Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Bridge on River Kwai ‘luckiest man’ is 100
War vet who escaped firing squad marks milestone birthday
ONE of the last surviving Britons who worked on the Second World War’s infamous Death Railway has celebrated his 100th birthday.
Walter Stead, who was once described as “the luckiest man alive” after escaping a firing squad, worked on the bridge over the River Kwai as a prisoner of war.
Walter’s family joined him for the incredible milestone and 30 neighbours stood outside to sing happy birthday.
When asked the secret to Walter’s long life, his son Peter said: “He has always been very active. He has kept his mind very alert and he does love a sherry. He has just been fortunate.”
Walter, who now lives in Acaster Malbis, York, and has two grandchildren and three great grandchildren, was born in Leeds. He worked on the legendary bridge, which was immortalised in the epic 1957 war film The Bridge on the
River Kwai. More than 16,000 Pows and 90,000 Asian labourers died working on the Death Railway, which runs from Ban Pong, western Thailand, to Thanbyuzayat, south-eastern Myanmar, which was then Burma.
Walter became a printer and joined the Territorial Army after leaving school. In 1940, he was sent with the Royal Army Service Corps to supply the front line in the war against the Japanese.
But a year later he was declared “missing in action – presumed dead” and the Red Cross could find no record of his whereabouts. Walter had been taken prisoner and was moved around camps, making several failed escape bids. He was put to work on the
Death Railway, clearing the jungle in intense heat with basic tools. The 258-mile railway track was built within 18 months and Walter was there almost from the beginning of construction.
He laid sleepers, put up embankments and helped to drive hundreds of tree trunks into the ground, which acted as supports. Life as a POW was horrific, and Walter regularly saw people dying. He dropped to around seven stone as he survived on small amounts of water and tiny rations.
He partially lost his hearing after a savage beating with bamboo rods. He had to watch in horror as an inmate was beaten to death in front of him.
But he found cunning ways to survive, including sneaking out of the camp to forage for food. When each prisoner was given six onions to eat from a consignment that had gone off, he ate two and planted four. Within three weeks, green shoots appeared, which added vital vitamins to his diet. But he was given the death penalty when the guards discovered that he was hunting for food at night.
But, the next day, instead of facing the firing squad, he was told: “‘You’re the luckiest man alive. They’ve had people speaking on your behalf all night and they rescinded the death penalty’.”
Then, one morning he woke up and discovered the guards had fled and the prisoners were told that the war had ended. He has previously said of his experience: “It changes your attitude for the rest of your life. You stop thinking things are important that are not. Daily survival, that’s what it was.”