H I S T O RY
Prison guards regularly inspected Flanagan’s diary and blacked out sections, ripped them out or beat him for what he wrote.
uses the personal diaries of Flight Officer Robert Wyse to highlight his experience in a camp on the Indonesian island of Java. In both cases, the books capitalize on a rich document set that allows the reader to hear about the brutal experience straight from the men who lived it. Some of Flanagan’s stories are so extreme as to seem unbelievable. But the use of his own words and his own personality make his experience real. Both Flanagan and Wyse kept diaries that revealed the harsh conditions and suffering that POWs endured as well as a record of events from before they were taken prisoner. This is even more important in Flanagan’s case as war diaries and message logs were ordered destroyed before Hong Kong was surrendered. One of Ando’s prized possessions was the short history of the events of the Battle for Hong Kong that he hid in his boot so he could keep it safe from the eyes of prison guards. Although important for the historical record, there was great risk to maintaining personal papers and difficulty acquiring paper and tools to write. Prison guards regularly inspected Flanagan’s diary and blacked out sections, ripped them out or beat him for what he wrote. Wyse, on the other hand had to keep his diary a secret and buried it at the camp so it would not be discovered. He only retrieved it after the war. Keeping a diary of his experience was a small act of resistance for Flanagan. He recorded many of the inhumane acts he and his fellow POWs suffered at the hands of their prison guards as well as the small acts of kindness by Flanagan and others to preserve their own humanity. In this way, his writing became an act of resilience and hope in a very dark time. Risking his life in this way also provides this rich account of one New Brunswicker’s experience as a POW in Imperial Japan. ■ Cindy Brown teaches history at the University of New Brunswick and is a faculty member at the Gregg Centre for the Study of War and Society. Her current research considers how war affects noncombatant civilians with a particular focus on the Great War and the Second World War.
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The Endless Battle Andy Flanagan Goose Lane Editions
TOP LEFT: Card sent by Andrew May 26, 1943. MIDDLE: Andrew Flanagan at left, Sept 9, 1945. BOTTOM: Reunion of Hong Kong veterans in Sussex, NB, c. 1984.