Ex prisoner of war who worked for reconciliation between Japan and Britain
Leslie Willet Brannen (Les) Dennison was one of only 400 survivors out of a group of 1,600 prisoners of war on the Burma railway during World War II.
Brutality suffered at the hands of others marked the life and psyche of Les Dennison: illegitimate son of a Mayfair skivvy; coal miner and plumber; class warrior and communist cell leader; and war prisoner of the Japanese on the infamous Burma railway.
Yet Dennison was to find redemption through unlikely sources: a fellow building worker and a repentant Japanese general. From then on, he refused to cast himself in the victim role, and he became known, in his home city of Coventry and internationally, as a force for reconciliation, particularly towards Japan.
See obituary article for full story
Additional names
Lesley
Birth year
1915
Death year
2006
Profession
Nationality
United Kingdom
Primary country of residence
United Kingdom
