Moynahan, Brian (2009) Jungle Soldier: The True Story of Freddy Spencer Chapman, Quercus, ISBN 1-84916-076-7 He was the subject of This Is Your Life in January 1964 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the BBC Television Theatre.

Mixed feelings. As a survival story it is fascinating. It is a first-hand account of a military undercover agent in Japanese occupied Malaya. The author was there for over three years, and the dangers he faced from the harsh climate and the enemy, as well as at times friendlies, is pretty amazing. What really frightens and dismays us is not external events themselves, but the way in which we think about them. It is not things that disturb us, but our interpretation of their significance.4 The Jungle is Neutral is Spencer Chapman’s riveting account of unimaginable hardship and unbreakable will in the face of a ruthless enemy. As a tale of endurance and survival it is unsurpassed. As a war story, it is without rival. Chin Peng, the Communist guerrilla leader who worked with Chapman, had this to say in his excellent book MY SIDE OF HISTORY: urn:oclc:850740525 Republisher_date 20120829095024 Republisher_operator [email protected] Scandate 20120828054526 Scanner scribe18.shenzhen.archive.org Scanningcenter shenzhen Worldcat (source edition)In fact, he spend much of the next three years trudging from one jungle camp to another and trying to keep body (and one assumes mind) together. The book powerfully makes the point that the jungle is just about the most hostile place you could choose to live. The health of those who tried to do so was every bit as bad as that of those imprisoned in Japanese PoW camps. He also makes some interesting points about the importance of face saving in the local community, to the extent that Chinese guerilla leaders would refuse to attend lectures on jungle fighting tactics in case it looked to their men like they didn't know what they were doing. Lccn 88029554 Ocr_converted abbyy-to-hocr 1.1.20 Ocr_module_version 0.0.17 Openlibrary OL2051825M Openlibrary_edition The 1st Battalion Scots Guards (1SG), together with a range of other British Army units and our allies from Belize, had to get comfortable being uncomfortable in one of the world’s most unforgiving environments on Exercise Mayan Storm.

Tan Chong Tee, Force 136, Story of a WWII resistance fighter, Asiapac Books, Singapore, 1995, ISBN 981-3029-90-0Spencer Chapman lived with Communist guerrillas and, unlike many Western accounts, recognises their role and their courage in defeating the Japanese. However, there are clearly places where his memory is sketchy. He kept diaries but lost them on occasion. Hence the book, perhaps like his experience, is a times a little disorientated. At one point he describes being shot, and his arm rendered numb and useless, yet no further mention is made of it and he seems to carry on regardless. If you don't want to read it for the war or the jungle it equally works as a rather insane example of victory snatched from the jaws of defeat...... The decisions and outcomes of these groups were not predetermined by destiny nor fate nor lottery. It was the investors’ actions that led to the results they got. That’s it. Actions that were under their control. Actions that are freely available to any market participant, if they choose. During the Japanese invasion the then Captain Chapman took part in an undercover raid across the Perak River in support of Rose Force. During the mission Chapman noticed how lightly equipped the Japanese soldiers were in contrast to the heavy kit of the British and Indian forces. He noted they had little standard issue equipment other than raincoats which had a hood and covered the bikes they were riding, allowing them to continue cycling in the rain. [12]