A former prisoner of war trapped in Nagasaki when it was bombed in 1945 has died of cancer.

Kenneth Collins, 78, had suffered with multiple myeloma - cancer of the bone marrow - for five years.

But his family will never know if it was linked with radiation from the atomic bomb dropped by the Americans.

Today, his widow Betty, of Bolton Drive, Eccleshill, said her husband was never bitter about what happened and had never tried to pursue compensation.

She said: "It was never established that the radiation from the bomb was a factor in the development (of his illness). Kenneth was never bitter about the possible effect of the bomb on him, but he was distressed by the injuries he saw to some Japanese.

"The important thing to him was that it brought the war to a rapid end and saved many lives."

Bradford-born Mr Collins volunteered for the Royal Navy in 1940 as a teenager. He joined the light cruiser HMS Exeter, famous for the sinking of the German warship Graf Spee, and eventually sailed for the Far East.

The ship was sunk by the Japanese on March 1, 1942 after helping to evacuate British people from Singapore.

"He said he was fortunate that he was only 20 when his ship was sunk," Mrs Collins recalled. "He was a fit man at the time, and that helped him to survive."

The Japanese picked up survivors from the ship and took them prisoner. After being kept in a camp at Macassar in the Celebes he was taken to work in the Nagasaki dockyards with other prisoners.

When the bomb was dropped, he saw the mushroom cloud but his prison camp was partly shielded by hills and the prisoners took refuge in a tunnel, unsure what had happened.

Many fellow crew members of the stricken HMS Exeter perished either with the ship, or afterwards in the harsh prison camp conditions. Survivors still hold an annual reunion in Devon and a representative plans to attend Mr Collins' funeral at 2pm on Thursday, January 6 at Rawdon Crematorium

Mr Collins, who was Petty Officer in the Navy, returned to Bradford after the war and resumed his career as an engineer in the wool textile industry. He worked for Richard Fawcett's Regina Combing Company in Leeds Road and later, Herons Mill in Raymond Street, Bankfoot (Hart International Wools) - not retiring until 1988.

He was diagnosed with his illness five years ago and Mrs Collins said his family were grateful to the Haematology Unit at Bradford Royal Infirmary for looking after him.

He died at home on Boxing Day, after enjoying Christmas Day in the company of nine members of the family. He is survived by Betty, son Ian, daughter Shirley and a granddaughter.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.