WWII captive who left the gift of music behind

A STATUE based on the experiences of a North East soldier in an infamous Japanese prison camp will be unveiled on the day which marks the end of the Second World War.

- TONY HENDERSON

Len Gibson, from Sunderland, was captured and enslaved on the notorious Burma Death Railway on the River Kwai and the Mergui Road, built in Burma by PoWs and Asian labour.

Amid his wartime ordeal of more than three years, Len and his fellow captives drew comfort from the guitar he made from waste wood and wire.

Len Gibson died on July 31, 2021 aged 101 - just days before the launch of his book titled Len Gibson: A Wearside Lad in World War II.

Len became friends with Brian Burnie, founder of the Newcastle-based Daft as a Brush cancer charity, who has organised annual memorial walks on VJ Day (Victory over Japan) in honour of the “Forgotten Army” which fought in Burma.

Now the statue of Len will be unveiled outside South Shields Town Hall on this year’s 80th anniversary walk on Friday, August 15.