Prisoner Of The Rising Sun

by Stanley Wort

"I was told that because a regular signalman had failed to return from leave, and because mine was the last name alpabetically on the list of new boys, I was being sent in his place." When the author joined the Royal Navy in 1940, he could never have imagined the nightmare experiences that lay ahead of him. We learn of his part in the Battle for Hong Kong and how he was taken prisoner. Held initially in prison-of-war camps, he was then transported to Japan in the hold of a "hell-ship" under inhuman conditions. Once in Japan the survivors were used as slave labour. Treatment was harsh but their spirit was never broken. It was during this period that the author experienced both an earthquake and American B29 fire raids.

Genres: Memoir

248 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2009

Reviews

[Relstuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

The memoir of a young man from Britain during WWII who joined the Navy and was sent to signal school and then shipped out to be stationed at Hong Kong. He let three of his friends talk him into joining the Navy before they got drafted but when they went to sign up they were all rejected by the Naval recruiters except him. :)

His adventures and impressions of his travels and time stationed in Hong Kong were interesting. After Hong Kong was captured by the Japanese he was sent to a prison camp and eventually transferred to Japan to work as slave labor. One of the most interesting facts was that after the POWs were rescued they were sent back towards England via an American Naval ship to Canada. The paymaster on board paid the American service men that had been prisoners but there was no paymaster for British troops who had nothing except the clothes on their backs they had been given after rescue. The American paymaster decided the only fair thing to do was to also go ahead and pay the British service members as well. The author noted this was likely over $20,000 in 1945 which was a huge amount and he had no idea how the paymaster could possibly legally authorize such an expenditure, but he and his fellow-service members were very grateful. The author does go on an talk about his life after the war which is always interesting as many memoirs stop once the war ends any you wonder how they got on later.

Overall a brief and well written memory.

[Amber Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tend to only read European WWII books but decided to switch things up when I spotted this in the bookstore. Mr. Wort joined the Royal Navy when he was a young man and immediately was sent to Hong Kong. He enjoyed himself well enough with a job as a signalman until Japan invades and he is taken prisoner. Wort was held in a POW camp in Hong Kong before being sent with other prisoners into Japan and transported to two separate camps and being forced to work in a factory. This story takes place between 1940 and 1945 when he is eventually liberated. While it took a while to get used to his style of writing I will say it was an intriguing story. Occasionally hard to follow because his time frame isn't always chronological but when you figure out the camp names it flows a little better. Anyone who knows war history knows what Japan did to its prisoners and those in the cities it invaded but reading it from a British POW perspective was different then reading just facts and figures. I won't say it's the best written memoir I've ever picked up, but it was unique and interesting in its own way and I'm glad Mr. Wort took the time to put his story to paper.

[John Baker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a great read.
Mostly bland memoir of authors time in the Royal Navy and as POW of the Japanese during WWII.
His post war recap bordering on preaching, but honestly not sure on what (gave it only a cursory read)

My opinion of the book in no way reflects my opinion of the author and the fortitude and resiliency he must have to survive and overcome that terrible experience