Jack Edwards (British Army soldier)

Jack Edwards
Born	Template:Birth date Cardiff, Wales
Died	August 13, 2006(2006-08-13) (aged 88)
Occupation(s)	British Army sergeant, POW, veterans' rights campaigner
Known for	Identifying Japanese war criminals; advocating for Hong Kong veterans' rights

Jack Edwards, OBE (; 24 May 1918 – 13 August 2006), was a distinguished British army sergeant during World War II and a former POW. He gained recognition for his dedication to identifying Japanese war criminals and championing the rights of Hong Kong veterans.

Early life

Edwards was born in Cardiff, Wales, on 24 May 1918. Just prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, he enlisted in the Territorial Army.

British Army career

Serving as a sergeant within the Royal Corps of Signals, Edwards was captured following the fall of Singapore in February 1942. Initially held at Changi Prison, he was later transferred to the Kinkaseki POW camp located in Japanese-controlled Taiwan. Alongside 525 other detainees, he endured grueling daily labor in a copper mine, which required ascending 1,881 steep steps twice each day to reach the mining site. The camp imposed a quota of 24 bogeys of copper daily, with punishments including physical beatings for failure to meet this target. The harsh conditions resulted in significant prisoner losses; by May 1945, only 120 remained.

In June 1945, Edwards was relocated to the Kukutsu jungle camp near Shinten (present-day Xindian District), where prisoners constructed the facility from the ground up while carrying burdens weighing between 40 and 60 kilograms. Beginning on 28 August, food supplies were delivered via USAAF air drops, and American Marines liberated the camp on 5 September. At liberation, Edwards and his fellow inmates were severely malnourished.

After World War II

Following his return to Britain, Edwards spent a year recovering before heading back to Asia in 1946. There, he contributed to efforts aimed at capturing Japanese war criminals and provided testimony during their trials as part of Hong Kong’s war crimes investigation team. During a visit to Kinkaseki, he uncovered Document No. 2701, the only surviving copy of the Japanese directive ordering the execution of all POWs if Allied forces invaded Japan—crucial evidence presented at the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal.

Upon settling back in South Wales, Edwards took up employment with local government but encountered discouragement when attempting to share his POW experiences. In 1963, he relocated to Hong Kong, joining its housing department before advancing to senior housing manager at Hongkong Land. He maintained active involvement with the Hong Kong Ex-Servicemen's Association and held leadership roles including chairman of the Royal British Legion’s Hong Kong branch and president of the St David's Society of Hong Kong.

Life as a campaigner

After witnessing the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square protests suppression in Beijing in 1989, Edwards became an advocate for recognizing Hong Kong residents holding British Dependent Territories Citizenship (BDTC) as full British Citizens with rights to reside in the United Kingdom. He participated in "Hong Kong - A Matter of Honour," a forum organized by RTHK and the BBC, where he emphasized the sacrifices and contributions made by British Army veterans.

As chairman of the Royal British Legion (Hong Kong and China branch), Edwards successfully lobbied for monthly pension payments from the British government for ethnic Chinese veterans and their widows starting in 1991. His persistent advocacy led to British citizenship rights being extended in 1996 to include wives and widows of these veterans. Additionally, he campaigned on behalf of individuals compelled during wartime occupation to sell their businesses and properties for worthless Japanese military yen.

Personal life

Edwards's initial marriage concluded as a consequence of the war. In 1990, he wed Polly Tam So-lan, whom he had met in 1974; she was formerly part of a Chinese People's Liberation Army dance ensemble. The couple resided in an apartment located in Sha Tin, New Territories, and both shared a strong enthusiasm for dancing to Taiwanese melodies. Edwards was proficient in Cantonese and was survived by his wife along with her daughter from a previous relationship.

Trivia

• It took Edwards 45 years to complete his book Banzai You Bastards!.
• The initial translator of this work, Japanese journalist Shinji Nagino, was killed in Montreal before finishing the translation process.
• Upon the request of Diana, Princess of Wales, Edwards identified the burial site of Major-General Merton Beckwith-Smith, who was the father of Diana’s lady-in-waiting and died as a prisoner of war in Japan.
• In 1981, the National Film Board of Canada produced A War Story: Based on the Diaries of Dr. Ben Wheeler, which featured Edwards alongside other former prisoners of war.
• A memorial was established in Kinkaseki in 2000; Edwards revisited this site with financial support amounting to £10,000 provided by the British Government.
• Edwards and other POWs narrowly avoided execution by a margin of two days due to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
• Towards the end of the conflict, when American planes dropped supplies too low at Edwards' camp, several prisoners and civilians lost their lives. Edwards, who was uniquely skilled in flag semaphore—a technique he acquired through the Boys' Brigade—signalled "Don't Drop" to the aircraft. The crew, including a member familiar with semaphore from the Boy Scouts of America, understood the signal and thereby prevented additional casualties.

See also

• A War Story (1981), a docudrama depicting Major Ben Wheeler, the physician at Kinkaseki

Further reading

• POW rights campaigner Jack Edwards dies, Taipei Times
• Jack Edwards, Telegraph
• Stirring farewell to 'indomitable, fearless' Jack Edwards, South China Morning Post, 2 September 2006
• Gov't mourns WWII veteran Jack Edwards Hong Kong Government announcement