Alf Davey - Picture Courtesy of The Lancashire Telegraph
Published Thursday 5 November 2015 at 9:34
A former prisoner of war will be the VIP guest at a special Remembrance Sunday event in Blackburn.
Great grandad Alf Davey, 95, from Blackburn, has been invited to the cathedral for a morning service and later to the Corporation Park Gardens of Remembrance to lay a wreath – just one of several services being held around the borough to commemorate the lives lost in world wars and other conflicts.
The events have been organised by the Royal British Legion and Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council.
Alf was a POW captured by the Japanese along with the 4th Battalion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment in Singapore, on February 15, 1942, and is delighted to take part in the November 8 service to raise awareness of the conflict in the Far East.
Alf, originally from Suffolk and who worked on a farm as a teenager, joined the TA when he was just 18 and a year later, in 1939, war broke out. He trained how to be a soldier in Blackburn and while he was there, went on a blind date with a young lady who turned out to be his wife of 52 years.
He recalls sailing from Liverpool in 1941, to Singapore:
27 Japanese aircraft came over and bombed the beaches. They had naval guns which only fired out to sea, they couldn’t traverse and fire up the mainland, where the Japanese finally came down. In February 1942, they got to the causeway and cut off the water supply, Two days later we became Prisoners of War.
He has vivid memories of the brutality of his three and a half years of being a prisoner of war.
Forced into steel trucks with 30 other ill men, he had no idea where he was going but travelled five days solid, living on a bowl of rice per day and recalls seeing horrific treatment of his fellow soldiers.
During his captivity, Alf helped build the Burma to Thailand railway – 215 hours of hard labour completed in 15 months but at huge cost to human life. 12,600 British, Dutch and Australian prisoners and 8,600 local workers died during their hellish ordeal.
Alf, who later worked at the Lancashire Telegraph, penned his own account of the horrific years he faced as a prisoner of war.
He has been to many schools telling his story to pupils as well as contributing to a number of news articles and magazine features over the years.
He said:
I’m glad I’ve been able to tell my story. It seems sometimes the conflict in the Far East is forgotten. I want more young people to know what happened. I will never forget.
Councillor Mohammed Khan, leader of the Council, said:
We must never forget the sacrifice people made during those terrible conflicts. I am pleased Alf and his family have agreed to attend to help raise awareness about the Far East conflict in the Second World War.
The Mayor of Blackburn with Darwen, Councillor Faryad Hussain, said:
Remembrance Sunday and Remembrance Day are important events where all sections of the community can come together and remember the fallen who sacrificed their lives so we could have a better future today.
On Saturday, November 7, a short service will take place in Darwen Market Square at 11am, outside Darwen Town Hall. This will be followed by a wreath-laying at the Belgrave Square Boer War Memorial.
A United Service of Remembrance takes place on Sunday, November 8 at Blackburn Cathedral, from 9.30am. Following this service, a parade will form on King William Street, moving at 10.25am to the Corporation Park Gardens of Remembrance for a wreath-laying service.
There will also be a service at St Paul’s School, Hoddlesden, on Remembrance Sunday from 9.15am. Following the service, an 11.55am wreath laying service will be conducted at the Hoddlesden War Memorial.
St. Peter’s Church in Darwen will also host an event at 2.30pm, following which organisations can transfer their wreaths to the War Memorial in Bold Venture Park, where a service will be held. A bus will be available.