Rol Parvin MBE’s life, a fascinating, moving, and true story of the 20th Century. His book is named “Yasumai!” the most important word that was used by the Japanese soldiers as it meant “stand at ease.”

Rol was born in 1917 and grew up in the inter war great depression. In 1939, he volunteered to join the British Army and in early 1941 he married and was sent overseas, unknowingly leaving his young wife pregnant. Ordered to surrender to the Japanese at the fall of Singapore, Rol and his comrades were then sent to work in the burning sun in appalling conditions to build, what was then called, the Burma to Siam (Myanmar / Thailand) Railway of Death, which he only just survived.
Then, whilst on one of the notorious “hell ships” enroute to Japan, his ship was torpedoed by an American submarine. Through a miraculous chain of events he survived, only to be picked up by the Japanese, and taken to a prison of war camp in Tokyo. There he witnessed the deadliest air raid of the war, the firebombing destruction of Tokyo in March 1945.
Finally, after four long years of hell, he returned to a ruined London to finally see his wife and the daughter he had never met, only to be dealt another crushing blow. In the fifties and sixties his career in mainstream publishing blossomed, and part time he wrote for the Eagle comic and War Picture library magazines as well as writing the original version of this book.
All was going well until 1968; but it all changed in a single day with the tragic murder of his beautiful daughter in a groundbreaking case.
In the 1970’s Rol introduced a number of innovations in the world of publishing, and he was awarded the MBE for services to the industry on his retirement in 1982.

The original book “Yasumai!” was published in 1958 and just covered Rol’s time as a Japanese POW.

His son Mark Parvin , has completely revised the text of the original, added a biographical story before and after the war. There are also  historical note sections about the hell ships, and the firebombing of Tokyo in March 1945.

Mark will be talking about the book and the firebombing of Tokyo at the Chalke Valley History Festival  on Friday 28th June 2023.

YASUMAI 2024 edition is now available to buy. Click here to purchase via Amazon.