Jackie Sutherland grew up hearing many of the stories and meeting many of the people referred to in this book Doctor Behind the Wire. Although this is considered a biography, Jackie bounced it off Jackie's Dad's diaries entailing his experiences, as a POW in a Japanese internment camp in Singapore during WWII.
Her Dad, Captain Jack Ennis was a doctor of pathology and had headed up that department, until the Japanese take over. He and many of the other medical officers (MO's) seemed to have a slightly better time of it as they could still worked and thus kept their minds active. However, many often fell sick, including Dr. Ennis.
Dr. Ennis kept daily records of those days which amazingly escaped the Nips (the term the Japanese captors were mostly referred to as) attention. In his records he described learning how to survive hunger by slipping out and going fishing; by keeping chickens and ducks; by growing a vegetable garden; and even eating other creatures that they would trap, cook in the path Lab stove, and enjoy. You'll have to read the book to find out what those 'others' were. Despite all that, there were still "skeletons" walking around the POW camp.
Besides the day to day living records, were the well documented medical records of the various ones treated and for what pathology and of those who died. There were also times of medical lectures by one doctor or another; theater performances; roll call miseries and beatings; black market business; the longing to know what had happend to Elizabeth and/or get even a tidbit of news of or from her (they had only just recently married prior to British capitulation); and so on.
As the book is laid out closely as to how the diaries had been, in bulletpoint-like style, it is slow going. However, if a reader had ever been in similar circumstance; is an avid history buff especially about things medical, or knew any of those mentioned in the diaries, or just plain curious as to how things were, then he/she will find it somewhat intriquing.
The three appendices give bibliography; suggested further reading; medical records; lists of names mentioned through the diary and which point to corresponding pages where one can find the names and other references; post war compensation; and the icing on the cake, pictures of the main characters. All tallied, page count is 328.
~Eunice C. - Reviewer/Blogger~
July 2021
Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion based on the review copy I received from the publisher.
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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4143619976?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
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