![\"Sketch](\"https:\/\/secondbysecondworldwar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Wsearle-159x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Sketch by Ronald Searle: Two British prisoners in shirts, shorts and bush hats, Sime Road Camp, Singapore, 1 January 1944 [Public domain]<\/p><\/div>The year just\u00a0ending had seen the initiative pass to the Allies, both in Europe and in the Pacific. Japanese admiral, Yamamoto (killed when his plane was shot down) had foreseen it. But Hitler and\u00a0the rest of the\u00a0fanatical Nazi leadership still lived in a dream world.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Allied victories in North Africa<\/a> and Sicily<\/a> had caused Italy\u00a0to change sides<\/a> and join the Allies. America’s phenomenal industrial might was providing masses of aircraft and armaments to Britain, China and the Soviet Union<\/a>. A second front in northern France would become a reality within the next six months.<\/p>\n Russian factories beyond the Urals were producing war materials at a furious rate and Soviet armies had driven the Wehrmacht back to the Polish border. In the Pacific,\u00a0the Japanese continued to lose territory as a result of America’s \u2018island-hopping\u2019 strategy, while\u00a0the Australian and US forces\u00a0had also been victorious in New Guinea<\/a>. The Chinese were also enjoying the fruits of victory.<\/p>\n Sketch by Ronald Searle: Guards select from sick and starving British prisoners those considered suitable for heavy labour; Konyu camp, Thailand [Public domain]<\/p><\/div>Although still over a year and a half away, the end of the war was in sight and could not come too soon for the millions fighting, or suffering the hardships and privations of the home front, or\u00a0enduring life\u00a0in any one of the thousands of prison camps.<\/p>\n The\u00a0sketch upper left is dated 1 January 1944—New Year’s Day—and was drawn by Ronald Searle. So was the picture to the right.<\/p>\n Searle had trained as an artist before the war. After joining the Royal Engineers, he was shipped to the Far East and then captured by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore.<\/p>\n He survived the war and became well known for the drawings he had done during his years of captivity. After the war, his fame continued through his well-loved cartoons of cats, schoolgirls (The Belles of St. Trinian’s<\/em>), and other aspects of British life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The year just\u00a0ending had seen the initiative pass to the Allies, both in Europe and in the Pacific. Japanese admiral, Yamamoto (killed when his plane was shot down) had foreseen it. But Hitler and\u00a0the rest of the\u00a0fanatical Nazi leadership still … Continue reading ![\"Sketch](\"https:\/\/secondbysecondworldwar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Wsearle2-231x300.jpg\")
<\/a>