Major J Finnerty BEM

Informative ts account (329pp) recording his career in the ranks of the British Army in the UK and the Far East, 1933 - 1945, including: enlisting in and serving with an Infantry Battalion in Northern Ireland, 1933 - 1934; Shanghai, China, 1934 - 1936, notably guard duties on civilian craft on the Yangtse-Kiang; Singapore, 1936 - 1938, with a short training period in Hong Kong, 1937; Calcutta, India, 1938 - 1941; the Retreat from Burma, 1941 - 1942, when he was captured at Yenangyaung; his captivity in Rangoon, 1942 - 1945; and commenting on every aspect of life as a POW, especially the brutality of the Japanese; the lack of food and medical attention; the importance of religion to some prisoners; the impact of Allied bombing raids after 1943; the shortcomings of British strategic planning; and the psychological effects of captivity. Major Finnerty was not commissioned until 1955.

Unrestricted