Survivor on the River Kwai: The Incredible Story of Life on the Burma Railway

by Reg Twigg

Survivor on the River Kwai is the heartbreaking story of Reg Twigg, one of the last men standing from a forgotten war. Called up in 1940, Reg expected to be fighting Germans. Instead, he found himself caught up in the worst military defeat in modern British history - the fall of Singapore to the Japanese.What followed were three years of hell, moving from one camp to another along the Kwai river, building the infamous Burma railway for the all-conquering Japanese Imperial Army. Some prisoners coped with the endless brutality of the code of Bushido by turning to God; others clung to whatever was left of the regimental structure. Reg made the deadly jungle, with its malaria, cholera, swollen rivers, lethal snakes and exhausting heat, work for him. With an ingenuity that is astonishing, he trapped and ate lizards, harvested pumpkins from the canteen rubbish heap and with his homemade razor became camp barber.That Reg survived is testimony to his own courage and determination, his will to beat the alien brutality of camp guards who had nothing but contempt for him and his fellow POWs. He was a risk taker whose survival strategies sometimes bordered on genius. Reg's story is unique.Reg Twigg was born at Wigston (Leicester) barracks on 16 December 1913. He was called up to the Leicestershire Regiment in 1940 but instead of fighting Hitler he was sent to the Far East, stationed at Singapore. When captured by the Japanese, he decided he would do everything to survive.After his repatriation from the Far East, Reg returned to Leicester. With his family he returned to Thailand in 2006, and revisited the sites of the POW camps. Reg died in 2013, at the age of ninety-nine, two weeks before the publication of this book.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, World War II, Biography, War, Autobiography, 20th Century

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 23, 2013

Reviews

[Jack Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic account of such a horrible time. It really recounts the events of the railway and the lives the POWs went through.

I only picked it up because of the connection to Leicester and the proximity to Reg’s birthplace to my grandparents place and the research I have done into the Leicester regiment in the past. I’m pleased I did pick it up. Fantastic read.

[Elisabetpingkan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible true story of british Private who was captured by Japanese on Singapore and had to work in a forced labour of Thailand-Burma railway.
Reg twigg described the work camps and the situation perfectly. He also wrote how they survived hunger, the diseases and Japanese Koreans guard tortures.
His work is quite different with Eric Lomax and Louis Zamperini. Eric and louis both had forgiven the Japanese, but in Reg Twigg writings we can feel the hatred. It's not bad, it's just different.
The details are amazing, the book also contain some pictures.
What I like about his writing is that he went to a lot of work camps along the thai-burma railway, and he lived to tell the story. He knew some of camps conditions. He lived through it and he described it well.
One of historical biography of PoW that you cannot miss.

[Donna Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

As we are planning a visit next year I have been interested in finding more on the history of the River Kwai. An interesting read, telling of the life of Reg Twigg a young British soldier who became a prisioner of war, spending 3 years in forced labour under the Japanese on the thailand - Burma railway.

[Collette Gillan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking- never ever should we forget what our loved one’s went through nor should we forget how this country of ours ignored them- such a gripping story of one man’s survival- never to be forgotten- May God grant him eternal rest- an absolute Superman and this book is worth a hundred stars

[James Kidd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb. Easily one of the most memorable and moving books I have read in a while. Reg Twigg was one of the forgotten heroes of WWII. He had the misfortune to be at Singapore when the allies surrendered. And then he went to the Railway. It is not just the railway. It is the Railway. Of death. Of disease. Of Japanese and Korean sadistic, cruel, inhuman punishment and treatment. And he survives. Unlike so many who did not. Read this book and remember the ones who did not make it out of the jungle. Reg. if you are still with us, we salute you.

[Bookcaffe Swanbourne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. What an amazing story. It baffles the mind to think of such strength during such a terrible experience.

[Soozee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The forgotten army. Young Reggie Twigg joins the army and is taken to the Far East, pretty much just in time to be captured. He spends the rest of the War in captivity (there is no possibility of escape) under the worst conditions possible, enduring the backbreaking work on the Burma railway, under fed, with guards who were barely human.

The book starts with Reg's early life, which gives a picture of the type of lad he was and goes some way to explaining how he survived. His was not a gentle childhood - his learned at an early age to fight for what he needed on the streets of Leicester and this would stand him in good stead. He also had incredible luck - most men suffering a leg ulcer or beriberi in that hostile jungle environment would not live to tell the tale. However he is not bitter; he lost so many friends but he praises the medics for doing the little they could, and he is not against all Japanese and Koreans, only the incredible sadists he suffered under.

Its a heartbreaking tale, but one that needed to be told. When we think of the Second World War our minds tend to swerve instantly to Hitler and his misdoings, but far worse atrocities were being committed against our army in the Far East.

Thank you, Reg, for sharing your story.

[Trev Maynard · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing and harrowing account of one man’s survival after the fall of Singapore. Ray Twigg tells the story of his life so well, from his tough upbringing to his army career and surviving through several years where so many of his friends died at the hands of the Japanese.
He tells the story frankly and never fails to miss tiny moments of humour or even pleasure when kindness is shown or he manages for example , to smoke a pipeful of jungle made tobacco. He never ever forgets those that died around him and this book is a living testimony to him and that generation that gave all and for many years were the forgotten army. What a man Ray was, a quite amazing book.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

My great grandfather was a POW in Thailand. His troopship was dive bombed and he swam in shark infested waters to the shore. Was then captured and worked on the railways. My nan described it as 4 years of torture. He never spoke about it when he returned, he just refused to own anything Japanese. It was so sad, yet interesting to read what Reg and possibly what my great grandfather went through. They don’t make men like that anymore. Reg and my great grandfather Jack would have possibly crossed paths at Tarsao according to dates. But sadly won’t ever know. I loved this book and I am really grateful that he shared his story.

[Rabspur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on one mans experiences Reg Twigg whilst working on the bridge on the river KWAI during the second world war and the atrocities dished out to the British and Australian POW's. the survivors whose lives were never the same after being liberated. I have read a lot of books on the Burma railway, this has got to be one of the best. Unfortunately the movie Bridge on the river Kwai made in 1957 does not portray anything like what really occurred. Highly recommended and easy read hence the five stars.

[Bev Cheetham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not related to Reg Twigg but it was recommended by someone who is. I read this then without bias or nostalgia and was absorbed by the frank and heroic account.

He probably wouldn’t want to be called a hero, but he certainly was. He encapsulates everything it is to be British and his stoicism, even at his lowest point, shines through.

A really moving and inspirational book #LestWeForget

Thank you Reg Twigg.

[Dhevarajan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A poignant memoir on the silent horrors of war and the stoicism of men stuck in appalling conditions.

[Becca · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thought I was reading a book on a survivor through the Burma railway, however, 100 pages in and there's nothing but gross descriptions of woman's bodies. Ew. Why reg? DNF.

[Glenn Reddiex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn't put the book down. Reg's story-telling style is brilliant. What a survivor! Highly recommend this book.

[Jonathon Bernard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This memoir that doesn't just preserve Twigg's experiences but also largely maintains the man's unique voice, personality, and perspectives. Unflinching and authentic

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible, devastating but also important to read

[Joe Jefferies · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing perspective from a tragical piece of British history. Took a while to get into this one but glad I kept reading. The stories Twigg shares are daunting.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. Highly recommended.

Nothing but respect and love for these incredible men & the ‘coolies ‘ ( local slave labour ) that suffered & died whilst a POW working on the Burma railway .
With a big super power hegemony growing in the Far East now and the threat of WW3 ..I truly hope we can all learn something from history …or as Churchill said we are doomed to repeat it .

Thanks to involved in the book . I couldn’t put it down .

[Ebblibs Thekstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good one. not a whole lot to say on the quality of writing, Proust it ain't, but it doesn't matter with such harrowing real life experiences. one thing I have noticed with a lot of these accounts is the misheard Japanese phrases which no one has tried to demystify. one example of why you shouldn't look for any deep analysis of the Japanese mind or psyche in such accounts. This genre is really crying out for the memoir of a more nuanced and subtle type - a sort of WWII version of The Gate. It can't be made up solely of alright mate ' ows yer farver squaddie accounts surely? perhaps something more akin to No Mandalay, No Maymo by Captain Fitzpatrick...

The phrase I'm thinking of here ( and it crops up in other similar memoirs) is Bugero (sic) : surely this is a misheard and incorrectly transcribed version of ' Baka yaro!'

[Baljit · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writer explains his simple working-class childhood. His account of the war years are from the perspective of a Private who became a POW soon after his arrival in Singapore. It is a well-narrated account, and although from a different time, reminds us that war, then as it is now, is an unholy business.

[Sue Smith]

A very interesting moving tribute to this man's life and his experiences in WW11.

[Colin Slider]

heartbreaking, gut-wrenching

[Nabilah Hassanudin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth to be read by todays generation

[Therese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible story. Reg Twigg has a remarkable style as he recounts his experiences.