Norwich World War 2 RAF veteran Rouse Voisey dies at 102

Rouse Voisey, born July 28, 1920, was the youngest of five brothers and grew up in Norwich.

He joined the RAF aged 17 in 1937 where he trained as an air fitter with the 151 Maintenance Unit.

Rouse Voisey, from Norwich, pictured as a 17-year-old RAF airmam after joining in 1937 (Image: Sent in by Christine Webster)

It was during his wartime service he was captured and kept as a Japanese POW on the Indonesian island of Java and forced to work on projects including building a railway line.

Speaking of his service during his 100th birthday celebrations at The Warren Care Home in Wroxham Road, Sprowston in 2020, he said: "It was a matter of keeping yourself sane and doing what you were told. It was horrific.

Rouse Voisey, who was Japanese Prisoner of War in the Second World War, pictured in 2005 (Image: Archant © 2005)

"It was jolly hot work. You didn’t get any protective equipment and if you were naughty they [the Japanese] would break your knees on the railway line. It was character-building."

He was also one of the 700 survivors from the Japanese cargo ship Junyo Maru which was torpedoed on September 18, 1944 by British submarine HMS Tradewind, killing around 5,600 people.

Former RAF serviceman Rouse Voisey turned 100 on July 28, 2020 (Image: Sent in by Christine Webster)

After the attack Mr Voisey was left in the sea for 40 hours before being picked up by another Japanese boat and taken to the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where he and others were forced to build a railway for the next 18 months.

Following the war, Rouse returned to Norwich where his wife Doreen Webster on August 2, 1947.

A photo of Mr Voisey in 1938 (Image: Archant © 2005)

The couple were married for 62 years until Doreen's death in 2010.

Although he and Doreen had no children, Rouse was an uncle to many.

Rouse Voisey's Second World War medals incuding the 1939/45 war medal, 39/45 star, top, and the Pacific star medal, bottom (Image: Archant © 2005)

He worked as a filing clerk for the Inland Revenue and also in waste disposal for Norfolk County Council after leaving the air force.

Rouse celebrated his 102nd birthday last July surrounded by family, friends and staff at The Warren - where he had been a resident for four years.

Rouse Voisey celebrating his 102nd birthday in 2022 (Image: The Warren Care Home)

In September, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, he shared multiple cards sent to him from Her late Majesty.

Rouse died in December.

• To pay tribute to a loved one email donna-louise.bishop@newsquest.co.uk
• To read more obituaries and tributes join the Facebook group Norfolk's Loved & Lost.