The Forgotten Legacy of Thailand’s ‘Death Railway’

In 1957, David Lean’s Academy Award-winning film ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’ captured global audiences. However, it left a bitter taste for the very men whose harrowing experiences inspired it—those who laboured on the Burma Railway, colloquially dubbed the ‘Death Railway.’

During World War II, as Imperial Japan expanded its empire across Southeast Asia—encompassing Malaya, Singapore, and the Philippines—a critical challenge emerged: Allied submarines were sinking Japanese supply ships faster than they could be replaced. This left the Japanese Army in Burma dangerously exposed. To address this vulnerability, the Japanese sought an overland route to supply their forces, and thus the ‘Death Railway’ was born.

Between December 1942 and October 1943, around 60,000 Allied POWs, alongside nearly 200,000 Tamil, Malay, and Burmese labourers, toiled under appalling conditions to construct the Bangkok-Rangoon railway. British engineers had previously deemed the project impossible due to the treacherous terrain of the disease-ridden tropical jungle. Yet, the Japanese possessed a seemingly inexhaustible supply of manpower, primarily drawn from the fall of Singapore and the Dutch East Indies.

The Japanese transported these 60,000 British, Australian, Dutch, and American servicemen to the Thai town of Kanchanaburi, where the railway’s construction would begin. Simultaneously, POWs were dispatched to build the railway from the Burmese side, aiming to connect the two ends at the Three Pagodas Pass. In just 15 months, the 415-kilometer railway, complete with its bridges, was completed. What defies belief is that this colossal undertaking was executed by men who were often sick, malnourished, and brutalized. Under the Japanese ethos, any man who could stand was expected to work—malaria or dysentery were inconsequential to them.

The conditions faced by POWs and civilian labourers during the construction of the railway were horrific. Their diets consisted mostly of rice with little meat, while diseases like malaria, cholera, and dysentery spread rapidly. Medical care was almost non-existent. No Red Cross supplies arrived. Figures like Lt. Col. E.E. Dunlop, known as ‘Weary Dunlop,’ advocated tirelessly for better treatment despite overwhelming odds. Tragically, the plight of civilian workers was even worse, with around 100,000 perishing, and among the POWs, approximately 12,500 died in agonizing conditions, as the Japanese had not signed the Geneva Convention and regarded surrender as dishonourable.

Accounts from former POWs, such as John Coast’s ‘Railroad of Death,’ reveal the grim reality they faced, while war artist Leo Rawlings’s ‘And the Dawn Came Out Like Thunder’ poignantly captures their suffering through sketches.

The survivors’ resentment stemmed from the film’s portrayal of their experiences. Lt. Col. Philip Toosey, on whom Alec Guinness’s Oscar-winning portrayal of Col. Nicholson in ‘River Kwai’ was based, was a distinguished officer captured during the fall of Singapore. Contrary to the film, Toosey actively tried to sabotage the railway project by infesting the wooden bridge with termites and consistently advocated for better treatment of his men, often enduring torture at the hands of his captors.

Toosey developed a complicated relationship with a Japanese Sergeant Major, Saito, who later testified in his defense during war crimes trials. When Lean’s film was released in the 1950s, it sparked outrage among the POW community, who felt it misrepresented their suffering and bravery. Toosey’s gentle nature did not allow him to publicly contest the portrayal, but his men insisted he address it, leading him to publish a letter clarifying the truth.

Julia Summers, Toosey’s granddaughter, examines these grievances in her poignant work ‘The Colonel of Tamarkan,’ detailing her grandfather’s struggles with memories of his captivity.

The Bangkok-Rangoon Railway stands as a testament to the human capacity for endurance and sacrifice, revealing a complex tapestry of cruelty, kindness, and resilience. It is a story that evokes profound emotions, and visiting the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Kanchanaburi—where many of these men lie buried—serves as a haunting reminder of their harrowing journey.

(The writer is a practising advocate at the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh and a military history enthusiast.)