Page 14 - Haldenby

Alan was very pleased to be given the opportunity along with other former prisoners to set the record straight on Col. Toosey and to point out what a fine officer he was to his men.
A photocopy of Alan Haldenby’s awful and frightening revelations given to the writer, will be sent to Old Derbeian Society members who send a stamped and addressed foolscap envelope to the Secretary, Alan Sanders.”
Image of Alan taken from Timewatch film 1997
It was this final paragraph of the Newsletter that instantly sparked my interest and led to a thorough search of the Society’s archive at Derby Grammar School on Rykneld Road. Alan’s daughter Pat was also involved and went through her father’s papers in the hope of unearthing these valuable reminiscences. Unfortunately, no such document was discovered and must therefore be presumed lost. Nevertheless, sufficient information has survived in other sources to be able to put together this brief tribute to an Old Derbeian of the wartime generation who experienced a terrible time in captivity to the Japanese, but who managed to survive, thanks to the bravery of a much maligned commanding officer. Alan is worthy of honour, not just for enduring the horror and savagery of imprisonment at the hands of the Japanese enemy, but for choosing to save the reputation of an honourable man and by so doing helping to re-write history.
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