Kaye recently visited the Sandakan Memorial Park and has sent in this story….
Part of a recent trip to Borneo was a visit to Sandakan Memorial Park. It’s adjacent to the original POW camp in which about 2,700 Australian and British POW were interred. The majority of these men had been captured at the surrender of Singapore in Feb 1942.
They were forced to construct an airstrip which was later bombed and destroyed by the Allies as they advanced in the Pacific.
Map of Sandakan Memorial Park.
Early in 1945 the Japanese decided to move the POWs 260 klms West into the mountains near Ranau. Between Jan and June on 3 forced marches, 500 POWs died. The remainder died at Ranau and Sandakan.
Of all those who had been alive in Jan 1945 only 6, all Australian, were still alive by the end of August.
2 escaped into the jungle during the 2nd march in June. They were helped by local people and were eventually picked up by Allied units. Another 4 escaped from Ranau in July and were also helped by locals who fed them and kept them hidden until the end if the war.
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As you enter the park the serenity is such that it’s so hard to imagine the horrors that occurred here. The deprivation, degradation and cruelty is incomprehensible.
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Lily pond at entry.
Concrete water tanks used by the Japanese for their own use…
Inside a small pavilion where visitors can read the story of the camp and see a scale model of the site as it was.
Obelisk Memorial. One side in English other side in Malay.
Excavator which was commandeered by Japanese to construct the air strip. It was parked near the power plant boiler awaiting repairs and was sabotaged by an Australian POW and never worked again! A lot of tools the prisoners were given to construct the air strip also “disappeared” into the mud.
The next section is about our visit to Kundasang War Memorial at Ranau at the end of the forced marches.
It was built in the late 1950s by the people of Sabah and local expats, many of whom served with the Allies. It’s dedicated to all who gave their lives for and in Borneo. The terraced construction symbolises each of the main Nations involved, Britain, Australia and Nth Borneo (Sabah).
The site was selected as here, in the shadow of Mt Kinabalu, many of the prisoners perished and according to local beliefs, the cloud enshrouded mountain harbours the souls of those who died.
There’s a small theatre here where a short film is screened along with a narrative given by a guide. What you see and hear in this little place is so very moving and there were a lot of very moist eyes as we emerged out into the sunlight.
I thoroughly recommend a visit to these sites to anyone going to Borneo.
No. 1 gate into Kundasang memorial
Last pic…Mt Kinabalu.
Thanks Kaye.
Till next time… keep spreading the word and happy stitching!
Jan-Maree xx
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