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| Burma POW's diary reveals suffering and starvation | Burma POW's diary reveals suffering and starvation |
| (3 days later) | |
| Bob Reynolds spent four years as a prisoner of war in Burma and Taiwan. Unbeknown to his captors, and at the risk of losing his life if discovered, he kept a diary documenting life in the camp and the deaths of his friends. Now his family has shared his account. | |
| Bob Reynolds' diary is little more than a tattered notebook. | Bob Reynolds' diary is little more than a tattered notebook. |
| The pages are yellowed, many have fallen loose and others are marked with rust from the two thin metal staples holding it together. | The pages are yellowed, many have fallen loose and others are marked with rust from the two thin metal staples holding it together. |
| But written on the lined pages, in a mixture of fading pencil and pen ink, is a story of life and death. | But written on the lined pages, in a mixture of fading pencil and pen ink, is a story of life and death. |
| Bob, a 26-year-old miner who joined the military as a driver, was captured by the Japanese in 1941 and spent the following four years in a prisoner of war camp in Burma and Taiwan. | |
| If his diary had been discovered he would almost certainly have been shot on the spot says his nephew Tom Harrison. | If his diary had been discovered he would almost certainly have been shot on the spot says his nephew Tom Harrison. |
| "He kept it so he could record what happened to him and his friends," Mr Harrison told BBC Tees. | "He kept it so he could record what happened to him and his friends," Mr Harrison told BBC Tees. |
| "It was a sign of his hope that he would one day get out of there and be able to tell the world what they had been through. | "It was a sign of his hope that he would one day get out of there and be able to tell the world what they had been through. |
| "It was a record of the atrocities suffered by the prisoners - he called it The Book of Happenings. | "It was a record of the atrocities suffered by the prisoners - he called it The Book of Happenings. |
| "The families of his friends, if they don't know what happened to their loved ones it can be verified with this diary and how they died. | "The families of his friends, if they don't know what happened to their loved ones it can be verified with this diary and how they died. |
| "There's name after name and what they died of. | "There's name after name and what they died of. |
| "He didn't even have to be in the war, he was a miner which was a protected job, but he joined up because he wanted to do his part." | "He didn't even have to be in the war, he was a miner which was a protected job, but he joined up because he wanted to do his part." |
| With its minute handwriting and often graphic portrayal of the ordeal suffered by the prisoners, the diary is not an easy read. | With its minute handwriting and often graphic portrayal of the ordeal suffered by the prisoners, the diary is not an easy read. |
| Bob talks of meagre food rations, brutal torture at the hands of the guards and, poignantly, of the deaths of his fellow prisoners. | Bob talks of meagre food rations, brutal torture at the hands of the guards and, poignantly, of the deaths of his fellow prisoners. |
| "They all suffered, they were starved, tortured," said Mr Harrison. | "They all suffered, they were starved, tortured," said Mr Harrison. |
| "There are stories about people being deliberately blown up because they couldn't work. | "There are stories about people being deliberately blown up because they couldn't work. |
| "They stole corn beef and had to eat it all in one night. One of them died, his stomach burst he ate that much - force fed himself. | "They stole corn beef and had to eat it all in one night. One of them died, his stomach burst he ate that much - force fed himself. |
| "They killed a guard dog, skinned it and ate it. | "They killed a guard dog, skinned it and ate it. |
| "What they went through was unbelievable, it was all true though. | "What they went through was unbelievable, it was all true though. |
| "I've seen the marks on his body where they stubbed cigarettes, the scar on his back where they hit him with a blade, where they made them hold buckets of water out in your hands until you couldn't hold it anymore and dropped." | "I've seen the marks on his body where they stubbed cigarettes, the scar on his back where they hit him with a blade, where they made them hold buckets of water out in your hands until you couldn't hold it anymore and dropped." |
| Causes of death recorded in the diary included dysentery, heart failure, pneumonia, malaria and starvation, not to mention injuries suffered at the hands of guards or gruelling manual labour. | Causes of death recorded in the diary included dysentery, heart failure, pneumonia, malaria and starvation, not to mention injuries suffered at the hands of guards or gruelling manual labour. |
| Bob recorded one comrade dying from a fractured skull suffered in a mine while another was killed when his chest was crushed. | Bob recorded one comrade dying from a fractured skull suffered in a mine while another was killed when his chest was crushed. |
| The diarist himself was nearly blind through malnutrition and, according to his soldier's service book, had malaria four times. | The diarist himself was nearly blind through malnutrition and, according to his soldier's service book, had malaria four times. |
| "A lot of the prisoners wouldn't give in," said Mr Harrison, "and they were beaten and beaten until they did give in, they were starved. | "A lot of the prisoners wouldn't give in," said Mr Harrison, "and they were beaten and beaten until they did give in, they were starved. |
| "You can see from the diary how many died of dysentery and malnutrition. | "You can see from the diary how many died of dysentery and malnutrition. |
| "They didn't get any treatment, they were just left." | "They didn't get any treatment, they were just left." |
| On 15 August, 1945, the war was officially over, the camp was liberated and Bob was sent to a hospital to recuperate. | On 15 August, 1945, the war was officially over, the camp was liberated and Bob was sent to a hospital to recuperate. |
| The 5ft 9in (175cm) miner, who had weighed 12 stone when he enlisted in 1940, weighed just six and a half stone. | The 5ft 9in (175cm) miner, who had weighed 12 stone when he enlisted in 1940, weighed just six and a half stone. |
| On his return to North Ormseby near Middlesbrough, he attempted to settle back in to an ordinary life. | On his return to North Ormseby near Middlesbrough, he attempted to settle back in to an ordinary life. |
| He started out on building sites, but the injuries he had suffered in the camps made him unable to cope with the physicality of the job, so he became a taxi driver. | He started out on building sites, but the injuries he had suffered in the camps made him unable to cope with the physicality of the job, so he became a taxi driver. |
| He died in 1990 at the age of 75. | He died in 1990 at the age of 75. |
| But the memories of his incarceration never left him, his nephew said. | But the memories of his incarceration never left him, his nephew said. |
| "He couldn't forget it, the worst thing was when he got drunk he was a lunatic, he would talk broken Japanese and go crazy in the house. | "He couldn't forget it, the worst thing was when he got drunk he was a lunatic, he would talk broken Japanese and go crazy in the house. |
| "He wouldn't talk about it when he was sober, but you could see his head wandering when he had had a pint, and then it was terrible to see him suffer. | "He wouldn't talk about it when he was sober, but you could see his head wandering when he had had a pint, and then it was terrible to see him suffer. |
| "And his family suffered as well, no-one ever talks about what it's like for the family to cope with someone who has suffered so terribly. | "And his family suffered as well, no-one ever talks about what it's like for the family to cope with someone who has suffered so terribly. |
| "There was no treatment for these people then, not like there is now, they were just left to sort it out themselves. | "There was no treatment for these people then, not like there is now, they were just left to sort it out themselves. |
| "He was that scarred he was in a different world because of what he went through." | "He was that scarred he was in a different world because of what he went through." |