ARTICLES & STORIES

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED - THE "TAIWAN POW WAR GRAVES PHOTO PROJECT" IS FINALLY COMPLETED!

From the Spring – Summer 2014 Society Newsletter

     For the past two years we have been trying to obtain a photo of the last American war grave we needed to complete our Taiwan POW War Graves Photo Project in the Honour Roll on our website. On Saturday morning January 25th 2014 we received an email that ended more than four years of work and two years of searching for a last Taiwan POW's grave photo.

     As our readers will know, we have tried without success to get a photo of the grave...

ASIAN WAR GRAVES AND MEMORIAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE - FREE!

     In 2011 it was announced on the Taiwan POW Society website that photos of the graves of the former Taiwan POWs who are buried at Sai Wan War Cemetery in Hong Kong were available from the Society - FREE of CHARGE. At the same time it was mentioned that photos of other war graves in the cemeteries in Hong Kong were available from Tony Banham, and that the Thai-Burma Railway Centre (TBRC) in Thailand would also pass on photos from the cemeteries at Kanchanaburi and Chungkai in Thailand and Thanbyuzayat, Burma - all...

ANOTHER SOURCE FOR FREE WAR GRAVE AND MEMORIAL PHOTOS. . .

     We also recommend another excellent organization with a website offering thousands of FREE war grave and memorial photos worldwide. British War Graves - War Graves Photographs, founded and operated for over 10 years by Mick McCann in the UK, provides free photos for almost all the world’s war cemeteries and more.

     With over 200 volunteers worldwide contributing photos to the collection, this is truly the place to look first to find a war grave or memorial photo – FREE !

     Mick says . . . “If you are looking...

THE TAIHOKU CAMP #6 PRISONER OF WAR MEMORIAL DEDICATION CEREMONY

     On Friday November 11th 2011 - exactly 69 years after the first POWs arrived at Taihoku Camp # 6 from Singapore on the hellship England Maru, a memorial was dedicated  to the men of No. 6 Camp by the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society and the ROC Ministry of National Defense. Taihoku Camp 6 was the main POW camp in the capital area, and one of the principal camps in Taiwan, and the Society is very thankful to the Ministry and Minister Kao, Hua-Chu for their help in getting this long overdue memorial...

THINK ABOUT IT. . . .

     Over the past number of years as I have gone about my daily routine of life, I have often been suddenly jolted by reality as I compared what I was doing at that very moment to how it must have been for the POWs here on Taiwan those many years ago.

     For example, one Monday morning I woke up, not feeling “all that well” - most likely having a touch of the flu. My body ached from fever and I felt listless and tired. I didn’t feel like...

9th NORTHUMBERLAND FUSILIERS IN TAIWAN

     In World War II, after the Fall of Singapore, the men of the 9th Battalion Royal Northumberland Fusiliers joined thousands of other British and Commonwealth military personnel as prisoners of war of the Japanese. Eventually, most of the regiment went to Thailand and Burma (Myanmar) to work on the infamous Death Railway, but nine members were sent to Taiwan and held as prisoners of war on the island. Here is their story. . .

     The nine men of the 9th Btn. who were POWs in Taiwan –

Fus. William J. Coyne, Fus....

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE NUMBERS IN MALAYA AND SINGAPORE !

     A few years ago, I watched a historical documentary on the Pacific War. The show was produced by a reputable filmaker and was shown on a prominent channel.

     Not far into the film they highlighted the Battle for Singapore and I was shocked at what I heard. Once again, as so many times before, the statement was made that the British “lost” Singapore to a Japanese force that numbered one third that of the British forces defending the island fortress. I was outraged that after all this time and with so much...

MORE FACTS ABOUT THE NUMBERS IN MALAYA AND SINGAPORE

With Michael Arnold, author of “The Sacrifice of Singapore”

     After the fall of Singapore in the spring of 1942 and under the orders of Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita, the Japanese decided to build a memorial to all those of their men who had died in the Battles for Malaya, Singapore and Sumatra. The project was announced in the Syonan Times on May 8th 1942. It was to be located on top of Bukit Batok Hill and built by the captured allied POWs. A grand staircase leading up the hill was first constructed and then  a...