Jack Jennings was one of the Allied POWs who built the Burma Railway
The slave labourer for the Japanese died on January 19th, aged 104
Even as a young man, Jack Jennings was something of an expert on wood. He knew his oak from his ash, and his elm from his beech. Since leaving school at 14 he had worked with wood, first on the four-cutter moulding machine and then by hand as a joiner. Over five years of classes at Dudley Art College, in the Midlands, he made a work shed and workbench, a succession of stools and a complete bedroom suite, all French polished, in oak. He had just finished the wardrobe when in 1939, aged 20, he was called up.
This article appeared in the Obituary section of the print edition under the headline “A line through the jungle”
Obituary February 17th 2024
From the February 17th 2024 edition
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