A woman from Shepton Mallet is calling for her grandfather's wartime story to be remembered this VJ Day, 15 August, highlighting the sacrifices made by prisoners of war and the importance of remembering their experiences in a time of renewed global conflict.

Joanna Matthew has spent years researching the life of her grandfather, Arthur Douglas Marsh—known to friends and family as Doug or Dougie — a Shepton native and former Royal Navy serviceman who was captured by Japanese forces during the Second World War.

Doug was aboard HMS Exeter when the ship was sunk during the Battle of the Java Sea on 1 March 1942. He was taken prisoner and held for over three and a half years in the notorious Macassar POW camp.

HMS Exeter sinking during the Battle of the Java Sea on 1 March 1942

Doug Marsh never spoke in detail of his captivity. What little he did reveal painted a grim picture: extreme hunger, illness, forced labour, and severe beatings. He told of eating rats, dogs, and cats to survive, and of enduring cruelty at the hands of camp guards.

One in particular, a man named Yoshida—nicknamed Goldie or Goldtooth — was remembered for brutal violence and the deliberate withholding of medical supplies. He was later executed for war crimes in 1947.

Doug's silence about his experiences left many unanswered questions. In 2011, Joanna began researching his story more deeply. Her work led her to the National Archives, where she discovered his Japanese index card confirming he had spent the duration of his captivity at Macassar.

She then contacted the HMS Exeter Association, where Vice Chairman Tom Jowett, son of a fellow Exeter survivor, suggested adding Doug's name to reunion materials to see if it triggered any memories.

Weeks later, Joanna received an unexpected phone call from an elderly woman named Joan Rowse. Joan recognised Doug's name immediately — her husband, Cecil, had been a fellow prisoner and Doug's closest friend in camp.

Doug had spoken of a best friend in captivity, though never by name. The Rowse family revealed that in early 1945, as Cecil lay dying from Beri Beri, Doug risked his life by trading his wedding ring with a Japanese guard in exchange for Vitamin B tablets. The trade saved Cecil's life.

Given the conditions in Macassar — where prisoners were stripped of all possessions and wore only loin cloths — retaining a wedding ring for three years was in itself extraordinary. To then give it up to save another man's life was a remarkable act of bravery and loyalty.

"The Japanese punished any concealment with severe beatings or worse," Joanna explained. "My grandfather took a huge risk for his friend."

Doug never told his family about the incident. Only after speaking with the Rowse family did the Marshes learn that, true to his word, Cecil had sent a goose from his farm in Cornwall to the Marsh home every Christmas. Joanna's father, Terence, had always remembered the annual bird arriving, but never knew why.

After liberation, HMS Exeter's surviving prisoners remained in Macassar for several weeks before being taken to Freemantle, Australia, on HMS Maidstone to recover. Joanna said: "They were in such a shocking state they wouldn't have survived the voyage back to Britain without help."

HMS Maidstone was the first British ship to enter Hong Kong harbour at the end of the War to pick up surviving POWs. Most of those on board were Navy POW survivors from HMS Exeter (Photo: COFEPOW)

In Australia, the men were cared for by local families. Some, having lost homes or relatives in Britain, later emigrated and never returned.

Doug and the others finally reached Portsmouth on 11 December 1945. Unlike their welcome in Australia, they arrived in silence. "There was no fanfare," Joanna said. "Just one officer there to greet them. The men were told not to speak of what they'd been through. Whether that was official policy or a pact among themselves is unclear, but it meant their stories went untold for decades."

Following her discoveries, Joanna began attending the annual HMS Exeter reunion at Exeter Cathedral, which houses a chapel and stained-glass window dedicated to the ship and its crew.

There, she met some of the last living veterans of Macassar. "They were the humblest of men," she recalled. "Their stories were horrifying, but always told with humour—about the tricks they played on the guards, the small victories that kept them going."

Joanna described the strong bond between the survivors: "Their camaraderie and unspoken communication were obvious. Only they could truly understand what they'd lived through. Even in their nineties, they had a zest for life—staying up drinking and dancing long after I'd gone to bed."

All of those veterans have since passed away. But Joanna believes their stories remain urgently relevant. "In today's world, with all the unrest and violence we're seeing, I remember what those men said to me. They desperately hoped human beings would never commit such crimes again. We owe it to them to remember—and to learn."