Temple of the Dawn
Temple of the Dawn (2006) oil on canvas 100 x 100 cm
POA
In February 1945, my father was with a group of prisoners sent from Nong Pladuk to Ubon in the east of Thailand. En route, they spent a week in Bangkok crammed into in 'go-downs' (large warehouses that were another obvious target for the RAF) on the east side of the city. When they first arrived in Bangkok, they were transported through the city by barge on the river. My father always said how beautiful Bangkok, appeared that morning. One of his fellow prisoners, from the same regiment and on the same journey, Charles Steel, in his published letters wrote: 'The sun caught the gilded pagoda and the coloured tiles on the wats and threw glorious colours to us who, for so long, had seen nothing beautiful, clean or decent.'