A group of prisoners in Rangoon, weak from disease and malnutrition. The tall man standing in the centre at the back is Wing Commander Hill. The heavily bandaged man on the extreme left is Flight Lieutenant M.J.C. Haakenson, a Canadian of 211 Squadron who was shot down over Burma on the 13th June 1944 and two days later, together with his navigator Flight Sergeant Jock Ferguson, he was captured and sent to Rangoon Jail. Haakensen was wounded when his aircraft was brought down, receiving bullets to his backside and hip, and also damage to his legs which were left badly scarred.

Staff-Sergeant James McKernan of Olcott, New York is third from the left on the back row (wearing a shirt, between two bare-chested men). He was the bombardier of a B24 bomber of the Flying Tiger Squadron, shot down on his 49th mission, to destroy bridges on the River Kwai; he died in 2004.

Stanley Williams stands fifth from the left on the back row.

Stanley Frederick Hughes (King's Regiment), of Liverpool, is the third man from the left, sitting on the bed and clutching is legs, next to the bandaged man.

Acting Sergeant Frederick Fitzgerald (King's Regiment) is believed to be standing on the extreme right. He left Rangoon on 25th April 1945 and escaped into the jungle when an air attack caused confusion among the column of prisoners being marched north from Rangoon. On 16th May 1945 after being cared for by local villagers he (and two companions) walked into the HQ of a British formation 35 miles from Rangoon and asked for mass. It was a bit of a surprise when the Catholic padre at the British formation was in fact Fitzgerald's cousin, Captain William Blundell who 15 months previous had been informed that Fitzgerald was missing in action, presumed dead. My thanks to his granddaughter, Susan Mills.

Edward Albert McArdle (also King's Regiment) is seated on the extreme right of the front row. A Chindit, something he was very proud of, he was part of the 81 column which landed at Broadway, but he was captured some days later. He was taken by train to Mandalay and from there to Rangoon Jail where he spent the next 18 months until liberation.