Singapore and the Death Railway: an expert-led pilgrimage 85 years on

Added: 5th November 2026

“The worst disaster in British history”: 85 years on, an expert-led pilgrimage follows the forgotten army from Singapore to the Death Railway

5 November 2026. As Britain falls silent this Remembrance weekend, The Cultural Experience is taking travellers to the places where 80,000 British and Commonwealth troops passed into captivity, and to the railway where more than 12,000 Allied prisoners died. The tour is led by Dr Robert Lyman, the BBC’s historical adviser for the VJ Day commemorations.

On 15 February 1942, in a boardroom of the Ford motor factory at Bukit Timah, Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival signed away Singapore. Winston Churchill later called it “the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history”.

For many of the men marched into captivity that week, the worst was yet to come. They were sent north to build the Burma–Thailand railway: about 415 kilometres of track cut through jungle and rock by hand, in heat, monsoon rain and disease. More than 12,000 Allied prisoners of war died building it, along with an estimated 90,000 or more Asian civilian labourers. It is often said that the line cost a life for every sleeper laid.

Cultural Experience travellers standing between the rock walls of Hellfire Pass in Thailand

A Cultural Experience group at Hellfire Pass, Thailand.

From Malaya to Singapore and Thailand

February 2027 marks the 85th anniversary of the fall of Singapore. Two weeks later, on 28 February, The Cultural Experience sets out on The Fall of Singapore and the Death Railway, a 14-day journey through Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand that retraces the campaign from the first retreat to the last cutting.

The group follows the British withdrawal down the Malayan peninsula, from the Slim River bridges to the causeway across the Johore Strait. In Singapore they stand in Percival’s underground command bunker at Fort Canning, in the room at the Ford Factory where he surrendered, and at Changi, whose name became shorthand for captivity. Then they travel to Kanchanaburi in Thailand. There they cross the real bridge over the River Kwai by train, walk through Hellfire Pass, and lay wreaths at Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, where nearly 7,000 prisoners lie.

A Cultural Experience tour group listening to their guide beside a river crossing in Malaysia

Exploring the campaign on the ground with The Cultural Experience.

The real Bridge on the River Kwai

Millions know the story from David Lean’s 1957 film. Few know how much of it is invented. The tour sets the Hollywood version against the camp diaries, sketches and testimony of the men who were there.

A historian who has spent his life on this war

The tour is led by Dr Robert Lyman FRHistS, a former soldier and the military biographer of Field Marshal Bill Slim. He was the BBC’s historical adviser for the VJ Day commemorations in 2015 and 2020. He is a former chairman of the Kohima Educational Trust, and his books include Slim, Master of War and Kohima 1944.

A passenger train crossing the River Kwai Bridge above the river at Kanchanaburi

A train crossing the River Kwai Bridge at Kanchanaburi.

Remembrance beyond the Western Front

“Every November we remember. This tour is for people who want to go further and stand where it happened. Many of our travellers have a grandfather or great-uncle who was captured at Singapore, and they come back changed.”

Alan Rooney, Managing Director, The Cultural Experience

The tour runs from 28 February to 13 March 2027 for a maximum of 22 guests. Prices start at £6,345, or £7,195 including flights from London, with four-star hotels, internal flights and expert guiding throughout. View the full itinerary or call 0345 475 1815.

Cultural Experience travellers at Kranji War Cemetery behind the Stone of Remembrance

A moment of remembrance at Kranji War Cemetery, Singapore.

More journeys of remembrance in 2027

The Singapore tour leads a 2027 programme that follows both world wars, all led by expert historians in groups of no more than 22.

28 February: The Fall of Singapore and the Death Railway (Malaya, Singapore and the Burma–Thailand railway, 1942–45)
4 March: MacArthur and the Battle for the Philippines (the Pacific war)
11 April: Normandy: Conquerors, Liberators and Artists
3 May: Liberation! From Normandy to the Rhine (north-west Europe, 1944–45)
10 June: Journey’s End: from Verdun to Ypres (the Western Front, 1914–18)
10 September: The Battle of Britain (the air war over southern England, 1940)
26 September: A Rain of Ruin from the Air (the defeat of Japan, 1945)
3 November: Fortress Malta (the siege of the George Cross island)

Looking ahead, The Gallipoli Campaign departs on 2 May 2028.