{"product_id":"in-search-of-sylvestr","title":"In Search of Sylvestr","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn 2017, I started my research on the fate of my granduncle Silvestr Nemec, \na young Czech employed by the Bata Shoe Company in Singapore, who \nvolunteered to fight the Japanese when they invaded Singapore during World \nWar II. He went missing in 1942 and was involved in two historic events of \nthe Fall of Singapore: the battle of Bukit Chandu and the Alexandra Hospital \nmassacre.\n Over time, the quest produced a whole collection of stories that spanned a \ncentury and across continents, covering not just Silvestr's life but also the Bata \ncompany in the Far East, other Czechoslovaks who lived in Singapore before \nand during World War II, as well as my own journey of discovery.\n I must say that not even in my wildest dreams did I expect that my research \nwould take me so far. On many occasions - such as when I was studying how \nBata organised his business, or what other Batamen captured in their diaries, \nletters and articles about their work and life in Singapore in 1930s - I was \nvividly picturing Silvestr in those contexts and situations.\n My book about my granduncle Silvestr was first published in Czech in \nOctober 2020, and now it is avaialble in English.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePaperback \/ softback | 292 pages | Published October 2025\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"GARDNERS","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":63977730638173,"sku":"9789819419197","price":31.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.thebookmark.ie\/products\/in-search-of-sylvestr","provider":"The Bookmark ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}