From Java To Nagasaki
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Sgt Major Les Spence Les Spence was a remarkable man who kept an astonishing journal. For almost four years he risked his life to keep a daily record of hardship, courage and endurance in prison camps run by the Japanese. He and his fellow prisoners faced starvation, disease and cruelty. They kept up their spirits
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Just found a wonderful memory of Cardiff’s historic win at the Twickenham Sevens in the spring of 1939 in an article from Wales Online. The team featured Les Spence and Wilf Wooller who three years later would be captured by the Japanese in Java. Les kept a secret diary (of which a lot more here:
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In early 1942 a courageous band of Welshmen found themselves fighting side by side against the all-conquering Japanese army. The men, who had joined up to provide air defences for Cardiff, Newport and Barry, had been sent to the Far East as the Japanese bore down on Britain’s “impregnable fortress” at Singapore. But the battle-hardened
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“We hear from the guards that one bomb blew up Nagasaki.” Les Spence writes in his diary, August 1945 For more than three years during World War II, Les Spence was a prisoner of the Japanese. Spence, who would later go on to become president of the Welsh Rugby Union, had been captured in early March
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The 77th HAA (Heavy Anti Aircraft) Regiment was created to provide air protection for Cardiff, Newport and Barry, and surrounding districts. Many of its members were local sportsmen who joined up together, such as Les Spence, who been Cardiff Rugby Club captain during the 1936-37 season, and his team-mate Wilf Wooller. Other sports stars in
Greg Lewis 