Death Railway war hero veteran dies at 92

A Second World War hero, who survived the infamous Death Railway in the Far East and went on to set up a memorial to Allied soldiers, has died.

Jack Plant was captured on the island of Java by the Japanese and went on to survive the horrors of the Haruku camp and the building of the Sumatra "Death Railway".

He died at his home in Hilton Lane, Great Wyrley, aged 92.

The great grandfather-of-one helped set up the memorial to Allied soldiers at the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas near Lichfield.

At the time he said he had "a lot of memories that I don't really want to remember" but wanted to do something to honour the tens of thousand who died building the 140-mile railway.

When the Japanese forces overran Java on March 8 1942, nearly 4,600 RAF men were taken into captivity and used for slave labour .

Initially, RAF medical orderly Mr Plant and his fellow prisoners were used to repair airfields, but were later transported great distances throughout the Japanese empire to undertake much heavier work.

Mr Plant died on January 28. He was married in 1949 to Lily Taylor, who died in 1988, and is survived by their son and daughter.

He was born on May 24 1918 at West Bromwich and educated at Cronehills School. He worked in a bakery for four years before attending technical college, where a study of first aid encouraged him to take up patient care at New Cross Institution in Wolverhampton.

In March 1940, Mr Plant joined the RAF Medical Branch.

After the war, he was a manager with the Delta group.