The Great Indian Escape: In 1942 This Indian PoW Escaped From A Prison In Singapore Inside A Drum. This Is His Story.

Indian Army today proudly shared one of its most famous escape stories with its fans on Facebook. This story which we believe is arguably 'The Greatest Military Escape by an Indian' went down as follows.

cofepow.org.uk

In the year 1942, 31-year-old 2 Lt M Mark Pillai from then British Indian Army's Bombay Sappers was a prisoner of the Japanese at a POW camp in Changi, Singapore.

Yes, oil drums - the perfect escape pods from 1942.

He proceeded to hide himself in a drum and roll out of the camp. Later he mingled with the local community and stayed hidden till he could trick the Japanese into giving him a passport posing as a merchant.

A busy street in Singapore today . Image: straitstimes

Using the fake passport, he made his way into Burma. From here, working as a cook on a boat he then found his way up the Irrawady River and once he reached North Burma, he escaped to the jungles.

Yep they looked different back then, We Know! Image: Flickr

It took him three weeks through the dense jungles to reach his destination. On his own , sick and starving he finally reached British Lines at Fort White.

Gurkha Officers and Riflemen including Pipers of 2/4GR at Fort White in Burma. Image: thegurkhamuseum

For the remarkable journey he undertook with only his guts, intelligence and passion to drive him, he was awarded the Military Cross, which is the Third Highest Military Decoration in British Armed Forces, by Field Marshal Archibald Wavell. He was then promoted to Captain and became a Brigadier before he left the army and wrote the book 'Three Thousand Miles To Freedom'

Here's the original post about his escape: