Letter from the Rectory - November 2026

As a child in the 1960’s, I vaguely remember watching ‘The Bridge over the River Kwai’. Produced in 1957, the film was based on real events when Japanese forced roughly 60,000 British, Australian, Dutch and American Allied prisoners of war and over 200,000 Asian civilian labourers to build the Burma-Siam Railway under brutal, deadly conditions in 1942-43.

Known for its horrific mortality rate due to starvation, cholera, and systemic violence, the railway broke the spirits of thousands.  Such experiences led many to conclude that there couldn’t be a God, otherwise he’d surely have intervened. Others though were inspired by the example of people they encountered. One such person who served on the railway was a padre named Harry Thorpe, a Methodist chaplain.

Thorpe became known as ‘The Shepherd of the Death Railway.’ He was a legendary figure among the POWs for his absolute refusal to let the men lose their humanity. In his war diary, he recorded burying over 600 young men who died under the brutal conditions of the jungle camps.

Despite the threat of severe punishment by Japanese guards who strictly restricted religious activities, Thorpe built five different makeshift churches across the various railway camps. He managed to hold a nearly daily celebration of Holy Communion. His letters, recovered decades later, revealed an unwavering resolve: he wrote that he had never had such a busy or meaningful time doing ‘padre's work’ because his presence was the only thing standing between his men and total despair.

This month we come again to another Remembrance Sunday at a time when there is the threat of increasing conflict across the world including much closer to home than for many years. Fear and sense of helpless are natural reactions. Throughout the centuries though, God’s people have often had almost nothing else to throw themselves upon other than their dependence on him. To the many of those building the Burmese railway, God must have appeared to be absent. However, through that padre, others could see that God was present and at work.

As God said to Joshua as he succeeded Moses just before entering the Promised Land, "Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."    

James Campbell