In December 1941, the
Japanese overran most of the far-east and in doing so took tens of thousands of allied troops and civilians into captivity. Three years of living hell ensued. For the following 50 years the
PoWs tried to forget their past and what happened to them, but to no avail.
Legal action was brought against the Japanese and British governments
In the early 1990s they decided to seek justice from both the Japanese and their own government and two years later Leigh Day & Co. was asked to represent the PoWs and
internees in their claims. An action was brought against the Japanese Government in Tokyo and pursued against the British in London. After legal, political and moral battles lasting for years, the British Government finally announced in November 2000 that it would pay £10,000
compensation to each of the
PoWs and
internees.
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