getting even closer Tim.
I have to say that experience has taught me not to take stories as gospel, proof is everything. So of course looking for him as a casualty is the first step. It could of course be that the name inscribed is the other brother, so it would also be worth checking any casualty as a secondary step to see if they had a brother. First things first though.
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As there appears to be interst in this item, I will share another recent find. I bought a large amount of paperwork revovling around two brothers who died in WW2. The first brother Ernest was killed in action late June 1942 (exact date appears to vary) probably due to the fact that the troops were in full retreat at the time heading for El Alamein. He is in fact buried in El Alamein cemetery.
The second brother Stanley, was in the RAF and stationed in Singapore when the Japanese invaded. He was taken prisoner and died whilst prisoner on 9th April 1945 - he was working on the Sumatran railway at the time and is reported to have died of Beri-Beri.
I had not heard of the Sumatran railway before but it makes very sad reading. The final nail was hammered into the railway on August 15 1945, ironically the day that Japan surrendered. Not a single train ran on the tracks........the price 80,000 lives.
you can read more here if you are interested (Stanley is listed under Air Force list on this first link)
http://sumatrarailway.com/the-sumatra-railway/
you will see in this second link that the number of British deaths on the Sumatran railway amounted to 151 men out of the approximate 1,000 British workers.
http://www.usmm.org/duffylifedeath.html
here are just two pieces of paperwork from the large group, which includes letters home, telegrams, and other correspondence....

