A SERVICE of thanksgiving has been held in memory of a former Japanese PoW, who last year published a book about his experiences.

Stan Gartry, from Shiney Row, near Sunderland, spent three and a half years on the island of Java as a PoW.

His book, Laughter, Tears and Faith Behind Barbed Wire, chronicled his enlistment into the RAF Medical Service and his time as a medical orderly between 1940 and 1946.

Mr Gartry died aged 82 on August 17 of complications following a kidney tumour.

A service was held at the Bethany Christian Centre, in Houghton-le-Spring, where Mr Gartry's son, David, told how his father had celebrated his 21st birthday in a PoW camp with a rare glass of milk, and weighed only six-and-a-half stones when he returned to England.

When his book was published, Mr Gartry dedicated it to all Far-East PoWs and those who died during the war.

Born in Hendon, Mr Gartry was a well-known figure in the Sunderland area. After leaving the air force, he worked as a stationery salesman.

He leaves his wife of 50 years, Phyllis.

* Laughter, Tears and Faith Behind Barbed Wire is available from the Bethany Christian Centre, in Houghton-le-Spring.