James Wilson, a former Lance Corporal with the Royal Scots, is now a resident at Abbeyfield House sheltered housing complex in Torphins.

More than 1,000 of his comrades died following a torpedo attack on the Japanese prison ship the Lisbon Maru - which sank off the coast of Shanghai on October 2 1942 - while they were being transported from Hong Kong to Japan.

The men on the Lisbon Maru had been trapped in Hong Kong when the Japanese launched their Pacific campaign.

The torpedo was fired by the American submarine, Grouper, who had no idea the ship was carrying British PoWs. Following the attack, the Japanese troops were taken off onto a Japenese destroyer, but the PoWs - of which Mr Wilson was one - were left battened down in the holds.

They remained in the darkened and horrific conditions for another 26 hours before breaking free. Japanese shipping in the area made no attempt to help, and many shot at men in the water.

Mr Wilson had never spoken about his horrific experiences until his family, including daughter Margaret MacGregor, asked if he could recall the attrocities he suffered more than 60 years ago.

Speaking about the moments after the stern of the Lisbon Maru had been hit, he said: "The ship started to sink as water rushed in and down into the holds and I knew that I had to get up these steps to the next hold before the water came in and made it impossible to climb up.

"After many attempts, I managed to fight my way to the top - only the fittest managed to get up. Many of our men couldn't swim and they stayed on and eventually went under with the boat.

"I was a good, strong swimmer and stayed on the ship to the very last minute, then dived off and swam to get up to our men who were near the Japanese boat, expecting to get picked up.

"However, I turned back very quickly when I saw that the Japanese were shooting our men in the water as they approached their boats - many were killed.

"I had been a keen sportsman before the war - a good swimmer, cross country runner and light heavyweight champion of our boxing team - all this gave me the strength to get away and I was swimming then for my life."

Mr Wilson headed towards land in the distance - an estimated five miles away - and was confident he would make it so long as there were no sharks.

"When others and I got nearer the land, our troubles turned into a nightmare and many lives were lost, as we had swum into a vortex - a whirling mass of water that took everything and everyone down into the depths," he said. "Many drowned here."

After clambering onto rocks with skinned knees, he helped pull others from the water - among them an officer from the Royal Engineers, who re-grouped them on land.

"During the night we hunted for food and found that a local farmer had planted rows of small swede turnips the size of tangerines - we didn't have a knife to cut the hard skin so we just used our teeth to bite it off," said Mr Wilson. "Little did we know at the time, these turnips were covered with human excrement.

"We saw a hole in the ground about 4ft deep, boxed in on three sides and the other side was open. The family on the farm must have used this as a toilet and the waste as manure for their crops.

"After eating the turnips, we became very ill and were caught very easily - the Japanese just had to walk up to us to find us almost dead to the world."

He said they were then crammed into small fishing boats where they suffered cramps and their bodies were frozen stiff.

"To complain was useless," he said. "My towel was wet and cold and I can't remember much after that as four or five of us passed out with serious trouble."

Mr Wilson said there were 724 survivors of the tragedy, but 1,092 men had drowned or been shot by the Japanese. "I had many friends who died - they had no more worries," he said.

He spent the next six months in a Japanese military hospital and was then interned in a PoW camp in Japan until the surrender in 1945.

Daughter Margaret MacGregor said: "Dad's positive and optimistic attitude to life has enabled him to enjoy every day and as Remembrance Sunday approaches, he realises how lucky he is to be able to celebrate this great milestone in his life."

Mr Wilson celebrated his 90th birthday on November 1 with a small do at Abbeyfield and a party at the British Legion on Saturday.

He moved to the North-east three years ago from west Lothian, to be nearer his family and has already become a "weel kent" face in the community as he walks very day and talks to everyone he meets along the way.