A moving new film focusing on the fate of British soldiers captured by the Japanese in the Second World War will have special meaning for people in Cambridge, a city councillor says.

The Railway Man, starring Colin Firth, tells the story of Eric Lomax, a British Army officer who is forced to work on the infamous Burma railway – where hundreds of Cambridgeshire Regiment lost their lives.

Lewis Herbert, leader of the council’s Labour group, said: “Such a high percentage of those taken prisoner came from the streets where we all live – I hope people will remember the men locally who didn’t get home.”

The movie, which was released yesterday, has been directed by Jonathan Teplitzky and tells the story of British soldiers captured by the Japanese in Singapore. Many of them were men from the Cambridgeshire Regiment, who were incarcerated in prisoner-of-war camps – and then forced to work as slave labour on the notorious railway.

Colin Firth plays a British army officer, Eric Lomax, who is forced to work on the railway and who was held as a prisoner-of-war at the Changi Camp. The film co-stars Nicole Kidman as Eric’s wife Patti, and portrays the struggle of the two to confront and forgive the demons of Eric’s past.

On January 29, 1942, the 1st and 2nd battalions of Cambridgeshire Regiment left for Singapore, forming part of the 18th infantry division. After only 48 hours, Singapore fell and the men were forced to lay down their arms as Japanese tanks and aircraft overpowered the British forces. The men were then distributed throughout Thailand and Burma to begin work on what was known as the Death Railway.

Of the 1,000 prisoners from Cambridgeshire only 216 returned after almost three and a half gruelling years of captivity.

One of the Cambridgeshire men who suffered terribly as a Far East prisoner-of-war was Brian Denson, from Willingham. He died in August 2001, but the diary he kept and the few experiences he recounted in it and to his friends and family are still very much alive.

The diary is published online, with the support of the charity for the Children and Families of Far East Prisoners of War (COFEPOW).

In one extract, for February 17, 1942, he wrote: “Terrible scenes of destruction, bodies, buildings, cables, trucks lying everywhere. We march past hundreds of silent natives. Humiliation.”

In another, for March 19, he said: “Conditions bad – death rate high. Outlook not at all hopeful.”

The prisoners were forced to walk 170 miles to the camp through torrential rain, mud and jungle. They lived on rations which could not even begin to sustain them and had no choice but to sleep in shifts due to a lack of space.

One of Brian’s childhood friends, who would prefer to remain anonymous, but who knew him throughout his life said: “We agreed not to speak about the events of the war, only the occasional passing comment was made. The way they were treated was disgusting – they were made to march for miles and the rations were meagre, many died of starvation. They couldn’t have lived under worse circumstances.”

Towards the end of his life Brian returned to Burma. His friend said: “All of us who had spent time in Burma during the war, and who had the Burma Star, were offered the opportunity to return on a trip. I was never a prisoner as I was in the Air Force, I didn’t need to return, but Brian wanted to go.”

Cllr Herbert said: “Soldiers from Cambridgeshire and their families suffered horribly as a result of their cruel treatment as prisoners and on the Death Railway and such a high percentage of those taken prisoner in Singapore came from the streets where we all live.

“I hope people will be able to see this film, the first that starts to tell the real story, and remember the men locally who didnt get home, and also the difficulties faced by those who did.

“I continue to press for a fitting way to remember in Cambridge the thousands of local Far East prisoners-of-war from Cambridgeshire, like a dedicated archway into a park near the Yasume Club where they met for years on Auckland Road. This was first discussed three years ago by the council, but I welcome other ideas from News readers, and it would be great to see some of the council’s significant ‘public art’ money put to better use.”

newsdesk@cambridge-news.co.uk