fergus anckorn, born 1918
Soldier, Conjuror and prisoner of war
Fergus Anckorn was a member 118th Field Regiment Royal Artillery and member of the Magic Circle, who aged 23 was captured by the Japanese in Singapore without firing a shot. What followed was a story of suffering, stoicism, mental fortitude and endurance; he survived the ruthless regime that the Japanese Imperial Army imposed upon Allied PoWs working on the Burma-Siam Railway, the so-called Death Railway, while also surviving a number of brushes with death. He was known as “the conjuror of the River Kwai” as he saved fellow prisoners’ lives by distracting and entertaining the guards so they allowed him to have extra food rations. His story inspired Lance Corporal Richard Jones, serving in the Household Cavalry, to retell his story in a card trick to win Britain’s Got Talent, in 2016, with Anckorn appearing alongside him in the final.