Private Douglas Truman The Sherwood Foresters
1939-45 Star. Pacific Star. War Medal 1939-45.
The Man Douglas Truman was born on Monday 4th November 1918, son of Emmanuel, a Labourer and Lilian nee Greenwood in Shardlow, Derbshire and was one of eight children, Lilian Irene born in 1907, Blanch E 1908, George 1910, Frederick 1910, Arthur 1913, Evelyn E 1915 and Olive Mary 1921.
The 1921 census shows the family living at 11 Marlborough Road, Long Eaton and in 1939 at the same address. Following his education Douglas became a Milk Salesman.
At the outbreak of World War II on 3rd September 1939, Douglas was aged 21 and was called up into the 1/5th Battalion the Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment), as a Private and with service number 4978719. The 1/5th Bn was part of the 18th British Division that arrived in Singapore on January 29th 1942, to defend against the Japanese invasion. The unit, which had travelled over 20,000 miles, was meant for the Middle East but was diverted to reinforce the "Fortress" of Singapore, which was already on the brink of falling.
Upon arrival, the Battalion faced imminent battle with little air support and the British forces surrendered on 15th February 1942, following the fall of Singapore. All members of the 1/5th Bn were taken prisoner including Douglas, who was captured at St Anne’s Hospital. They suffered immense hardship and many including Douglas were shipped overland and forced to work on the notorious Thai-Burma "Death Railway". Approximately 450 members of the Sherwood Foresters died as PoWs including Douglas who succumbed to the harsh treatment and died on 23rd May 1943 of Indigestion which was often a fatal case of toxic peritonitis, dysentery, or a starvation-related illness. He was aged 24.
Douglas was buried at Chungkai Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery, Kanchanaburi, Thailand in plot number 12.B.7. He was posthumously awarded the 1939-45 Star, Pacific Star and War Medal 1939-45 which were sent to his father at 11 Marlborough Road. His name also appears in the Long Eaton Roll of Honour held in the Town Hall and St Laurence Parish Church.
The 1921 census shows the family living at 11 Marlborough Road, Long Eaton and in 1939 at the same address. Following his education Douglas became a Milk Salesman.
At the outbreak of World War II on 3rd September 1939, Douglas was aged 21 and was called up into the 1/5th Battalion the Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment), as a Private and with service number 4978719. The 1/5th Bn was part of the 18th British Division that arrived in Singapore on January 29th 1942, to defend against the Japanese invasion. The unit, which had travelled over 20,000 miles, was meant for the Middle East but was diverted to reinforce the "Fortress" of Singapore, which was already on the brink of falling.
Upon arrival, the Battalion faced imminent battle with little air support and the British forces surrendered on 15th February 1942, following the fall of Singapore. All members of the 1/5th Bn were taken prisoner including Douglas, who was captured at St Anne’s Hospital. They suffered immense hardship and many including Douglas were shipped overland and forced to work on the notorious Thai-Burma "Death Railway". Approximately 450 members of the Sherwood Foresters died as PoWs including Douglas who succumbed to the harsh treatment and died on 23rd May 1943 of Indigestion which was often a fatal case of toxic peritonitis, dysentery, or a starvation-related illness. He was aged 24.
Douglas was buried at Chungkai Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery, Kanchanaburi, Thailand in plot number 12.B.7. He was posthumously awarded the 1939-45 Star, Pacific Star and War Medal 1939-45 which were sent to his father at 11 Marlborough Road. His name also appears in the Long Eaton Roll of Honour held in the Town Hall and St Laurence Parish Church.
Douglas's Prisoner of War Record Card
The Story The medals awarded to Douglas Truman were acquired from E-Bay on 19th March 2026 and of immediate interest as Douglas had perished working on the Burma Railway in Thailand, a specific theme of this collection.
Ancestry provided sufficient detail for a brief biography of a brief life to be completed and another soul who perished under terrible circumstances to be remembered.
Douglas’s grave was visited on Sunday 5th July 2026 and a poppy cross placed.
Ancestry provided sufficient detail for a brief biography of a brief life to be completed and another soul who perished under terrible circumstances to be remembered.
Douglas’s grave was visited on Sunday 5th July 2026 and a poppy cross placed.
Medal award box addressed to Douglas's father.
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Chungkai Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery, Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Sunday 5th July 2026.
Douglas TRUMAN is one of 35 soldiers in this collection who perished whilst working on the Burma Railaway and whose final resting place is Kanchanaburi or Chungkai Commonwealth War Cemeteries in Thailand or Thanbyuzayat in Myanmar. May their souls rest in eternal peace. Click on each name to read about:
- Arthur AIRD
- Jonathan William ALLEN
- John AXON
- John Alan BRATT
- Thomas BURNS
- William James Johnstone BYERS
- Walter Richard COLBERT
- Percy Denis CORNWELL
- Joseph DUCKWORTH
- Harold Edward EKE
- Kenneth Robert EYLAND
- Charles Nevil Worton FOX
- Denys John HYDE
- George Sidney JOHNSON
- Henry LINDLEY
- Charles Roger LLOYD
- Stanley Richard LOVEDAY
- Myles McMANUS
- Raymond Ernest MADGETT
- Alexander MALCOLM
- Alfred Arthur MANNING
- John MARKS
- Horace Edgar MAXWELL
- James Gordon MITCHELL
- Edward John PHILLIPS
- George Edward RUDDICK
- Kenneth William SHIPP
- Harold Norman SPALDING
- Alfred Henry STEVENS
- Harwood Alfred TAYLOR
- Walter Leonard TAYLOR
- Alfred Robert Kitchener UNDERWOOD
- Henry Garnsey VEITCH
- Alan Kirtley WATSON
Medal Details:
- 1939-45 Star: Unnamed as awarded.
- Pacific Star: Unnamed as awarded.
- War Medal 1939-45: Unnamed as awarded.
This page last updated 5 Jul 26
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