The Taiwan POWs
It is doubtful that any other group of our citizens has suffered such appalling trauma. There was no "post traumatic stress disorder" counsel when the FEPOWs returned - they were simply sent home after 3 1/2 years of horror and told to get on with their lives. It is to their credit and the benefit of later generations that they did just that. Surely it is time to recognize their suffering and the tremendous contribution they have made to peace and to our life.
What It Meant to be a Far East Prisoner of War (FEPOW) . . .
- 27-42% of FEPOWs captured by the Japanese were killed or died in captivity, compared with 1-2% of those Allied soldiers, sailors and airmen captured by the Germans and Italians.
- FEPOW deaths as a percentage were the highest rate of all the World War II battle fronts involving British troops.
- FEPOWs suffered trauma 24 hours a day, with the constant threat of death, disease, beatings, torture, starvation, seeing their comrades dying around them, burying them and even being forced to dig their own graves.
TAIWAN POW LIST
These pages contain the names of the men interned in the prisoner of war camps on the island of Taiwan. We want this list to serve as a lasting memorial to all those who suffered and those who died. We owe these men a debt that can never be repaid, and their memory must Never be Forgotten.
These pages are placed here in honour and in memory of all those who died
as prisoners of war on Taiwan during World War II.
In keeping with the British and Commonwealth practice of burying their war dead close to the area where they fell and / or in a secure environment, all of the British and Australian POWs who died while prisoners of war in Taiwan camps are buried in the Sai Wan War Cemetery in Hong Kong. All of the Dutch POWs who died here are also interred there.
The United States had a different policy which allowed the remains of deceased servicemen to be brought home at the request of their families and be interred in local cemeteries, most often in family plots. Others were interred in National Cemeteries administered by the Dep’t. of Veterans Affairs. Those not so claimed were buried in American War Cemeteries overseas which are run by the American Battle Monuments Commission.
Our Honour Roll consists of the names of all the men who died while POWs resident in camps on Taiwan during World War II. It lists them alphabetically by name with their rank at that time and the regiment/unit in which they served. Their date of death is also recorded, and in addition there is a photo of the grave or notation about the burial place of the deceased. For those British, Australian and Dutch interned in Hong Kong, no further reference is needed, but for the Americans the cemetery name or place of burial is listed, as many are buried locally across America.
Note: Men who died in other places – such as on hellships en route to Japan after being POWs on Taiwan, or who later died in camps in Japan and Manchuria are not listed in this Honour Roll.
© COPYRIGHT 1998 - 2024
All material on this website, including articles, maps, photographs, drawings etc. is the copyright of the
Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society
and/or those people or organizations who have contributed such material. We are happy for material on the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society site to be used for schools or research purposes, provided reference is made to its source and/or the owner.
No material may be used on another website or reproduced in any manner by any other means or method without permission from the
Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society.
All material on this website, including articles, maps, photographs, drawings etc. is the copyright of the
Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society
and/or those people or organizations who have contributed such material. We are happy for material on the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society site to be used for schools or research purposes, provided reference is made to its source and/or the owner.
No material may be used on another website or reproduced in any manner by any other means or method without permission from the
Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society.
