Eric Lomax, “The Railway Man,” Dies at Age 93
The Vancouver Sun – A prisoner of the Japanese during World War II, forced to build the infamous Burma to Siam railway, Eric Lomax, age 93, passed away on October 8. Mr. Lomax went on a quest to find and forgive his interrogator, sparking interest from around the world.
Eric Lomax, a former British prisoner of war whose moving tale of wartime torture and forgiveness is being turned into a film, died Monday in Berwick-upon-Tweed in northern England, his publisher, Vintage Books, reported. Lomax was 93.
Lomax was a British army officer when he was captured by Japanese forces as they overran Singapore in 1942. Lomax endured horrific conditions and savage beatings as he and thousands of others were put to work building the infamous Burma to Siam railway.
Lomax endured years of suppressed rage at the torture he suffered at the hands of his Japanese captors, but when he tracked his interrogator down, it set the stage for a dramatic act of forgiveness that formed the heart of his celebrated 1995 memoir, The Railway Man.
His book, The Railway Man, published in 1995, has been an inspiration for those wanting to forgive offenders for severe offenses. It is currently being turned into a movie staring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman.
Read the full story “Ex-POW’s Tale of Forgiveness Touched Millions.”
