Lecture
Jacqueline Passman
Thursday 12.03.2026
Jacqueline Passman
The Forgotten Army: Far East Prisoners of War in Singapore and the ‘Death Railway’
Thursday 12.03.2026
How to watch
This lecture starts on 12 March at 7:00pm (UK).
Summary
Harry Silman, a medical officer in the army, was captured by the Japanese when Singapore fell in 1942. His daughter’s talk is based on his secret wartime diary which graphically recorded the deprivations suffered during three-and-a-half years of incarceration in Changi, and the harrowing experiences of the POWs on the notorious Burma railway. In spite of the horror, the diary is pervaded by compassion, humour, and hope.
Jacqueline Passman
Jackie Passman’s career in education spanned roles as a nursery school coordinator, mainstream departmental head and special needs teacher. She retrained to become a Teacher of the Deaf, and designed a pioneering English curriculum for deaf children based on modern foreign language teaching methods. She has acted as Expert Witness in medico-legal cases concerning deaf issues and as Independent Person representing children in care for the adjudication of complaints.
Her interest in WW2 and the lives of the Far East POWs, ‘the forgotten army’, was sparked by the discovery of her father’s wartime diary, leading to her recent book A Cool Head in Hell.