Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2011 | Page 33

interview

Island Life - February/March 2011

Battered and
beaten but
never defeated
The final instalment of Island Life's exclusive interview with
heroic World War Two veteran Jim Long
Words by Peter White
Jim Long is a remarkable man with a

the end of the rope and they walked back

remarkable story. The 94-year-old from

and then let it go to bang the piles into the

Brighstone is one of the few survivors of the

ground.

Second World War, who was captured by the

“It took us five months to build the wooden

Japanese Imperial Army in the Far East, and

bridge. It probably only took that long

spent more than three-and-a-half years as a

because we knew if we didn’t work hard we

prisoner of war.

would get beaten – but we did anyway. If

He was among hundreds of British

you happened to make a mistake, like your

servicemen beaten and tortured by Japanese

hand slipping off the rope, you just felt this

guards, and was forced into ‘slave labour’

‘whack’ across the body from a bamboo pole.

as he and his fellow prisoners built the
infamous Bridge over the River Kwai.
In the December edition of Island Life

“One of the guards’ favourite sports was
setting you a task. We had to dig out and
move a cubic metre of earth every day. It was

we revealed the first part of Jim’s story.

hard digging with a tool that was a bit like

Originally from Carisbrooke, he told of his

a garden hoe. All the time we were digging

call-up for service, and his role as a motor

a guard would be standing up on a vantage

cycle outrider before his capture and being

point, and amuse himself by throwing rocks

forced to work up to 18 hours a day.

at us.”

Now in the final instalment, Jim recalls

Somehow, Jim began to laugh as he said:

how he and his fellow prisoners, including

“Every now and again you would suddenly

his two brothers, built two main bridges

have this brick hit you on the back of the

across the River Kwai, and were subjected

neck. You had to take no notice and just

to horrendous, inhumane conditions, before

carry on, otherwise it would only get worse.

their eventual release from captivity at the
end of the war.
Jim takes up the story. He recalls: “It was

“At the end of the day they allowed us to
go in the river to wash ourselves. All we had
was what we called this ‘snap rag’ that we

October 1942, and we cleared this bit of

wore. So that piece of cloth was our flannel,

jungle and started building the wooden

our towel and our clothes. Every evening

bridge across the river. There was always a

when we went into the river there were a

Japanese soldier close by; either prodding

group of Thai girls standing on the river

you with a sharp bamboo stick or throwing

bank, pointing and laughing at us.

stones at you, just to keep you working.
“We had to stand big wooden piles up in

“We had sunk so low, we didn’t really take
any notice of them