Page 13 - Haldenby

Timewatch, at 3.5 million. He was worried that the film might offend the family and the FEPOWs, as they were not involved in its preparation.” “I could hear sounds of applause from those on high after the programme. He would have been rather chuffed and would have been rather proud and moved by the comments that you and the other FEPOWs contributed. Our father never told us much and we had not had the paper (the Daily Mail article) until the Timewatch programme and therefore it was a fantastic experience to hear all of you, and my father, on tape, telling the story as it really happened.”
In August 1999 the OD Newsletter carried the following (verbatim) announcement by the Secretary Alan Sanders:
“Was this the first Old Derbeian tie worn on TV?
“Alan Haldenby (1925-34) Old Derbeian and former Royal Artillery Officer, spent three and a half years as a Japanese POW in various prison camps and was forced to help build the notorious bridge over the River Kwai.
Some years ago, the well-known film was produced, based on the construction of the bridge and the life of the prisoners, one of whom was Alan in the Tamakan Camp on the banks of the river.
In the film, a Colonel Nicholson, played by Alec Guinness, is the British Officer in charge at the River Kwai. The film portrays him as an instrument of the Japanese.
On Tuesday, 28th October 1997, on BBC2 at 9.00 pm Alan Haldenby, wearing his Old Derbeian tie, broadcast his testimony alongside that of other former prisoners, to help set the record straight on what really happened at the Bridge.
During Alan’s period at Tamakan Camp he came into contact on many occasions with Lt. Col. Toosey, alias Nicholson in the film, the man ordered by the Japanese to ensure that the prisoners threw their all into building the bridge. Col. Toosey was very hurt by the fictional character, which portrayed him as a collaborator, in the film.
Alan Haldenby, whilst agreeing that the film “The Bridge over the River Kwai” is a jolly good film, considers that after the first twenty minutes the remainder is pure fiction. He is also quick to defend Col. Toosey knowing that he did all he could to protect his troops.
Alan asks “What would you do in the situation where you know that if you disobeyed orders, you would be shot? Toosey was the right man for the job. He was not on the side of the Japanese but co-operated with them just sufficiently to ensure that his men were not maltreated.”
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