A time to remember

Remembrance Sunday this year will give people the opportunity to silently pay their respects to the many who have perished in conflicts throughout the world.

Leigh man Michael Stephen Rowland is one of those who will be recalling the deeds of loved ones in a particular horrific theatre of war. His late father, Michael J Rowland, who was well-known in the Westleigh area, was a Japanese prisoner of war.

Michael J Rowland is pictured here (courtesy of friend fellow ex-serviceman and British Legion stalwart John Corbett) pointing to himself in a POW line-up picture in Sgt Major Jack Edwards' book, Banzai You Bastards .

Mr Rowland survived the horrors of the prison camps in Singapore and Formosa (Taiwan).

On Formosa he was one of the miners who endured the terrible conditions in the copper mines -- forced to work for the Emperor and glad to gain his freedom when the Americans invaded the island in 1945. His son has supplied this anonymous poem, on behalf of his late father, written in memory of two men executed in Changi jail:

He stood a dauntless figure, prepared to meet his fate

Upon his lips a kindly smile, one arm around his mate.

His free hand held a picture of the one he loved most dear,

And though the hand was trembling, it was not caused by fear .

No braver man e'er faced his death before a firing squad

Than stood that day upon the square and placed his trust in God,

He drew himself up proudly and faced the leering foe,

His rugged face grew stern, 'I ask one favour ere I go

Grant unto me this last request that's in your power to give

For myself I ask no mercy but let my comrade live'.

Then turning to the guardhouse where his sad-faced colonel stands

A witness to his pending fate brought here by Jap command

He stiffened to attention his hand swings up on high

to hat brim in a swift salute 'I'm ready now, to die'

They murdered him in hatred , prolongs his tortured end

In spite of all his pleadings they turned and shot his friend.

They said he was an example of what they had in store

For others who attempted escape while prisoners of war.

Example, yes of how to die, and how to meet one's fate,

Example, true, of selfless love a man has for his mate.

And when he reaches heaven's gate the angels will be nigh

And welcome to their midst a man who knew the way to die

While here below in letters golf the scroll of fame e'er shall

The story tell of how they died, a corporal and his pal. THE Commando Memorial -- a shrine to the bravest breed -- is a well-known monument to anyone with in interest in military history or those who served with the elite. The towering memorial lies alongside the A82 on the road to Fort William in Scotland. BG