In the Shadow of the Rising Sun

by Olga Henderson

In February 1942, nine-year-old Olga and her family were living in Malaysia when Singapore fell to the Japanese Imperial Army in the biggest defeat in history of the British Forces.

Sent to the notorious Changi Prison, they suffered three years of disease, malnutrition and oppression, and feared they would never be free.

Now in her nineties, Olga’s inspirational childhood story of survival is testament to the power of hope and the resilience and resourcefulness of the human spirit.

Genres: Nonfiction, Autobiography, History

246 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 6, 2023

Reviews

[EmG ReadsDaily · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating and frightening story of fear, brutality and deprivation as a child prisoner of war.

[Simone The Glam Historian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book review - “In the shadow of the rising sun” by Olga Henderson. 5/5 ⭐️ Finished only last week. Heartwarming & heart wrenching. Poignant. Important. Link to see the review on my Instagram at the end :)

The story of a teenage girls experience in a prisoner of war camp in Singapore during World War II. Beautifully told from start to end. From her idyllic life growing up with her British parents & siblings in Malaya, seeing tigers, shaking shoes out in case of scorpions and eating delicious “exotic” fruit - a life far away from her ancestral British roots that she never truly saw England as home. Then in her teens, the war creeping ever closer, they had to deal with life under Japanese occupation, eventually ending up spending 4 years in captivity. A harrowing story told from a young persons perspective, only realizing years later some of the things she seen and heard but had not understood at the time. A coming of age but not in the way one expects. But also a story of the resilience of the human spirit and the bonds of family & friendship. 🧡

An often overlooked part of WWII history, the lives of those held captive and worse in the eastern part of the world under a regime as strikingly cruel as the Nazis. Olga tells this story and memorializes the struggle of her family and others she knew and how she never let it break her. A story of courage in the face of adversity, a story of moving on post war & forging a new life. An important piece of modern history and a reminder to love, forgive, treat others with kindness and not punish people for the sins of a few in the past. Give it a read 🤍

https://www.instagram.com/p/C4EX7INKj...

[bryan fothergill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating book that shows the strength and resilience of Olga and her family through an horrendous and emotional time. Having read so little about the captivity of women and children by the Japanese during WII, Olga’s story of her time growing up in Singapore as a young girl before the war is greatly appreciated. Her retelling of her time detained during the occupation by the Japanese and consequent interment in camps helps us to understand what herself and many others went through, when quite literally not much is known of the brutality meted out on those poor souls in various camps.
I’m glad to know Olga eventually found happiness after being subjected to a life no child should ever have to go through.

[Lisa Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A moving and evocative record of beauty and brutality

I cannot be alone in knowing very little about the FEPOWs; so much of the history and memorials of WWII are centred around Europe for students in England who are without any connection to the experiences of those in Singapore and beyond.
The beauty of Olga’s childhood and the horrors that followed are an important record of the awful realities of war, but more importantly this is a record of the strength and compassion that is shown by people despite living through horror and how these experiences continue to shape them throughout their lives.

[Claire Robertson-Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

A remarkable book about the strength of character shown by this incredible lady. A story of survival in the most dreadful circumstances.

[Annette Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the Shadow of the Rising Sun by Olga Henderson is a powerful and important memoir, detailing her experiences as a child and young teen in a Japanese Prisoner of War camp during the second world war. She and her family had been living in Malaysia before it was occupied by the Japanese and were unable to evacuate in time so were rounded up and forcibly separated and sent to camps. Olga, her sister and her mother were able to stay together but that was the only comfort they had for the next several years. Life in captivity was brutal with meagre rations and harsh punishments for even the most minor infractions, and for some of the older teens and younger women there was also the fear of sexual assault. The author does not shy away from talking about these experiences in very forthright terms, and I think the fact that the book reads like a woman telling her story in such a conversational style is a real strength. I also appreciated that she continued her story after she was liberated from the camp and spoke very openly about the physical and mental scars that she and the other survivors carried with them.
This is an important part of world history and one that is often overlooked and I hope that more readers find Olga's story.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

[Hikari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the subject matter, this is an inspiring story of how one family survived being imprisoned by the Japanese during their occupation of Singapore. The memoir starts with Olga's childhood which, whilst not luxurious, sounds full of fun and laughter. Then the Japanese captured Singapore and the family entered up being imprisoned, along with many others, in Changi prison. Ripped from her Dad, she and her siblings live in captivity - there's brutality, diminishing rations, fears of sexual abuse but also moments of lightness. When Singapore was going to be recaptured, they were all forced to move again to a camp where conditions are even worse. Many are suffering from severe malnutrion and it emerges, later, that there were plans to execute all those imprisoned but thankfully, they were all liberated before this happened. The memoir ends with life after the camps and the serious scars and health problems that they all carried. Olga marries a man who had been interned himself, finding that only someone who'd experienced the suffering of the camps could truly understand them, and they travelled the world with his job. Well worth a read. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an important read. It is important for us to learn about the WWII across the globe, and not just what took place in Germany. Olga brings light to the atrocities of life in internment camps under the Japanese. I knew little bits of what had happened as a history student, but learning the whole thing is shocking. She outlines what her life looked like before, during and after the occupation/imprisonment, as well as her families and friends. A great mix of showing the true horrors but also showing the things they did to keep morale and love thriving.

I was unsure about how to rate this book, but it is definitely getting five stars. There was never a time where I was disengaged, I smiled at the happy moments of her childhood and life after occupation, cried for their years in the camps and aspects of life after, and above all got literal chills from this book. It is brilliant! SO many amazing pictures included of their lives, and many interesting artifacts from this period.

[Leonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful and heartbreaking book, that also brought back so many memories of my own childhood in Malaysia, especially in the earlier chapters where she recalls the time before the war.
Love how the book manages to convey so many emotions despite having a super concise writing style.
Olga raises a good point about how the experiences of POWs in Asian internment camps under the Japanese occupation during WW2 is much less documented compared to the experiences of Jewish people in the European Nazi camp system happening at the same time.

[pamela wilkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humbling true story

This story was so easy to read. I couldn't put it down. This true story keeps you wanting more even though you know it was written at the expense of people suffering. I am so grateful for olga sharing her experience s. It must have been horrendous for her and writing this book must have brought back all those memories.
It has made me more grateful for the things I have and I look forward to visiting the IWM to view the quilt to make a connection.

[Bee Shoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find books about the experience of everyday people during WW2 enlightening and an important part of keeping the memory of what we did alive, because we should never find ourselves repeating history again. Olga doesn't shy away from the gruesome details. Her story shows how the impact of those years physically and mentally scared so many people including c children.

[Phil Stubbington · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent account of Olga’s experiences in Changi and Sime Road. Very moving as my grandfather was also interred at both camps. I have a copy of his contemporaneous diary and some letters home.

My mother and grandmother somehow managed to get out on the Empress of Japan (renamed the Empress of Scotland)

[Jacqueline Simmonds · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that everyone should read

Not much makes me cry but this story did. Not the brutality of life in the camps but the thoughts and sentiments at the end.

[Helen Malone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

True reflection of one person's life and experiences being held as a POW. Very harrowing in parts but beautiful in others. Well worth reading

[Anna FEATHERSTONE · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was difficult to read at times as the author and her family’s life was so brutal but an important book to write and to read. Very good

[Elise Lassalle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Undoubtedly an incredible story but unfortunately i found the writing style so badic it was hard to become emotionally invested

[Patriciagoodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

a very inspirational autobiography of the author's childhood in a Japanese prison camp ww2.

[Amelia Salmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartwarming, poignant, heart wrenching. Such an important book telling us what POW went through. Such bravery.

[Rena Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've read a book about the second world war in Europe then you should read this! Written by a woman 10 years older than my own mother who was at the same camp at the same time. My mum was born there and is mentioned in the book! Olga and her family have a refreshing attitude towards living overseas which was unusual at that time which I love.

[Neala Trevelyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the entitled millennials in the world should read this. Very humbling.