Honour for 99-year-old who survived the horrors of Death Railway

Len Gibson, from West Herrington, near Houghton-le-Spring, survived the notoriously tough conditions on the Burma railway and Mergui Road during the three-and-a-half years he spent as a Far East Prisoner of War (FEPOW).

The retired teacher, who was awarded a BEM for services to remembrance, devoted much time upon his return from the war to supporting other FEPOWS, raising money for widows and other veterans, and organising VJ parades in Sunderland.

He turned his memories into a book – called A Wearside Lad in World War II – to help educate the next generations.

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On finding out about his award, he said: “I was surprised. I feel like I was doing all my good work years ago but it’s very nice.

Len Gibson, aged 19, when he joined up

“I’ll be invited to the garden party next year, so I’ve got to live another year to see the Queen. I’ll be 100 then.”

Signing up days before the outbreak of the Second World War, he was 19 when he joined 500 other men from Sunderland in the125 Anti-Tank Field Regiment of the Royal Artillery. He said: “During six years of war we became like brothers. When one of them died, it was like losing someone from the family.

“Out of the regiment, 196 didn’t come back.”

The regiment had been North Africa bound, but following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, they were diverted to east Asia.

Attacked before they reached Singapore, they were taken prisoner after just ten days of fighting, and Mr Gibson ended up working on the infamous Burma railway – known as the Death Railway – before being sent to Mergui Road.

With little food and without proper clothing, they were forced to cut through the jungle in punishing conditions to create a route for the Japanese Army.

He said: “There were 1,000 of us but 100 didn’t even get started. The conditions were worse than on the railway.

“The food was terrible, three cups of rice a day and very little else. The guards were bullies.”

He added: “The place was thick with leeches. Everytime you walked up the path they would get between your toes.

“In the monsoons it never stopped raining and the guards never stopped shouting.

“I don’t know how much longer I could have endured it.”

Suffering more than 20 doses of malaria, as well as typhus and other diseases, he weighed just seven stone when he returned home after the war. He was sent to convalesce in hospital in Ryhope, where he met Ruby, a nurse, who became his wife of more than 70 years.

During his time as a POW, the only communication he was allowed to send home was a postcard, which read: “I am a prisoner of war and in good health. Love Len.”

The only message Mr Gibson was able to send to his family during his time in captivity

He added: “The only other thing I could have written was, ‘I am a prisoner of war and I am in hospital’.”

Despite the conditions, Mr Gibson, who had been a choirboy before the war, helped keep morale up. He made a guitar from a wooden crate, learnt how to play it and entertained his fellow prisoners.

He said: “It was our spirit that kept us going out there for three years. We would be working and slaving all day and at the end of the day we would jump in the River Kwai and have a cup of rice, and in no time we would be sat around the fire and be laughing. It was amazing really.”

When VJ day came, Mr Gibson was one of a handful of men still standing. He added: “We didn’t know about D-Day or that the war in Europe had finished. It was August 15 when we found out and we didn’t believe the guards.

“There were 18 of us still standing on our feet. Lots were in hospital or lying ill. Lots had been evicted to the death camp.”

About 13 years ago, Mr Gibson wrote down his memories of the war after being asked by his grandchildren about what he had done in the war.

Working with the History of Education Project, all proceeds from the book are donated to a charity dedicated to adult education.

As well as working in schools, Mr Gibson went on to teach music to cohorts at the teacher training college in Neville's Cross, Durham and after helping his two sisters learn how to play the guitar, they toured over 60s clubs in the area, providing entertainment at their gatherings.

Mr Gibson had the chance to return to east Asia on two occasions, playing the guitar for ambassadors in Bangkok and Singapore, as well as visiting the graves of his friends who died during the war.