cannot imagine the heat and toil the prisoners went through.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Wow, I bet your trip was thought provoking and maybe even emotional

@horfieldboy9478 7 месяцев назад

Great video. I had the opportunity to visit the place of the bridge on remembrance day a few years ago. We visited the cemetery, possibly the most moving day of my life, reading the tributes to the fallen soldiers, all in their early 20's. Unbelievable cruelty but that is the nature of war. I read a book about Toosey just after my visit and he sounds like a true hero and couldn't be further from the Alex Guinness portrayal. I seem to recall it was reported he lobbied the local high command to counter attack the Japanese at Singapore which historians believe would have almost certainly succeeded due to the very stretched resources of the Japanese at that point.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Interesting point about Singapore. I haven’t heard that so thanks for sharing.

@MeowingWhale 7 месяцев назад

Thanks for this video - My grandfather worked on engineering the bridge in the film when he worked in Sri Lanka! Great content as always

@normmcrae1140 7 месяцев назад

LOVE to hear the REAL STORY of the Death Railway. ESPECIALLY the story of Lt Col Toosey. Reading comments about other Japanese who repented after the War is a telling story, too.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Thank you for taking the time to watch

@johnquayle7479 7 месяцев назад

I have visited the Thai / Burma railway and also went for a journey on the train. It is simply amazing with all the cuttings, jungle etc. Some really breath taking scenery as well. The war graves are kept in pristine condition. It brings a tear to the eye to see so many from around the Commonwealth and other parts of the world together, where they perished building this railway. If you're in Thailand for a visit, it's well worth the effort to visit this place.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Thank you for the recommendation. And thanks for watching my video too

@tsunkitchiu6877 7 месяцев назад

I paid a visit in Thailand for a week about 40 years ago but didn't have a chance to visit that area. I am anticipating another guided tour for 11 days in March, 2024 including a visit to the museum at the Bridge on The River Kwai.

@craigcarroll8953 7 месяцев назад

I genuinely believe the true story would have made a better movie, another brilliant video thank you

@garyburford5774 7 месяцев назад

Very good video, indeed. I was reminded that the actor, Percy Herbert was a prisoner of the Japanese and was in the film and acted as technical advisor to David Lean. His experience was crucial to Lean. I knew former prisoners of the Japanese and unlike the real Lt Colonel, they all never forgot their experiences nor ever forgave the Japanese. In at least two cases, when the Japanese Emperor was on a state visit to Britain, in I think, when the cortège was going down the Mall, they were among the many in the crowd that turned their backs to the Emperor - in Japanese culture an insult.

@Paladin1873 7 месяцев назад

I remember seeing him in a lot of war movies while I was growing up, but I never knew he had been a POW.

@jacksimpson-rogers1069 7 месяцев назад

There's a more extreme version, called "mooning" where the image from behind does not include the upper part of the body. It's not necessarily Japanese.

@gregmichael8473 7 месяцев назад

My great uncle was on the railway and survived but had a life long hatred of the Japanese. He was a surveyor in Malaya but was in a local military unit and captured. He returned to Australia and continued his surveying career. He was working at a coal mine when some Japanese visited. He was asked by management to assist by carrying their luggage and of course refused. The story goes that he resigned after this, if not on the spot. RIP Harry.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

thank you for taking the time to share. Much appreciated.

@richardbailey3343 7 месяцев назад

I remember listening to a audio recording of this brave fellow many years ago and still when i speak of the movie behind it, people still cant get past the movie.😮

@brianperkins4155 7 месяцев назад

Thank You.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

You're welcome

@user-de6jz5kn6f 7 месяцев назад

Thank you for the history lesson. Lt. Colonel Toosey was a honorable man and a hero. Humanity needs more men like him. After watching what hell he and his men went through, I‘ll just say,,, I have no problems.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Thank you for watching and for taking the time to comment

@user-ws8xn1sw7c 7 месяцев назад

I saw the film and made the trip to kanchanburi in 1993 and travelled on the railway....thank you for your excellent presentation.❤❤❤❤❤

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching.

@hunglikeadonkeybutnotassmelly 7 месяцев назад

I have lost count how many times I watched the film...I know,,,MADNESS Bloody Madness! Because of that i went to Kanchanaburi to see it for myself.

@markfisher8206 7 месяцев назад

Excellent Chris. I have marched across the bridge whistling “ the tune” along with a troop of Thai Boy Scouts in uniform who must have wondered about the crazy round eye. The other fact that I have never forgotten from the museum at one of the cemeteries is that the first soldiers to die were all members of the battalion ( Dorsets I believe) soccer team as they had no accumulated body fat to sustain them,and thus weakened and died.The other fact was the steel part of the bridges were taken from a railway in the dutch East Indies and shipped to the site.

@TheHistoryChap 20 дней назад

Thanks for watching my video & for sharing your story.

@dandog7653 7 месяцев назад

I enjoyed the movie, suspected it was not accurate in any way, was pleased to get this truthful version from you. What a great story, you did a great job telling it. Thank you.

@heinzh5687 7 месяцев назад

In early 2000 I saw the Thailand part of the bridge. The Thais take pretty good care of it, I saw them doing some welding on it.

@bobclover4634 7 месяцев назад

Brilliant video as always. Your portrayal of the people involved in these historic events really is magnificent. I look forward to the next one.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

it's like painting the Forth Bridge! Ha ha

@eamonnclabby7067 7 месяцев назад

@@TheHistoryChapthe old ones are the best....maybe next ,the battle of Handforth parish council...only kidding...😅😅😅...what would I know I,m from Birkenhead....E...

@coult001 7 месяцев назад

It took longer than usual to look at this story because I grew up in the care of my grandparents who both were in Japenese camps in Java. You have told that period very well, thank you! Many good friends of my grandparents were lost on that railway...! My grandmothers life was saved by the Japanese commander of the camp on 15 August 1945 by holding back local gangs wanting to kill all Dutch woman and children in the camp. He handed his weapons to the Gurka's a week later.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Thank you for sharing your family history, and for watching my video

@stuartdavey1327 7 месяцев назад

Another great video! Filled me with anger and sadness and everything in between keep them coming

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Thank you so much for watching and for taking the time to comment

@stillstanding123 7 месяцев назад

Another superb account Chris and thank you for your respect not only to the captured soldiers but also the even greater numbers of locals who also perished. Your research into the post war effects and stories behind Toosey and Saito was so interesting. I now live in Thailand and each year try to pay my respects at the CWG cemetery at Kanchanaburi. It is a calm and well kept memorial to those men who died and quietly walking around reading the families inscriptions brings tear to my eye. Your videos are so good at reporting the often overlooked facts. Thank you Chris

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching.

@margaretklos8937 7 месяцев назад

@@TheHistoryChapthank you for making this video. I never knew the true story of the bridge until I found your video.

@pugowner1347 7 месяцев назад

Thanks for the perspective.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

At the end of the day, History is all about perspectives

@d.g.n9392 7 месяцев назад

Very well done video, I have watched the movie several times through the years. Interesting to hear the real story and the men’s biography

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching.

@Ceilliau 7 месяцев назад

Thank you so much. What a wonderful story brought to life for us all to appreciate. Those men on both sides made so many sacrifices that we can not possibly imagine that hardship in our modern, comfortable, and frankly placid lives

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Thank you for watching my video

@Katmando376 7 месяцев назад

Thank you, Chris, one of the best videos you have done!

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Very kind of you, thanks.

@eamonnclabby7067 7 месяцев назад

@@TheHistoryChaptotally echo that sentiment...E...

@Paladin1873 7 месяцев назад

The author of the book on which the movie is based was Pierre Boulle, himself a Free French agent who was captured by Vichy loyalists in Indochina in 1943 and subjected to harsh treatment. After the war he wrote the highly fictional novel. Your recounting of some of the actual events is a rare and refreshing treat for those of us who have studied WWII history and would like to see the record set straight. To this end I'd like to tell a highly truncated companion story involving a late friend of mine who was born and raised on the island of Bali before the war. His father was the military commander of colonial Indonesian forces there, so Carl enjoyed a privileged, but strict and colorful military upbringing. As luck would have it, Carl was attending the Dutch version of West Point (or Sandhurst) in Holland when his home country was invaded by the Germans. He spent the rest of the war serving in the Underground, eventually assisting British ground forces during their drive to liberate the Netherlands. Meanwhile, the Dutch East Indies remained independent but unable to assist. This became a moot point when the Empire of Japan invaded the Indonesian island chain in January of 1942. His father's engineering battalion retreated to the jungles and fought the Japanese for months until their supplies ran out. After their surrender they became part of the group of Dutch POWs who were pressed into constructing the Railway of Death. Carl would not see his father again until he returned to the Far East following the Japanese surrender in 1945. It was then that he learned the details of his father's plight. Major (later Colonel) Hazenberg's experiences in many ways mirrored those of both LTC (Brigadier) Toosey and the fictional Colonel Nicholson. When he refused to order his men to work on the railway, he was beaten and put in a hot box, but he did not break. Eventually the camp commander had to negotiate a deal with him. In exchange for their labor, he promised adequate rations and medical care, an action which saved many lives. When the war ended the Japanese commander surrendered his sword to Major Hazenberg, who later gave it to his son, Carl. I have seen and handled this sword, which remains in the family to this day.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Thank you for taking the time to add that additional information to my comment section. Very much appreciated.

@Paladin1873 7 месяцев назад

@@TheHistoryChap Soon all such memories of the past will be lost, save for those few fragments we post in the ether we call the internet.

@desfourie528 7 месяцев назад

Thank you from South Africa

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

My pleasure, thanks for watching

@kaoskronostyche9939 7 месяцев назад

Great to hear the entire, true story. Thank you.

@simonnoble7589 7 месяцев назад

Hi , that was fantastic to watch , you tell the story so well ... Loved your work , on my fav film .. Thank you 😃🙃😊

@TheHistoryChap 20 дней назад

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.

@thehumancanary131 7 месяцев назад

Also, the film "The Bridge on the River Kwai" was made in Sri Lanka (Ceylon). I have visited the site, and am surprised the film crew survived the awful curries that were sold in nearby restaurants. You should have mentioned "Weary Dunlop" - a famous Australian doctor who treated many of the POWs - being a POW himself.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Thank you for taking the time to contribute

@bruceferguson6637 7 месяцев назад

Enjoyed this clarification of events over the movie. Quite a story.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Thanks for watching

@aislinnkeilah7361 6 месяцев назад

A remarkable podcast setting the record straight.

@TheHistoryChap 6 месяцев назад

Thank you for taking the time to listen

@kmorton54 7 месяцев назад

Chris, this was one of your best videos. Well done you 👏

@Simon.the.Likeable 7 месяцев назад

Walking through the cemetery on Anzac Day some years ago now and being bought to tears at the sight of the graves of those cut down in the flower of their youth, I realised there were so many heroes of the River Kwai. Still, Smedley Bulter was 100% correct when he said, "War is a racket."

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Thank you for sharing your journey. Must’ve been a poignant moment.

@mikenorton3294 7 месяцев назад

Thank you for telling the real story.

@robertchubb5602 7 месяцев назад

How a man can respect another foe...this is priceless..they shared what is known..and unknown to us..and this man became respectful of this man's resilience and passion. This gave him back his life

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Thank you for watching and for taking the time to write a comment too.

@bradwilliams7212 7 месяцев назад

Thank you. Like so many, I had no idea. Your research is well respected.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching.

@davidarchibald50 7 месяцев назад

Thanks for that HC. In these days of the returning of the bestiality of war across the globe it is easy to fall into despair about the moral arc of humanity. The story of LC Toosey and SM Saito is an indication that there is a goodness given to some that will survive even the darkest horrors. Maybe there is hope yet for humanity.

@TheHistoryChap 20 дней назад

Thanks for watching my video

@robertsansone1680 7 месяцев назад

Excellent as always. Thank You

@FranceDuseberg-yo8ej 7 месяцев назад

What a wonderful story of very brave men. Thank you.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Glad you enjoyed it

@roddixon368 7 месяцев назад

Thanks, my father was stationed at RAF Seletar 1965-7. Even then there were still many examples where the POWs had managed to poorly construct things. The roads between Seletar and Changi where my school was had several good examples. The Japanese and Korean troops had very few trained engineers in their ranks and had to rely on the POWs for these skills.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Fascinating to hear how the POWs quietly resisted

@kevinfuller1805 6 месяцев назад

I just came back from visiting Kanchanaburi cemetery and Hell fire pass. It is a place certainly worth a visit and brings home the horrors of war. May all the soldiers from both sides rest in peace.

@TheHistoryChap 6 месяцев назад

Thanks for posting that nice comment

@michaelmalone9062 6 месяцев назад

I remember watching the fictional film in 1960. Thanks for bringing truth to the story of the Bridge on the River Kwai. And thanks for honoring the real Lt. Colonel commander of the POW's. "History Chap" you do an outstanding job of teaching us history in an outstanding way.

@TheHistoryChap 6 месяцев назад

Glad you enjoyed the video and thank you for your very kind comment. If you haven’t already, please do subscribe to my channel

@michaelmalone9062 6 месяцев назад

Yes, I'm a subscriber. Thanks for your good work.

@Love_rainy_days 7 месяцев назад

Thanks for sharing! that was a great movie and a great march.💂‍♀💂‍♀ My dad was a POW in WW2 with his brother in Germany. The Germans put them on a farm to work. The American POWs acted like they did not know how to do farm work and the German said "All Americans are all cowboys and gangsters and don't know how to do farm work". Then, a farm kid from Minnesota, came to the farm. And he was a working fool. When the German saw him working they knew all the Americans knew how to work, and the American POWs holiday was over. Love the channel.💖 My dad passed in 2000 at age 78. The VA ruled his death was related to him being a POW in Germany 40 years before. So all the POWs of WW2 had it bad. They were the greatest generation. Cheers 🍺🍺🤠

@Lemmi99 6 месяцев назад

My uncle was in Philip Toosey's TA regiment before the war and was evacuated from Dunkirk with him. He was 19.

@TheHistoryChap 6 месяцев назад

Thanks so much for sharing your family story

@venividiviking 5 дней назад

It´s in Kanchanabury, Thailand. I lived in Thailand from 10-17. One evening, me and gf sat and watched the movie. Suddenly she said "they speak thai now". I was surprised and googled the location of the bridge. It was only few hours drive from Bangkok, so we went to Kanchanabury a couple of weeks later (i love history and historical locations). Ofcourse it´s a "money-machine" from the tourists now and bridge was rebuild after WW2. Even moved a little, if memory serves me. And with a little train But it was a interesting weekend anyway. There´s also the "Hell fire pass" and a big graveyard with Aussies,Dutch and british POW´s who didn´t survived. If you come to BKK, i will recommed to visit Kanchanabury.

@TheHistoryChap День назад

Thanks for watching my video & for your feedback.

@steverosario5962 7 месяцев назад

This was a superb story ! Well done sir 👍👍👍

@TheHistoryChap 20 дней назад

Thanks, & thanks for watching my video

@alexandradane3672 23 дня назад

Thank you and I’m delighted to have found this channel and become a new Subscriber .

@TheHistoryChap 22 дня назад

Thanks for your support, & thanks for watching my video.

@brianivey73 7 месяцев назад

Another stellar video! My favorite yet sir

@balasubramaniamjanardhanan9673 5 месяцев назад

Thanks for sharing such important information.

@TheHistoryChap 5 месяцев назад

My pleasure. Thanks for watching my video.

@davidwhite4874 7 месяцев назад

I took a short break there while living in Bangkok in '93. Walked across the bridge in flip-flops (not advisable). There's an interesting little museum there, too, called the JEATH museum, for some reason.

@kevinfuller1805 6 месяцев назад

The Jeath name is made up from the country's of Japan, England, Australia, Thailand and I think the last is Holland. So I am told.

@gregorylumpkin2128 7 месяцев назад

One thing that is highly accurate stands the test of time is the statement made by the good doctor at the very end: "madness".

@TheHistoryChap 20 дней назад

Thanks for watching my video.

@garynurkiewicz7789 7 месяцев назад

Brilliant, mate

@TheHistoryChap 20 дней назад

Thanks.

@roycanriz 7 месяцев назад

A great programme. Thanks.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

My pleasure

@MarkDenson-ld8bf 3 месяца назад

Thank you that was an excellent video and quite emotional especially the ending Total Respect

@TheHistoryChap 3 месяца назад

Thanks for watching. If you haven’t already, please do subscribe to my channel here on RU-vid

@anglo4906 7 месяцев назад

Brilliant video as always

@bob_the_bomb4508 7 месяцев назад

It’s great to remember the treatment of the local population…. As you say, the bridge wasn’t over the Kwai. The Burma Railway doesn’t cross the Kwai. The railway bridge goes over the Mae Klong. However for years after the film was released tourists started to arrive looking to find ‘the bridge over the river Kwai’. The ever enterprising Thais subsequently renamed a section of the Mae Klong to ‘Kwai.’ As you say the bridge was bombed and indeed you can see the carcasses of two unexploded 1000lb bombs on the eastern abutment. It’s only a reasonably short bus ride from Bangkok and still worth a visit, not least to see the excellent Australian-run museum at Hellfire Pass and the beautifully maintained Commonwealth War Grave at Kanchanaburi.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Thanks so much for taking the time to share this information and how close it is to Bangkok.

@generalbanastretarleton6578 7 месяцев назад

Absolutely fantastic video.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Many thanks!

@tomparatube6506 Месяц назад

I'm glad I ran across and watched this. Very educational and eye opening. Thank you 👍👍

@TheHistoryChap Месяц назад

I’m glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching. Please do subscribe to the channel so you don’t miss further videos

@kathrinevaradaraj4365 9 дней назад

My grandmother-in-law survived working on the death railway. Her family was Tamil coolies under the British in Malaysia, and when the British plantation owners fled, they had no work. The Japanese put up posters asking for workers and promised food and shelter, so her family volunteered. Out of 2 parents and 9 siblings, only 2 survived. Her work consisted mostly of carrying big rocks up a hill, she said. When I asked how her family died, she said it was because they drank bamboo water that cut up their intestines and they bleed to death. I believe they got typhoid or cholera. They survived eating tapioca, and she would not under any circumstance eat tapioca ever.She said that they felt very sorry for the British, as they were not used to hard labor like the coolies were. After the war she married and got 7 children. She lived to be 79 years old and was an absolutely wonderful lady.

@TheHistoryChap 8 дней назад

Thank you for watching my video & for sharing your interesting family story.

@scottlewisparsons9551 7 месяцев назад

Thank you for another informative video. I have visited the bridge, museum and graves. I found it a very moving experience. However, rightly or wrongly, I think that my overwhelming emotion was anger.

@TheHistoryChap 20 дней назад

Thanks for watching my video

@scottlewisparsons9551 10 дней назад

@@TheHistoryChap further to my comment above. I have just visited my uncle’s grave at Trois Arbres cemetery near Lille in France. It is a relatively small ww1 cemetery surrounded by farms. The strange thing is that compared to visiting the war graves near the bridge on the river Kwai I experienced very little emotion at all, even though my uncle is buried there. Perhaps just sadness.

@edlicsathiamurthy4520 2 месяца назад

Thanks.... a powerful documentary

@TheHistoryChap 2 месяца назад

Glad you enjoyed it

@MrBook123456 7 месяцев назад

thanks a another good video

@philipmarsden7104 7 месяцев назад

Excellent video, thankyou very much!

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

You are welcome!

@andysvehiclehistorychannel 7 месяцев назад

I'v been so looking forward to this video and as usual you didn't disappoint 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

@pookieanderson9474 7 месяцев назад

Very nice story

@jameshepburn4631 6 месяцев назад

The famous 1957 movie “The Bridge On The River Kwai” was based on the 1952 book by Frenchman Pierre Boulle which in English was “The Bridge Over The River Kwai”. Boulle was an engineer by profession. He was working for the Free French in Singapore when the Japanese captured it and they made him a forced labor prisoner for two years. He wrote ‘Bridge’ inspired by personal experience. Boulle also, in 1963, wrote his other classic “Planet Of The Apes” on which the series of 9 movies is based.

@TheHistoryChap 6 месяцев назад

Thanks for sharing. he always argued that the CO in the book was not based on Toosey but on French Vichy collaborators whom he came across in Indo-China.

@davepask4706 7 месяцев назад

Another great video Chris. Love your work. Would you consider doing a video on the Wager mutiny and Captain Cheap? Little known but fascinating story.

@MW-oq9pv День назад

My father, an American, was captured by the Germans off the coast of Madagascar and turned over to the Japanese in Singapore (Changi Prison). He spent three years as a slave laborer to the JIA working on Death's Railway. This is the most accurate information I've come across regarding this historical story. Worth a listen as the feat of engineering was extraordinary and the horrors of the camps along the railway construction reflect the inhumanity of the JIA. My understanding is that somewhere in the neighborhood of 300,000 men, women and children died in the construction of the railroad.

@TheHistoryChap День назад

Thanks for watching my video & for sharing your family story.

@andyblyth923 7 месяцев назад

Am already hooked

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Great. I hope you enjoy this and all my other videos.

@kaythomas5884 7 месяцев назад

A friend of my father worked on the railway and survived to return to Australia and work as a sleeper cutter for our Queensland Railways. His name was Phil Davis. He was nearly blind from beri beri. They used to go cane cutting, also hard work. Kay

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Kay, thanks for taking the time to share your story about Phil Davis.

@kaythomas5884 7 месяцев назад

Those men were forgotten for a long time, but this has changed a lot. Not that it worried them. They continued on with life and were thus victorious. I have included this in my book the Pilgrims Progress to Victory, since I found out my father is descended for one of the Pilgrim Fathers of America, the Rev Thomas Blossom, Kay Thomas@@TheHistoryChap

@Aguilatriste46 7 месяцев назад

Thank you very much for this. My husband and I visited the camp when we went to Thailand and we saw the museum. I saw the movie and I remember crying. The real story is much more moving. My husband was French and I am Mexican regards and thank you again.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Thank you for taking the time to tell me about your visit to Thailand and the camp

@kelvinriach4573 7 месяцев назад

There ought to be another film with the true story of the Bridge told warts and all My late dad served in Burma 1942-45. I remember once when the film was on TV he told me to switch it off explained it was all lies .God bless those 16,00, brave lads and the numerous civilians who were worked to death. And total respect for Lt/Col Toosey Why did he never get the Victoria Cross Staying with his men when he could have escaped on one of those last ships?

@samrodian919 7 месяцев назад

They would never have given a VC to somebody who had surrendered. " Not the done thing old boy" you can just imagine it can't you?

@marywagner9927 7 месяцев назад

There is ! It is To End All Wars. It is fantastic, but brutal.

@Stornoman 7 месяцев назад

4:03 If there is another film of that period they should base it on my Uncle's experience. He was a Medic on the bridge, see his book 'In the Shadow of Death by Idris James Barwick. Out of print but copies available in the internet.

@HandyMan657 7 месяцев назад

Nicely done. Cheers

@brianmitchell4957 7 месяцев назад

Excellent ❤

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Thanks 😊

@historybuff1673 7 месяцев назад

Love this, thanks!

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Glad you enjoyed it!

@sailordude2094 Месяц назад

Powerful story that he stayed to be with his men. Thanks for the history!

@TheHistoryChap Месяц назад

Thanks for watching my video, glad you enjoyed it.

@buckgulick3968 7 месяцев назад

VERY well done!

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Thank you very much

@NigelDeForrest-Pearce-cv6ek 7 месяцев назад

Very Well Done!!!

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Thank you!

@garysimpson3900 7 месяцев назад

Like "Zulu" this film is a travesty to reality. I remember your article that Private Hook's relatives walked out of the "Zulu" Premier at the portrayal of their relative.

@MasonBryant 7 месяцев назад

I understand how they felt but the film wasn't made for them. He was a brilliant multifaceted character.

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Thanks for taking the time to make that comparison.

@sameyers2670 7 месяцев назад

Thank you this was fascinating

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Thank you for watching

@johnboomerboy3042 2 месяца назад

Excellent presentation. Hollywood never fails to fail.

@TheHistoryChap 2 месяца назад

Glad you enjoyed it.

@steveaxell2487 7 месяцев назад

Great story thanks, really great timing, I am travelling up to look at the bridge in the next week or so something I have wanted to do since seeing the film as a child ( I now live in Thailand).

@TheHistoryChap 7 месяцев назад

Have fun!