Korean War Legacy Project

Neville Williams

Bio

Neville Williams grew up in Chester, England and was an extremely talented footballer (soccer player). He was conscripted into the 1st Battle Welch Regiment where he served in Korea in 1951-1952. He has documented all of his experienced in his book, A Conscript in Korea. He commemorated his experience in the war not only in his book, but in a poem that he wrote.  He shares his impressions of Korea, including arriving in Pusan. He also explains how he dealt with death and how others struggled with some of the circumstances in Korea. He even gives some insight into living in Korea, including the animals to alcohol. Neville Williams believes that it was a just war, but that the impact on those who lived it is significant.

Video Clips

First Impressions

After some time in Hong Kong, Neville Williams remembers traveling to Busan. He shares that his first impressions of the city were not good as he remembers the shanty town that surrounded the city and the orphans. They remained there for 4-5 days to transition to their next post on the front lines.

Tags: Busan,Impressions of Korea,Orphanage,Poverty,South Koreans

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Not Easy to Handle

When asked about how he handled death, Neville Williams shares how everything about the war was about survival and how strong of a bond he had with the others. He remembers two of his comrades who struggled with the stress and circumstances, sharing how they were removed from the combat. He argues, however, that even when those situations occurred no one ever looked negatively at anyone else.

Tags: Front lines,Living conditions

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From Animals to Alcohol

Neville Williams shares some of the unique sides of life in Korea. He gives examples of some of the wildlife that they saw, learning about the animals from the Koreans. Another thing they learned about Korea was about the “hooch,” an alcoholic drink that Neville Williams remembers made many sick!

Tags: Impressions of Korea,Living conditions

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The Beast of War

Neville Williams has written both a book and several poems about his war experience. He remembers sharing some poems with his comrades during the war. He shares his poem, “The Beast of War.”

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