This Christmas menu from prisoner of war Albert Riley shows the type of food available in the prison during 1944, and also reveals the food limitations the prisoners of war (POWs) had to face with. Despite this, it was still important to celebrate Christmas as the festival signified hope for everyone and the festive celebration was a semblance of normal life for all. Albert Riley held the rank of Private in the 196 Field Ambulance unit (part of the Royal Army Medical Corps) and he arrived in Singapore on 29 January 1942 with his unit to help the wounded soldiers. With the fall of Singapore, Riley was held captive as a prisoner of war in Changi, and was sent to work on the Burma-Thailand Railway in 1943, but managed to survive the imprisonment and hardship to return to Changi. This menu suggests that Riley had returned to Changi by December 1944. He eventually returned home to Britain after the surrender of the Japanese.
