Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Joseph Gordon Smith (23 October 1920 – 22 April 2014) was a soldier who served with the 2nd Battalion of the

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

and the

Royal Army Ordnance Corps The Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) was a corps of the British Army. At its renaming as a Royal Corps in 1918 it was both a supply and repair corps. In the supply area it had responsibility for weapons, armoured vehicles and other military equip ...

. Smith served in

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and survived being held as a prisoner of war by the Japanese. During his imprisonment, Smith experienced many hardships and was forced to work on the

Burma Railway The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a railway between Ban Pong, Thailand and Thanbyuzayat, Burma (now called Myanmar). It was built from 1940 to 1943 ...

, an experience which was illustrated by the film

The Bridge on the River Kwai ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' is a 1957 epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the 1952 novel written by Pierre Boulle. Although the film uses the historical setting of the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–1943, the pl ...

. Smith went to Melville College and was a medical student at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

for two years before enlisting during the war. Smith was sent to fight in Malaya at the age of 21 and suffered three gunshot wounds during the

Battle of Slim River The Battle of Slim River occurred during the Malayan campaign in January 1942 between the Imperial Japanese Army and the British Indian Army on the west coast of Malaya. Background Japanese forces had invaded north-west Malaya from southern ...

. After marching for three weeks he was taken prisoner at

Pudu Prison The Pudu Prison ( ms, Penjara Pudu, ), also known as Pudu Jail, was a prison in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Built in phases by the British colonial government between 1891 and 1895, it stood on Jalan Shaw (now Jalan Hang Tuah). The construction began ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

. After a few months he was taken to

Tamarkan Tamarkan (also: ''Tha Makhan'') was a Japanese prisoner of war work camp during World War II. The camp was initially used for the construction of the bridge over the Khwae Yai or Mae Klong River and not the River Kwai. The camp was located about ...

as forced labour to work on the railway there. Initially Smith worked on the construction of railway bridges over the river, but the compound was converted to a hospital camp which allowed him to use his medical training to help fellow prisoners. In 1945, Smith was facing execution by his captors but was saved by the

atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the onl ...

which brought about the end of the war and Smith's liberation. He was said to have displayed "immense courage" to survive the horrific treatment he endured as a prisoner, and by the end of the war, he weighed only 6 stone. His resourcefulness in helping other prisoners was also noted: he made surgical tools to treat prisoners, sedating them with chloroform; he created a distillation unit to obtain clean water; he fixed a radio smuggled into the prison; and he found a way to diagnose malaria in his fellow prisoners earlier. After the war, Smith served in Germany on bomb disposal work for the Royal Army Ordnance Corps. In 1945, he moved to

De Havilland The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited () was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in H ...

to work on the

Blue Streak (missile) The de Havilland Propellers Blue Streak was a British Intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), and later the first stage of the Europa satellite launch vehicle. Blue Streak was cancelled without entering full production. The project was ...

, and later on the

Europa (rocket) The Europa rocket was an early expendable launch system of the European Launcher Development Organisation (ELDO), which was the precursor to the European Space Agency (ESA). It was developed with the aim to delivering space access technology, ...

project. Smith was awarded the 1939–45 Star, the

Pacific Star The Pacific Star is a military campaign medal instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British and Commonwealth forces who served in the Pacific Campaign from 1941 to 1945, during the Second World War. One clasp, Burma, was ...

, and the

War Medal 1939–1945 The War Medal 1939–1945 is a campaign medal which was instituted by the United Kingdom on 16 August 1945, for award to citizens of the British Commonwealth who had served full-time in the Armed Forces or the Merchant Navy for at least 28 days ...

. Smith published his memoirs, entitled ''War Memories: A Medical Student in Malaya and Thailand'' in 2008.

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Gordon 1920 births 2014 deaths People educated at Stewart's Melville College Alumni of the University of Edinburgh British Army personnel of World War II British World War II prisoners of war Burma Railway prisoners Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders officers Royal Army Ordnance Corps officers World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Military personnel from Edinburgh

See also

References