A SECOND World War veteran who survived the horrors of being a Japanese prisoner of war, has died at the age of 101.

Fred Seiker, of St Peter’s, was held captive in Thailand for three years and forced to help build the death railway to Burma – including the infamous bridge over the River Kwai.

The project claimed the lives of 100,000 Asian labourers and 16,000 Allied servicemen – but Mr Seiker survived to tell the tale.

He wrote a book – Lest We Forget – about being a prisoner of war which received worldwide critical acclaim, especially after it received backing from Chinese ambassador Liu Xiaoming and was published in Mandarin.

Mr Seiker died peacefully at his Raven Drive home on June 1 and since his death his wife of 45 years, Elizabeth, said tributes had been coming in from across the world.

"People from Japan, Thailand, Holland, France and China have emailed messages after hearing the news," Mrs Seiker said.

"He will be well known in the county, through the book, and he also gave a lecture to Kings School pupils, and to organisations, about what happened.

"We are very proud of him."

Mr Seiker also had Dutch nationality despite living permanently in England since 1946, and moving to Worcester 30 years ago.

The Dutch government recognised his contribution as a war hero, when he was later awarded a medal of service.

When he reached his 100th birthday in 2005, the Worcester News interviewed Mr Seiker.

“Reaching 100 years is not a very important thing these days but in my particular case it is a miracle that I’m here," Mr Seiker said.

“As a prisoner of war I never would have imagined I’d reach my 100th birthday.

“I have had a lot of ups and downs in my life."

On the book Mr Seiker said: "This is not just my experience but that of my comrades.

"The Japanese are denying it all happened and they have changed the system to reflect that. The school children there are not learning about the war - apparently it never happened to them."

No funeral is being held for Mr Seiker, as he has donated his body to medical research.

Mr Seiker's book is still available to purchase on Amazon, in English and Mandarin.