Ex-PoW who wrote slave labour memoir dies at 93

Mr Lomax, who was captured at the fall of Singapore in 1942 where he was serving with the Royal Corps of Signals, was among thousands of servicemen who were used as slave labour by the Japanese on the railway.

He later came to terms with his treatment by meeting his interrogator many years later and writing about his experiences in his book, The Railway Man.

Mr Lomax, who was originally from Edinburgh, died in Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Rachel Cugnoni, of his publisher Vintage Books, said: “The Railway Man was one of the landmark books of the 1990s.

“It tells Eric’s incredible and moving story with grace, modesty and exceptional humility. All characteristics Eric had as a man.

“It is a book that stands as a testament to the great capacity of the human spirit for forgiveness and we are honoured to have published it.”

His book has been adapted this year for a forthcoming movie in which Oscar-winning star Colin Firth plays him in later life, while Jeremy Irvine plays him in his younger days.

Mr Lomax was captured with many other Allies in Singapore and held at the island’s Changi jail and eventually being taken to the Thai town of Kanchanaburi where he worked on the railway link to Burma.

The horrific conditions of the prisoners as they built the line, with a terrible loss of life, famously formed the basis of David Lean’s 1957 film The Bridge On The River Kwai.

Mr Lomax endured savage beatings when guards found a radio he had helped to build within his prison camp.

He went on to become a lecturer at Strathclyde University, but was haunted by his treatment and met the interpreter who had interrogated him while he was tortured after he wrote about his remorse in a book.

Andy Paterson, the producer of the new film, said: “Eric spoke for thousands of men who felt their service and sacrifice had gone unnoticed.

“Whilst we are heartbroken that he will not be with us at the premiere, he lived long enough to see some early images from 
the film and to share our hopes that this new version of his 
story will help ensure that the men who suffered with him – and the families who had to cope with the legacy – would never be forgotten.”