Eric Sutherland Lomax (30 May 1919 – 8 October 2012) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer who was sent to a

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

in 1942. He is most notable for his book, '' The Railway Man'', about his experiences before, during, and after World War II, which won the 1996 NCR Book Award and the PEN/Ackerley Prize.

Early life

Lomax was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

on 30 May 1919. He left the Royal High School, Edinburgh, aged 16, after entering a civil service competition and obtaining employment at the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

. On 8 April 1936, he became a sorting clerk and

telegraphist A telegraphist (British English), telegrapher (American English), or telegraph operator is a person who uses a telegraph key to send and receive Morse code messages in a telegraphy system. These messages, also called telegrams, can be transmitte ...

in Edinburgh. On 10 March 1937, he was promoted to the clerical class.

Military service

In 1939, aged 20, Lomax joined the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

broke out. Following time in the 152nd Officer Cadet Training Unit, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 28 December 1940. He was given the

service number A service number or roll number is an identification code used to identify a person within a large group. Service numbers are most often associated with the military; however, they also may be used in civilian organizations. National identificati ...

165340. He was a Royal Signals officer attached to the 5th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery. As a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

, he was captured by the Japanese following the surrender of Singapore in February 1942. He, along with the other Far East Prisoners Of War (FEPOW), undertook a forced march to

Changi Prison Changi Prison Complex, often known simply as Changi Prison, is a prison complex in the namesake district of Changi in the eastern part of Singapore. It is the oldest and largest prison in the country, covering an area of about . Opened in 193 ...

. He was then taken to Kanchanaburi,

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and forced to build the Burma Railway. In 1943 he and five other prisoners were tortured by the

Kempeitai The , , was the military police of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The organization also shared civilian secret police that specialized in clandestine and covert operation, counterinsurgency, counterintelligence, HUMINT, interrogated suspects ...

and convicted of "anti-Japanese activities" after a clandestine radio was found in the camp. He was transferred to Outram Road Prison in Singapore for the remainder of the war. On 12 September 1946, it was gazetted that he had been

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

"in recognition of gallant and distinguished services while Prisonerof War". He was awarded the Efficiency Medal (Militia) in 1949 and was granted the honorary rank of captain. He retired from the Army in 1949.

Later life and death

Unable to adjust to civilian life, Lomax joined the

Colonial Service The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...

and was posted to the Gold Coast (now

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

) until 1955. After studying management he worked for the Scottish Gas Board and the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

. He retired in 1982. Lomax was the first patient of the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture. His later life included reconciliation with one of his former torturers, interpreter Takashi Nagase of

Kurashiki is a city located in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 478,651 and a population density of 1300 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Kurashiki is located in the south-central part of Okay ...

, Japan. Nagase had written a book on his own experiences during and after the war entitled ''Crosses and Tigers'', and financed a Buddhist temple at the bridge to atone for his actions during the war. The meeting between the two men was filmed as a documentary ''Enemy, My Friend?'' (1995), directed by Mike Finlason. The film received several awards. Lomax's death, at the age of 93, was announced by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

on 8 October 2012. He died in

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

, Northumberland.

Personal life

A keen railway enthusiast and transport photographer, Lomax joined the

Stephenson Locomotive Society The Stephenson Locomotive Society (SLS) was founded in the UK in Autumn 1909 for the study of rail transport and locomotives. More recently, on 1 January 2017, the SLS became a private company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales ...

in 1937, and his enthusiasm for railways stayed with him to his death. He married his first wife Agnes ("Nan") on 20 November 1945, just three weeks after being liberated. They had three children, Linda May (b. 14 December 1946, d. 13 December 1993), Eric (b. 18 June 1948, died at birth) and Charmaine Carole (b. 17 June 1957). In 1980, Lomax met British-born Canadian nurse Patricia "Patti" Wallace who was 17 years his junior. She moved from Canada to the United Kingdom in 1982. Lomax left Nan several months later and married Patti in 1983.

Autobiography and film

Lomax's

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

'' The Railway Man'' was published in 1995. John McCarthy, a journalist who was held hostage for five years in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, described Lomax's book as "an extraordinary story of torture and reconciliation." Lomax's story was made into the BBC television drama ''Prisoners in Time'' in 1995, starring

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was an English actor. Regarded as one of the finest actors of his time and known for the "most distinctive voice in Cinema of the United Kingdom, Britain", he was described by David Ly ...

as Lomax, Randall Duk Kim as Nagase, and

Rowena Cooper Rosemary Rowena Cooper (born 1935) is a British actress. She began her career in 1956, joining the Radio Drama Company by winning the Carleton Hobbs Bursary. In 1959 she joined the Dundee Repertory Theatre Company and went on to have an exte ...

as Patti. A

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

was released in 2013. Directed by

Jonathan Teplitzky Jonathan Teplitzky is an Australian writer and film director who has directed the movies ''Better Than Sex (film), Better Than Sex'' (2000), ''Gettin' Square'' (2003), ''Burning Man (film), Burning Man'' (2011), ''The Railway Man (film), The Rail ...

, the film stars

Colin Firth Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Colin Firth, several accolades, including an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA Aw ...

and Jeremy Irvine as the older and younger Eric Lomax respectively, and

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

as Patti, the woman who befriended and later married Lomax.Simon Richards, 'Two TFA Council Members Making the News', ''Freedom Today: The Journal of the Freedom Association'', Spring 2012, p. 5 The film moves between Lomax's time as a FEPOW on the Burma Railway and his later life around the time of his reconciliation with his captor.

Other

He was a council member of The Freedom Association.

Works

* '' The Railway Man'' ()

References

External links

Prisoner of War Learns To Forgive, Reconciles With His Interrogator
Christian Science Monitor, 9 August 1995 *
Pathe News footage of the Burma Railway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lomax, Eric 1919 births 2012 deaths 20th-century Scottish writers People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh People from North Berwick World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Scottish torture victims Royal Corps of Signals officers British Army personnel of World War II British World War II prisoners of war Burma Railway prisoners Military personnel from Edinburgh