Category: North
East & Cumbria TV
Date: 24.09.2004
Printable version
Inside
Out, 91Èȱ¬ ONE (North East & Cumbria), Monday 27 September, 7.30pm
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91Èȱ¬ cameras follow a County Durham veteran in Inside
Out as he returns to the Far East to commemorate the 60th anniversary
of two battles which paved the way for the Allied victory.
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And during some emotional reunions and bitter memories,
Douglas Wilks reveals a secret he has carried for 60 years.
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Mr Wilks' journey from the North East of England to
the North East of India is documented on Inside Out on 91Èȱ¬ ONE (North
East & Cumbria) on Monday 27 September at 7.30pm.
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And he is reunited with other veterans returning to
the Far East to mark the battles of Kohima and Imphal.
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The Allied army's mission had been to stem the advance
of the Japanese army into India, but it cost thousands of young lives
and many more perished in atrocious conditions in Japanese prisoner
of war camps.
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Douglas - who returned to County Durham after the war
to run a successful car dealership - tells Inside Out: "I was sick
a few times, but never wounded, and I feel I have come through as one
of the privileged few."
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But his feelings of hatred towards the Japanese simmered
for years after the war.
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He even drew the line when he was asked to sell a Toyota
car at his dealership.
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But he reveals a 60-year-old secret while on his trip
in India to his daughter.
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Douglas, from Bishop Auckland, found a letter on the
body of a Japanese soldier written by his mother to her son, but will
its translation into English change his feelings towards the Japanese?
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Another veteran on the trip, Jimmy Wilks (no relation),
recalls: "The Japanese took 126 Australian prisoners of war, including
one 15-year-old boy, and they beheaded everyone. The Japanese are animals
and were always animals."
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Before they leave to return home, Douglas also shares
his secret with Jimmy and tells him what the letter says, but will the
passage of time and the words of a mother to her teenage boy mellow
the veterans' feelings towards the Japanese?
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Notes to Editors
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Please credit 91Èȱ¬ ONE's Inside Out if any of this story
is published.
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