Sally Grumbridge
artist painter printmaker
Acknowledgements
I am indebted to my dear mother, Joan Porter, who filled in many gaps in the stories and to my sister, Virginia, who as a teenager, was far more patient and interested in listening to my father's tales.
Many thanks also to my long suffering husband Malcolm, daughter Zoë and son Michael for putting up with me during my research and the making of the paintings!
Relative Journeys : River Kwai revisited
Bibliography
Bond, Brian (Ed.) (2004) Secret Letters from the Railway Barnsley:
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
Chalker, Jack (2007) Burma Railway - Images of war London: Mercer books
Clarke, Hugh V. (1986) A Life for Every Sleeper London: Unwin Hyman Ltd
Daugherty III, Leo J. (2002) The Fighting Techniques of a Japanese Infantryman 1941-1945 Staplehurst: Spellmount Ltd
Davies, Peter N. (1991) The Man Behind the Bridge London: The Athlone Press Ltd
Grant, R.G. (1997) Hiroshima and Nagasaki Hove: Wayland Publishers Ltd
Henderson, Michael (2002) Forgiveness: Breaking the Chain of Hate London: Grosvenor Books
Kinvig, Clifford (1998) River Kwai Railway London: Brassey's
Lomax, Eric (1996) The Railway Man London: Vintage
Peachey, Philip R. (2002) Jeweller's Rouge Survival by the River Kwai The Springfield Leisure-Art Collection
Peeke, Mitch & Reed, Bill (2004) Lost Souls of the River Kwai Barnsley:
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
Scott Mowat, Geoffrey (2005) The Rainbow through the Rain Oxford:
New Cherwell Press
Searle, Ronald (2006) To the Kwai - and Back London: Souvenir Press Ltd
Shuttle Jack (1994) Destination Kwai Lincoln: Tucann design & print
Summers, Julie (2005) The Colonel of Tamarkan London: Simon & Schuster UK Ltd
Museums visited
The Far East Prisoners of War Building, National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas, Staffordshire, UK
The Hellfire Pass Memorial, Near Namtok, Thailand
The JEATH War Museum, Kanchanaburi, Thailand
Imperial War Museum, London
National Archives, Kew
The Thailand-Burma Railway Centre, Kanchanaburi, Thailand
Associations
COFEPOW Children (and Families) of Far East Prisoners of War
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From one who was there
Dear Sally,
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Thank you for your e-mail, your kind comments and your www reference. I would be delighted to meet at the conference and have just looked at you paintings on the net.
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I am very impresed. I had been wondering how you would approach your Thai experiences translated through your Father's experiences and I feel they are a great success.
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Those that moved me were particularly ' Destination ' which does evoke that horrific train journey to Thailand - peering out of a gap across the landscape , somehing I will never forget : this is really moving and understood and translated so well. and then the ' Embankment ' - not because of its relative realism and simplicity but because in its essence and understading it had an immediate and strangely dicturbing impact , a simple symbol , and frightening in its reminder for me. Lastly your ' Angels of Life ' is very important as part of the wonder and beauty in the midst of horror. How odd these mixed extremes of terror and happiness.
I hope others who were not there will understand . This says a great deal for your understanding and sensitive translation and I look forward very much to seeing the original work and to meeting you.on th 31st.
Sincerely,
Jack Chalker.
10/05/2008
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Jack Bridger Chalker (10 October 1918 – 15 November 2014), was a British artist and teacher best known for his work recording the lives of the prisoners of war building the Burma Railway during World War Two.