Philip Toosey

Sir Philip Toosey
Born	Philip John Denton Toosey (1904-08-12) 12 August 1904 Oxton, Birkenhead, England
Died	22 December 1975(1975-12-22) (aged 71)
Occupation(s)	British Army officer, merchant banker
Years active	1927–1954 (military)
Known for	Senior Allied officer at Tamarkan POW camp, Burma Railway

Brigadier Sir Philip John Denton Toosey (12 August 1904 – 22 December 1975) served as the senior Allied officer holding the rank of lieutenant colonel at the Japanese prisoner-of-war camp located at Tha Maa Kham (Tamarkan) in Thailand throughout World War II. Prisoners confined there constructed Bridge 277 of the Burma Railway, which was later fictionalized by Pierre Boulle in The Bridge over the River Kwai and adapted into the Academy Award-winning film The Bridge on the River Kwai. The cinematic depiction of the senior British officer, Lt Col Nicholson, contrasts with Toosey’s actual leadership style, as Toosey actively opposed cooperation with the enemy.

Early life

Born on Upton Road in Oxton, Birkenhead, Toosey was one of seven siblings in the family of Charles Denton Toosey, who owned Ross, Skolfield & Company, a prosperous shipping agency. His mother, Caroline (née Percy), was the daughter of a former governor of Dublin Gaol. Initially receiving home education, he later attended Birkenhead School until age thirteen before transferring to Gresham's School, located in Holt, Norfolk. His father declined a scholarship offer for him to attend Cambridge, instead arranging for him to apprentice at his uncle Philip Brewster Toosey's cotton merchant business in Liverpool. During the 1926 general strike, he and his rugby teammates assisted in unloading a refrigerated cargo ship.

In 1927, Toosey received a commission into the 59th (4th West Lancs) Medium Brigade of the RA within the Territorial Army under Lieutenant Colonel Alan C. Tod. Following the bankruptcy of his uncle’s firm in 1929, he joined merchant bankers Baring Brothers, serving as assistant to Lt Col Tod, who was then their Liverpool agent. His progression in the Territorial Army was steady: promoted to Lieutenant in 1931, Captain in 1932, and Major by 1934.

He wed Muriel Alexandra (Alex) Eccles on 27 July 1932; together they had two sons and one daughter.

Army career

With the outbreak of war in August 1939, Toosey's regiment was activated and engaged briefly in combat operations in Belgium during May 1940 before retreating through France. He was among those evacuated during the Dunkirk withdrawal. After completing training at the Senior Officers' School, he took command of a home defence artillery battery stationed at Cambridge. Elevated to Lieutenant Colonel in 1941, he assumed leadership of the 135th (Hertfordshire Yeomanry) Field Regiment, RA. His unit was dispatched to the Far East in October 1941. For his valor during the defence of Singapore, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. Although ordered to evacuate on 12 February 1942, he elected to stay alongside his troops during their subsequent captivity.

Building the bridges

Toosey and his team were compelled to construct railway bridges over the Khwae Yai, close to where it merges with the Khwae Noi to form the Mae Klong in Thailand. This endeavor connected Thai and Burmese rail networks, facilitating Japanese control over Burma. The "Death Railway" project resulted in the deaths of roughly 100,000 Asian laborers and 12,000 prisoners of war.

A detention camp was set up at Tamarkan, near Kanchanaburi, where Toosey devoted himself to improving the survival chances of about 2,000 Allied captives. Despite enduring frequent physical punishments for protesting abuse, he secured concessions from the Japanese commanders by highlighting the importance of work productivity. Working alongside Thai merchant Boonpong Sirivejjabhandu, he assisted in secretly bringing food and medical supplies into the camp.

Toosey maintained strict discipline, hygiene, and solidarity—rejecting separate quarters for officers—and instructed officers to safeguard enlisted men. His leadership earned him profound respect and established him as the principal British officer on the railway.

In secret, Toosey orchestrated acts of sabotage that avoided endangering his men: termites were introduced to damage wooden structures, and concrete was intentionally mixed poorly. He also concealed a bold escape attempt by two officers for 48 hours; after their capture and execution, Toosey was punished for hiding their escape.

Two bridges were built: initially a temporary wooden structure, followed by a permanent steel and concrete bridge completed in 1943. Contrary to cinematic depictions, both bridges remained functional until Allied bombings destroyed them in 1945. The steel bridge has since been restored and continues to be in use.

After the bridges

Once the steel bridge was finished, most able-bodied prisoners were moved to camps further along the railway line. Toosey was assigned to convert Tamarkan into a hospital camp, which he managed efficiently despite scarce food and medical materials. The Japanese regarded it as the best-administered prisoner-of-war facility on the railway, granting him significant independence. In December 1943, he transferred to assist with operations at Camp Nong Pladuk, and a year later moved to the allied officers' camp at Kanchanaburi, acting as liaison officer with Japanese authorities.

At the war’s conclusion, Toosey was held separately as a hostage at Nakhon Nayok. At surrender in August 1945, he weighed only 105 pounds (47 kg), down from his pre-war weight of 175 pounds (79 kg). Despite his weakened state, he journeyed approximately 300 miles (500 km) into jungle terrain to supervise his men's liberation.

After the war

Following hostilities, Toosey intervened to save Sergeant-Major Saito—the camp’s second-in-command—from facing trial by advocating on his behalf. While over 200 Japanese personnel were executed or imprisoned long-term, Saito escaped prosecution and maintained correspondence with Toosey, who had deeply influenced him. After Toosey’s passing, Saito visited his grave; upon Saito’s death in 1990, it became known that he had converted to Christianity.

Toosey resumed military duties with the Territorial Army as commanding officer of 359 (4th West Lancs) Medium Regiment and achieved promotion to brigadier, commanding 87 Army Group Royal Artillery, overseeing all TA artillery units in Liverpool. He retired in 1954 and was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1955. Subsequently, he served as Honorary Colonel of the West Lancashire Regiment, RA, successor to his previous commands. Concurrently, Toosey expanded banking operations with Barings in Liverpool.

Committed to veterans’ causes, he became president of the National Federation of Far East Prisoners of War in 1966.

The 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai depicted the senior British officer collaborating with Japanese forces—a portrayal many veterans found profoundly inaccurate. Initially reluctant to speak publicly, Toosey eventually wrote a letter to the Daily Telegraph, inspiring other veterans to contest the film’s representation. Despite this opposition, the film shaped public views about events at Tamarkan. Later, Toosey gave detailed interviews to Professor Peter Davies under embargo until after his death; these interviews formed the foundation for Davies’ 1991 book The Man Behind the Bridge and a BBC Timewatch documentary. His granddaughter Julie Summers authored The Colonel of Tamarkan in 2005.

In addition to his military career, Toosey served as a Justice of the Peace and held office as High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1964. He raised funds for the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, received an honorary LLD from Liverpool University in 1974, and was knighted that same year. He passed away on 22 December 1975. In recognition of his service, the Royal Artillery Army Reserve Barracks in Liverpool was renamed The Brigadier Philip Toosey Barracks. His ashes were laid to rest at Landican Cemetery near Birkenhead, with a thanksgiving ceremony held at Liverpool Parish Church on 31 January 1976.

References

• Roger T. Stearn, Toosey, Sir Philip John Denton (1904–1975), merchant banker and army officer, in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004)
• Julie Summers, The Colonel of Tamarkan: Philip Toosey and the Bridge on the River Kwai, Simon & Schuster, London, 2005.
• Anonymous, History of the 359 (4th West Lancs.) Medium Regiment R.A. (T.A.) 1859–1959, Liverpool: 359 Medium Regiment, 1959.
• Lt-Col J.D. Sainsbury, The Hertfordshire Yeomanry Regiments, Royal Artillery, Part 1: The Field Regiments 1920-1946, Welwyn: Hertfordshire Yeomanry and Artillery Trust/Hart Books, 1999.
• Peter N. Davies (1991), The Man Behind the Bridge: Colonel Toosey and the River Kwai, Athlone Press.

External links

• Lecture by Julie Summers on YouTube
• Comprehensive details
• In-depth information
• Archive of Land Forces of Britain, the Empire and Commonwealth – Regiments.org
• British Army Officers from 1939 to 1945