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  • The Forgotten Highlander

  • My Incredible Story of Survival During the War in the Far East
  • By: Alistair Urquhart
  • Narrated by: David Rintoul
  • Length: 3 hrs and 14 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (62 ratings)

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The Forgotten Highlander cover art

The Forgotten Highlander

By: Alistair Urquhart
Narrated by: David Rintoul
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Publisher's Summary

Alistair Urquhart was a soldier in the Gordon Highlanders captured by the Japanese in Singapore. He not only survived working on the notorious Bridge on the River Kwai , but he was subsequently taken on one of the Japanese ‘hellships’ which was torpedoed. Nearly everyone else on board died and Urquhart spent 5 days alone on a raft in the South China Sea before being rescued by a whaling ship. He was taken to Japan and then forced to work in a mine near Nagasaki. Two months later a nuclear bomb dropped just ten miles away . . .

This is the extraordinary story of a young men, conscripted at nineteen and whose father was a Somme Veteran, survived not just one, but three close encounters with death - encounters which killed nearly all his comrades.

©2010 Alistair Urquhart (P)2010 Hachette Digital

What listeners say about The Forgotten Highlander

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These stories must never be forgotten

A horrifying account of war and the depths humanity can plunge too. In this book Alistair Urquhart recounts his experiences in the Japanese labour camps of WWII in a concise and matter-of-fact manner as seemed to be the way many of his era commented on the horrors of world around them. A must read

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Power story, spoken in period, a reminder of the greatest generation.

His memories and story have lost none of the detail. Although brief, his story spans a harrowing war experience.

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Incredible story

This book is amazing and well worth your time. What an incredible and inspirational human being! This book is a gift of history to the human family.

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Amazing book by an amazing man

You need to read or listen to this book. A lesson in perseverance and overcoming from one of the most extreme periods in human history - allied POWs under Imperial Japan during WWII.

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Honest. Open.

A beautifully read book that lays bare the horrific torture dealt out to Allied soldiers by people who claimed to have a warriors code but were little more than animals themselves.
Such a telling account of this period.
Worth a read just to understand better the true blows life can hand out and the adversity that the human sport can endure.

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Can listen to in one sitting

Listened to the whole thing on one long train ride. A really incredible and inspiring story. Could have been longer though as I felt some parts were a little rushed. Still great though.

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A powerful story.

Highlighting the physical pain caused by one government, and the emotional pain by another government. The humility and cruelty of people to one another.

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