Neil Ormiston MacPherson

Sorry for your loss John. He must have been a tough old bugger.

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Originally Posted by johntins

One of the reasons he earned his OAM was for his unfailing work towards reconciliation between the POWs and their captors. And they got there by walking, climbing over cliffs, and eating a handful of cold rice each day if they were lucky. Bugger all water. Mostly destroyed by fever.

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My great aunt, Maria Christina had 13 children, 8 boys, all of whom enlisted in the 2nd. AIF. One was declared unfit and rejected. One was found to be a skilled tool and die maker not a labourer as he declared and sent home. Of the 6 who served 3 were 8th. Division and were on the Burma Railway. One was beaten to death there by Japanese guards. The two survivors had a lifelong bitter hatred of anything Japanese. No forgiveness or reconciliation was ever considered. I overheard one say that it was a pity the Yanks only had two of those bombs. They reckoned Japan and Japanese all should have been burnt off the face of the earth.

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Originally Posted by Bigbjorn

My great aunt, Maria Christina had 13 children, 8 boys, all of whom enlisted in the 2nd. AIF. One was declared unfit and rejected. One was found to be a skilled tool and die maker not a labourer as he declared and sent home. Of the 6 who served 3 were 8th. Division and were on the Burma Railway. One was beaten to death there by Japanese guards. The two survivors had a lifelong bitter hatred of anything Japanese. No forgiveness or reconciliation was ever considered. I overheard one say that it was a pity the Yanks only had two of those bombs. They reckoned Japan and Japanese all should have been burnt off the face of the earth.

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Those sentiments were understandably strong, as late as my school days.
A friend's father who was a rusted on Lib supporter, who served in the ME, NG (WW II) and Korea, hated and refused to vote for Menzies, because he sold scrap metal to the Japanese.

A dark part of Australia's history, those magnificent men deserve to be remembered. They defined the meaning of mateship. LEST WE FORGET.

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Originally Posted by bob10

A dark part of Australia's history, those magnificent men deserve to be remembered. They defined the meaning of mateship. LEST WE FORGET.

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Neil always told me he survived his three odd years of captivity due to mateship. Oh, and the efforts of blokes like Weary Dunlop.

He was looking forward to Anzac Day. This would probably have been his last trip to the Hellfire Pass Dawn Service, and the Morning Service at the Kanchanburi War Cemetery, where he usually gave the address.

A family friend who did time on the Burma railway bought a Honda car in the early eighties. When asked how he of all people could drive a Japanese car the reply was that to be a Christian means being able to forgive.

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Originally Posted by Bigbjorn

My great aunt, Maria Christina had 13 children, 8 boys, all of whom enlisted in the 2nd. AIF. One was declared unfit and rejected. One was found to be a skilled tool and die maker not a labourer as he declared and sent home. Of the 6 who served 3 were 8th. Division and were on the Burma Railway. One was beaten to death there by Japanese guards. The two survivors had a lifelong bitter hatred of anything Japanese. No forgiveness or reconciliation was ever considered. I overheard one say that it was a pity the Yanks only had two of those bombs. They reckoned Japan and Japanese all should have been burnt off the face of the earth.

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In the 70s I knew an "old" bloke who survived Changi. Those were his sentiments as well. He was consumed by his bitterness, and was thus a man to avoid if possible. Neil, on the other hand, was a joy. His work, particularly in his education of children, deserves celebrating. And Neil had plenty of reason to hate his captors. He saw his mate beheaded. He told me that the Koreans were the worst. The Koreans were forced to do guard duty for the Japanese, which lost them 'face', so they took this out on the prisoners.

WWII ended 75 years ago. The time for hatred is over. With the passing of one of the last survivors of that horrific time, surely it is time to let it go. If a man who lived through that horror can forgive, maybe we could follow his example.




Neil wrote a book. It is out of print, and exist mainly in various State libraries, and the War Museum in Canberra. Does anyone know of a way to digitise it and post it on the net? I can deal with the copyright stuff, as I am family.