Han Samethini Remembered: Appendix A: "Chunkai P.O.W. Camp Theatre" by Walter L. Davis

Title Page

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Han Samethini Collection

Sometime during the 1970s, Wally Davis sent Han Samethini a draft copy of an article he was composing on the Chungkai Theater. Rosy depictions of POW camp life, published to promote the River Kwai tourist trade in Thailand, provoked him into setting the record straight with an account of his own experiences. The time and place of publication are unknown. Possibly a copy of the finished article might be found among Davis' papers, which are preserved at the Imperial War Museum in London.

The Davis account is notable for its information on the two successive locations of the theater, which had to be rebuilt following the monsoon flood of October 1944. Also valuable is his drawing of scratch-built POW musical instruments with brief remarks on their construction.

(Note: The closing remark "Blijven Lachen" is a Dutch expression. It means "Keep Laughing.")