Publisher's Synopsis
For Leslie E. Ketcher, the words "Boiled Rice, Fleas and Lice" epitomised the essential elements of life in WWII Japanese Prisoner Of War camps.
Early in the war, Ketcher enlisted in an anti-aircraft battery and spent 20 months, including the period of the Battle of Britain, defending the South of England. His involvement with the theatre of war in Southeast Asia begins on 7th December 1941 -- the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour. A day which changed the course of history and the course of Ketcher's life. The essence of this memoir is a simple and inspirational tale of day-to-day survival. Ketcher was captured on the island of Timor and, after seven months, transported to Japan in a Japanese hell ship. He endured three more years in various POW camps, where, malnourished, abused and suffering multiple ailments, a broken back probably saved his life. Ketcher's non-judgmental and non-critical approach to life shines through the pages, and speaks of the tremendous resilience and fortitude that distinguished his character.
