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CoFEPoW Quartely - Issue 100, January 2023

So the main narrative of this book is in itself a valuable recording of those horrors which we hope will never happen again, but the addition of the unseen but instrumental presence of Fred's wife and the daughter's perspective make "Faith, Hope and Rice" a multi-layered and fascinating read.

Read the complete review here.

GoodReads, Kagami

The fact that this man wrote about his experience of captivity at the hands of the Japanese so soon after he came home, when everything was still so clear in his mind, is what makes this such a good read. And the fact that when he did so initially in 1946, it was as a way of coming to terms with all he had been through, rather than anything intended for publication, gives a real insight into the struggle he and many others must have faced as they tried to put the past behind them.

Amazon Reviewer

Faith, Hope and Rice by Ellie Taylor is a powerful account of a brave man’s survival in the face of terrible adversity. I found it both moving and uplifting and in many ways mirrored my own father’s experience. It is a story which had to be told and I can thoroughly recommend it to all who have a sympathy and interest in the FEPOW story.

The Lanarkshire Yeomanry Memorial Group

A fascinating and moving insight into the day-to-day experiences, thoughts and feelings of soldiers who were captured in Singapore. In the midst of all the historical detail it starkly reveals the personal impact for so many people. Thanks for this very important contribution to our understanding.

John Rutherford, COFEPOW

This is another book I read on holiday, a fascinating story by Ellie. Enjoyed the read immensely.

Ron Taylor, FE-POW-community.org

Ellie Taylor has provided a valuable service to historians by making available this account written in such therapeutic circumstances. Of the many memoirs written by soldiers who suffered three and a half years of captivity under the Japanese, most were undertaken in later life once the long-term effects of that incarceration had been felt and inevitably rely on long-term memory. Cox’s account benefits from the immediacy of being written shortly after his release, as he struggled to come to terms with the horrors of his experience. It was relatively rare for men to speak or write so openly of their experiences in an era when a stiff upper lip was expected, and when the world wished to move on from the horrors of war.

This is a very readable and gripping account of the Fall of Singapore, incarceration at Changi camp, and transportation to, and work on, the infamous Death Railway and a valuable addition to the historiography of the period offering the rare perspective of a recently liberated prisoner.

Faith In Wartime Blog - Author John Broom

'… a moving new book.'

Staffordshire Newsletter

This first-hand account of the experiences of a prisoner of war in helping to build the Burma Railway touched me. Private Fred Cox’s story, compiled by his daughter from the notes he made shortly after his repatriation, illustrates movingly the horror that he and his co-prisoners went through. He, and too few others, were very fortunate to have survived.
The author’s account is well written and seems well researched. It cannot have been easy to make sense of what must have been her father’s fairly disjointed notes but she has succeeded in bringing to life his moving and personal story. I recently visited the National Memorial Arboretum where there is a reconstructed section of the Burma Railway; reading the book added layers of realization to the exhibit. The last few pages are the author’s own words, telling what happened to her father and his family after his release and putting some of what he endured into context.
This is a good read. I really enjoyed it.

Michael Denton

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