WHILE the harsh realities of conflict are never far from the mind of Colchester’s Garrison sergeant major, this weekend there will be one anniversary set to strike a personal chord.

Ceri Ceaser’s grandfather was taken prisoner during World War Two and as he put it, “the old man never got the the train home.”

His grandfather, Lance Bombardier Henry William Ceaser, died aged just 32.

The role he and hundreds of other British troops played in the Far East during the conflict will be remembered at a special service marking VJ Day on Saturday.

It prompted Sgt Major Ceaser to do more research into his family’s history.

He said: “VJ Day is a pretty important day, certainly for the whole of the Ceaser family, given the fact my grandfather was taken a prisoner of war in Java [an Indonesian island] in 1943.

“My grandfather never made it home – my father never knowing his father.

“It will be a big day for us to commemorate his life.”

Sgt Major Ceaser said his grandmother’s brother served with his grandfather and was also a prisoner of war, but made it home safely He said “Henry had been killed in 1943. This was a global war where there was no communication with the Red Cross.

“It must have been devastating for the family, my grandmother literally fell apart.”

Henry, who served with the 77th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, had sailed with troops to Batavia (now Jakarta) on Java.

As they were moving towards Surabaya, there was a train crash.

Sgt Major Ceaser added: “We know they landed in Java and moved by express train to defend the oil and ammunition fields there.

“There was a train crash, my grandfather was pulling men from the train crash – he was a big man.”

The train still made it to Surabaya, but the Japanese invaded and Henry was taken prisoner at Tanjun Priok and then Haruku Island.

There the story becomes patchy, but he died on July 2.

Sgt Major Ceaser said: “We know from the War Graves Commission he was noted to be on Haruku Island. They were used as slaves to chip up coral by hand.”

Henrywas buried there, but in 1947 his body was exhumed and moved to the large Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery on Ambon Island.

Sgt Major Ceaser added: “The research is absolutely amazing.

“It is one of my wishes to go out there with my brother and pay our respects.”

VJ Day commemorates the end of the Second World War as we know it and soldiers who served in the Far East have been referred to as the “Forgotten Army” as their role was overlooked by the press with the focis on the war in Europe against Nazi Germany.

In Colchester, it will be marked with a ceremony at the war memorial outside Colchester Castle, on Saturday at 10.45pm with a wreath laying at 11am.