a day ago
The secret story of my grandpa's life as a prisoner of war in Japan
L ast year, while looking through my grandfather Joe Hazel's papers, which our mother had given to the Imperial War Museum, we discovered a small black notebook. It was written in a prisoner of war camp more than 80 years ago but its contents read more like a holiday brochure than a diary of the deprivations and cruelties that PoWs had suffered at the hands of their Japanese captors during the Second World War.
Each page listed holiday trips, with tips on places to stay, things to do and how to get there. 'Glenbeigh Hotel — Shore of Dingle Bay, about 1 mile from sea, a lovely strand,' read one entry, in Joe's neat handwriting. 'Good holiday for children but go in summer months to avoid rain.'
