Wartime veterans and PM Scott Morrison view Anzac360 VR ahead of Remembrance Day

Two veterans of the darkest chapters in our history have used virtual reality to revisit the places they called Hell. Now they want other Australians to do it, saying “everyone should watch this”.

With the click of a button and the passing of a tear, they travelled 75 years through time — to a place each called Hell.

Ahead of Remembrance Day tomorrow, two of the dwindling number who survived years of horror as prisoners of the Japanese in World War Two used virtual reality to revisit the darkest chapters of our nation’s wartime story.

Death Railway survivor James Kerr and Billy Young, the last man alive to have been at notorious Sandakan prison camp, were testing the two new Anzac360 films, launched today.

“Everyone should see this so they know” ... Death Railway veteran Jim Kerr watches the Anzac360 virtual reality film, at his home in Melbourne. Picture: Maxim Drygin.

The films take viewers deep inside the stories of Hellfire Pass in Thailand and the Sandakan Death March in Borneo — episodes that saw thousands of Australians and other prisoners starved, brutalised and murdered by their Japanese captors.

The gritty immersive detail meant confronting emotional personal memories; but both men gave a thumbs-up and urged other Australians to follow their example and discover the truth of these extraordinary events, which often get overshadowed by more familiar Anzac history.

“Everybody should see it so they know what actually happened,” said former artilleryman Mr Kerr, of Melbourne.

“If we don’t tell people now these things will be lost to future generations; and these things should never be forgotten.”

Brutal reality ... an Allied prisoner is punished by the Japanese on the Death Railway in this sketch by former British captive Jack Chalker.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Anzac360 app – which is free and easily viewed on phones, tablets or headsets — is a cutting-edge educational tool, as virtual reality and 360-degree films are increasingly used in schools.

“The story of Australian soldiers and their suffering in the Sandakan Death March and at Hellfire Pass are among the worst military atrocities in our nation’s history, but among the least well-known,” said Mr Morrison, who has trekked the rugged route of the march.

“For younger generations, the sacrifices of Australia’s fallen soldiers can be difficult to understand and visualise. By embracing new technologies such as VR we can now bring that history to life literally right in front of our eyes.”

“Brings history to life” ... Prime Minister Scott Morrison reviews the films at his office in Parliament House. He believes they are a great educational tool. Picture: Gary Ramage.

The movies were made in partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Minister Darren Chester said Anzac360 “allows all Australians, including our next generation of students, to visit the sites of these conflicts from their classroom or home.”

Four decades ago Mr Young and Mr Kerr were teenagers when thrust into the reality of the war, having lied about their ages to enlist.

Mr Kerr turned 17 while lost behind enemy lines after Singapore fell in 1942. He was captured and thrust into the Thai-Burma Railway’s army of forced labourers.

The flames of hell ... emaciated Aussies in a cutting on the Death Railway, working 24/7 by firelight. The sketch was done by POW Murray Griffin and is kept at the Australian War Memorial.

Around 100,000 civilians and captive soldiers died constructing the Japanese railroad, leading to the phrase “a life for every sleeper”. For Australians, the suffering and brutality became epitomised by one place: Hellfire Pass.

“There’s still a lot of people that just don’t realise or have no knowledge of what went on with the Japanese,” Mr Kerr said.

“People say do I hate the Japanese? I don’t use the word ‘hate’ … (but) I’ll never ever forgive the Japanese for what they did and I’ll never forget as long as I’m alive.”

For Mr Young, a long-term Sydneysider who now lives in his native Tasmania, the Anzac360 film brought emotional memories of long-dead friends.

“They were men I knew” ... Sandakan prison camp survivor Billy Young was moved to tears by the Anzac360 film. Picture: Nikki Davies-Jones

Moved to tears, the 94-year-old said: “I watch this and it just brings back to me, once again, how amazed I am that I am still here today.”

He ended up at Sandakan after Singapore surrendered. By a quirk of fate, he was transferred to another jail — after first suffering a terrible beating — which meant he avoided the horrific chain of events, culminating in the Sandakan Death March, that left 2,500 dead as the war ended in 1945.

He said the opening drone footage of lush Borneo jungle betrayed the horrors of what happened there.

“Just the sight of it, the beauty gets you. It’s so green, with all the trees and the palms. But … men died underneath those palms, right along the line.”

Torture and murder ... artist’s impression of an incident on the Sandakan Death March, where weakened prisoners were slain in droves. Picture courtesy of Lynette Silver.

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See the new Anzac360 virtual reality films on Hellfire Pass and the Sandakan Death March by downloading the free Anzac360 app at the Apple Store, Google Play store or for your Oculus device.

It works best on phone, tablet or headset but can also be viewed on a desktop or laptop.

Hills of horror ... the mountainous terrain where the Sandakan Death March took place.