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Creativity and Ingenuity of British Far East Prisoners of War, 1942 - 45
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Portrait drawn in pencil showing a young man or teenager with short hair Add to board
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Fergus Anckorn, FEPOW

This portrait of Fergus Anckorn, was drawn by William Wilder in 1945. Fergus was just 23 when he was captured by the Japanese. He was sent to work on the Thai-Burma railway, doing hard physical labour for 18 hours a day. 

Fergus was a skilled magician and learnt many other skills during his internment, including massage and Dutch. He wrote secret notes to his family back home, by using Pitmans shorthand to cross out sections of the pre-printed postcards that POWs were allowed to send back home.

Image: Portrait of Fergus Anckorn, 1945, by William Wilder © Anthony Wilder