Faith, Hope and Rice: Private Fred Cox's Account of Captivity and the Death Railway

Fred Cox, a young soldier in the East Surrey Regiment, was taken prisoner by the Japanese at the fall of Singapore in February 1942. The next three and a half years were spent in a series of POW camps, notably in Thailand working on the aptly named Death Railway. Fortunately he was not one of the 12,000 Allied prisoners who perished as a result of extreme maltreatment, starvation or disease, but Fred’s health, both physical and psychiatric, was seriously affected. After liberation, whilst in hospital in Ceylon, Fred was nursed by Joan whom he married. Advised by the doctors to talk about his horrific experiences, he and Joan spent the winter of 1946 – 1947 getting his story down on paper. Seventy years on, sadly after his death, Faith, Hope and Rice, (which were what sustained Fred through his ordeal) can be shared with a wider audience. Readers cannot fail to be moved by the author’s and his comrades’ inspiring courage and resilience in the face of extreme adversity and ever present death.