Eighty years after his death in a Japanese prison camp, this compelling new biography charts the career of a distinguished but hitherto neglected hero of the British army. Major-General Merton Beckwith-Smith DSO, MC commanded the British 18th Division during the catastrophic Fall of Singapore in February 1942. A highly respected and much decorated veteran of the First World War, he was captured along with tens of thousands of other soldiers - British, Indian, Australian, and Malay - who were then held prisoner on Singapore Island. Amidst hunger, disease and widespread despair in Changi, over the next six months he rallied the spirits of his soldiers, created a make-shift university and theatre, and helped to inspire a remarkable renewal of collective church life. At the same time, he improved conditions for hospital patients and encouraged sports and other recreations. While the fate of many of the men he led was to toil, and often die, on the infamous Burma Railway, Beckwith-Smith was exiled to Karenko Camp, Formosa (present-day Taiwan), where, mistreated and malnourished, he died of diphtheria and heart failure on 11 November 1942. Beckwith-Smith, was the most senior British officer to end his life as a prisoner of war in the Far East. Yet until now he has been a strangely forgotten warrior. Based on exclusive access to family archives, and drawing on an array of other eye-witness accounts, Michael Snape's richly detailed biography brings to an end that neglect. The result is a story that offers vivid insights into one man's experience of two world wars, while also revealing why he was so admired by his fellow officers and by the ordinary soldiers who served under him.

First full-scale biography of the most senior English soldier to die in a prisoner of war camp during the Second World War, revealing the courage, faith and fortitude of an unjustly forgotten hero of the British army.

About the Author
Michael Snape is the Michael Ramsey Professor of Anglican Studies at Durham University, and Britain's leading authority on faith and the military. His previous books include God and the British Soldier, The Royal Army Chaplains' Department: Clergy under Fire, The Clergy in Khaki and A Church Militant: Anglicans and the Armed Forces from Queen Victoria to the Vietnam War.

Reviews
"This is a very important work which, with the usual eye for detail and ear for "silent" voices Michael Snape has, uncovers and tells a story that needs to be told widely. Sadly, as Michael himself says, much of what he has discovered has been kept quiet for all manner of reasons. It means that the life of Major General Merton Beckwith-Smith has been ignored or simply unknown by far too many for far too long. One thread in his life was his Christian faith, which clearly shaped many of his decisions and behaviours. It is remarkable to read Forgotten Warrior and I commend it highly. It has enabled me to consider again some of the values and confusions that dominate in war. It has also given me a far greater insight into one particular general who, as Michael says, was a fine example of a Christian leader who navigated his way through very complex times and sadly has not been given the credit or even the simple space and time his life deserves." -- Tim Thornton, former Bishop at Lambeth and Bishop to His Majesty's Forces
"Major General Merton Beckwith-Smith was the most senior British officer to die in captivity in the Second World War. Yet, as Michael Snape eloquently reveals in this new biography, Beckwith-Smith's life (and untimely death) was more than just a tragic footnote to that global conflict. Using the particulars of Beckwith - Smith's life and times, Snape sheds new light on the realities of combat, defeat and captivity in the age of total war. Beautifully written and deeply researched, this book is a poignant and powerful testament to the enduring importance of faith, courage and compassion to the profession of arms." -- Dr Aimee Fox, King's College London, and author of Learning to Fight: Military Innovation and Change in the British Army, 1914 - 1918



Book Information
ISBN 9780281086917
Author Michael Snape
Format Hardback
Page Count 320
Imprint SPCK Publishing
Publisher SPCK Publishing