Private Harold Martin joined the army in late 1940, he was 23 at the time and left behind a wife and young son. Like so many men of that time, he felt “It was the right thing to do” to fight for his country. In late 1941, he was sent to Singapore as part of the Australian commitment to the British Garrison. On the 15th February 1942, he was amongst the 15,000 Australian soldiers who became prisoners of war (POW’s) of the Japanese in the Fall of Singapore.

The Bridge over the River Kwai at Tha Markham in Thailand, consisted of two bridges, one a temporary wooden trestle bridge first completed in February 1943 and the other, a high-level steel bridge completed in May of the same year.