Nagasaki: the forgotten prisoners

Much has been written about the dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. But one part of the story has remained largely unexamined until now. Few know that hundreds of British, Australian, American and Dutch prisoners were working as forced labourers close to where the second bomb detonated (Nagasaki). These prisoners had already endured unspeakable hardships (including working on the infamous Thai-Burma railway) before finding themselves in the vicinity of the detonation of the most powerful atomic bomb yet developed. Amazingly, some survived.

Distinguished broadcaster John Willis tracked down many of them for a book about their experiences. In this talk, John tells their stories (and how he managed to find them).

John Willis is one of the UK’s best-known television executives, having formerly been Director of Programmes at C4 and Director of Factual and Learning at the BBC. He is also a previous Chair of BAFTA. He is currently Chairman of Mentorn Productions, which produces Question Time for the BBC. His previous books include Churchill’s Few (2020) and Secret Letters: a Battle of Britain Love Story (2020).