ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

We all know the heroic story of Britain fighting the Nazis in World War Two. But what’s less well-known in popular memory is the war on the Asian front, against Japan. Yet it touched many families across Britain. Their descendants are still uncovering stories today.

On the same day as Japan’s attack on the US Naval bases at Pearl Harbor there were simultaneous strikes on British territories in South East Asia.

Episode 1 of The Second Map charts Britain's humiliating defeats, as Japanese forces rapidly took key colonies in South East Asia. We hear from eyewitnesses who were in Singapore when it fell, and were then later captured and held prisoner. We hear from a 104 year old veteran, who desperately wanted independence for India, but decided to fight alongside the British to fight Japan. And we explore why this part of the war is not as well known as our fight against the Nazis.

This is the other story of the Second World War.

Creator, Writer and Presenter: Kavita Puri
Series Producer: Ellie House
Script Editor: Ant Adeane
Sound designer: James Beard
Series Editor: Matt Willis
Production Coordinators: Sabine Scherek, Maria Ogundele

Original music: Felix Taylor
Archive Curator: Tariq Hussain
Voice actor: Dai Tabuchi
Translators: Hannah Kilcoyne, Sumire Hori

With thanks to Dr Diya Gupta, Dr Vikki Hawkins, Dr Peter Johnston, Professor Rana Mitter and Tejpal Singh Ralmill.

The original interview with Maurice Naylor was by Monica Whitlock, for Witness History.

Includes archive material from ‘Singapore 1942: End of Empire’ (2012), Electric Pictures.

Show less