The march from Ban Pong

Reconstruction of march through jungle from work on railway. Soon after the march began the monsoons started. The prisoners trudged hundreds of miles through the rain soaked jungle and ankle deep mud, all day and into the night, with all their wordly possessions on their backs, to fall asleep exhausted on arrival at the so-called camp. They had a bamboo flare at the head of each column, the sick falling ever back towards the rear. The Japanese guard occasionally walked in the middle- they were frightened of tigers and wanted protection. The soldiers were put straight to work on building the railway, a task which resulted in more than 1400 casualties due to shocking working conditions and disease resulting from malnutrition.