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Happy New Year - From Taiwan

This year is the year of the DRAGON, according to the traditional Chinese lunar calendar.
People born in the year of the Dragon are believed to be ''extra lucky''
People born in the years of 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000 and 2012 are all DRAGONS.

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 erected.

Despite the very wet weather all week, the rain held off for the dedication ceremony which took place on the site of the ROC Ministry of National Defense Headquarters complex at 2 pm. Present for the ceremony was one former Taiwan POW, several POW family members, Ministry of Defense personnel and other dignitaries. It was great to have a number of friends and supporters of the Society with us for the occasion as well as some media.

The ceremony was conducted by the Rev. Dr. Herbert Barker of the Church of the Good Shepherd (Anglican). Society director Michael Hurst MBE gave an overview of the history of the former camp and spoke of how much the memorial meant to the former POWs and their families. Then the Deputy Minister of National Defense, Lt./Gen. Hsiung, Shang-Tai brought greetings and a message from the Ministry and the Minister.

Following this Mr. Kevin Magee, Representative of the Australian Commerce and Industry Office in Taipei spoke on behalf of all the Commonwealth and Allied countries who had POWs in the camp. Also, in attendance was Director-General David Campbell of the British Trade and Cultural Office in Taipei and Mr. Hughes Minot, Representative of the Luxembourg Trade Office.

The poem "Who Will Remember Them?" was read by a very emotional Jim Ferguson whose father was in the Taihoku Camp, and this was followed by a speech from Mr. Jack Lu, Deputy Secretary-General of the ROC Veterans Affairs Commission.

Gunner Ken Pett, formerly of the 80th Anti-Tank Reg't. R.A. who was interned in the Kinkaseki and Kukutsu camps, spoke on behalf of his comrades who were interned at Taihoku, many of whom later joined him at Kinkaseki. Harold Brant whose father Harry Sr. had also been in the camp brought the "Tribute to the Prisoners" before Rev. Barker rendered a prayer of dedication for the memorial.

Wreaths representing those present were then laid on the memorial and this was followed by the "Act of Remembrance" with Last Post and Reveille being played by a trumpeter from the ROC Navy Band. Two minutes of silence was also observed and in closing the FEPOW Prayer was read by Mr. Brian Ferguson, Jim's brother.

It was a wonderful ceremony and we are grateful to all those who came out to support us on this day, so that the men of Taihoku Camp # 6 will always be remembered.

We will be visting the site at various times throughout the year with MND permission, and we hope that a good number will take the time on their own to visit and pay their respects at the memorial to the POWs of Taihoku Camp # 6.

The location of the memorial is east of the Grand Hotel and the Martyrs' Shrine on Pei-an Road and just west of the Dachih Bridge. It is located about 150 meters up Tong-Bei Street from the corner on the right hand side. The memorial can be viewed from the sidewalk and photos can be obtained by simply zooming your camera in. Please see the drawing at right for directions.

THE POW MEMORIAL SCULPTURE - "MATES"

On November 13th 2011 at a ceremony held in the Taiwan Prisoner of War Memorial Park in Jinguashi, a life-size bronze sculpture of two prisoners of war struggling to help each other survive was unveiled. The sculpture, designed by Society Director Michael Hurst and sculpted by Mr. Wu Jung Fu of Miaoli, is entitled - “Mates”.

“If a man didn’t have a mate, he usually didn’t survive”. The POWs have told us that you had to have a mate and most did. Mates were often in the same work detail and shared the same thread-bare huts, often sleeping next to each other. A mate would watch out for you on the job, helping you lift a heavy load or move a big boulder. A mate would share his water with you and perhaps even his food. If you were sick he would look after you because he knew if he got sick you would look after him. There was a special bond between mates as they did their best to survive and overcome the brutality of their captors. When freedom finally came, they rejoiced together, wept together and returned home together.

The sculpture also depicts one of the POWs holding a "chunkel" which was a common tool used in many aspects of rural life and work in Taiwan then - and it is still used today. It could be used for farming, clearing land, planting crops and harvesting. It could be used in construction - excavating building sites, roads and also in mining operations.

The significance of the “chunkel” to the prisoners – the chunkel was used as a tool for slave labour in all of the 14 Taiwan POW camps. For example at Jinguashi – down the mine, Taichu – excavating the flood diversion channel in the river bed, at Heito clearing vast areas of old river valley for the planting of sugar cane. It was used at Taihoku Camp 6 in Tachih by the POWs building the artificial lake and victory park for the Japanese, as well as for farming and growing vegetables for the Japanese. It had a similar use at Karenko Camp in Hualien and at Shirakawa where the senior officers were made to toil at farming and cultivating crops which were mostly used to feed the Japanese army. It was used in the other camps at Inrin and Toroku for farming, as well as at Oka Camp for clearing land and at Kukutsu to plant sweet potatoes and peanuts on an abandoned tea plantation. The chunkel is a symbol of the slavery and the suffering of the allied POWs in every camp on Taiwan, and it is fitting that it should be included in our sculpture – thus representing all of the Taiwan POW Camps.

The Sculptor - We would like to acknowledge the sculptor Mr. Wu Jung-fu and his wife for the wonderful job they did in helping us to create a life-like image of these two POWs suffering, and yet struggling together as mates to help one another survive. Sadly only a couple of months after the sculpture was completed and installed, Mr. Wu suffered a fatal construction accident and so could not be with us to unveil the statue on the dedication day. Let us remember Mr. Wu in our thoughts and his family in our prayers. This sculpture will be his living legacy.

The purpose of the sculpture is to compliment the beautiful memorial wall in the park by showing people now - and in future generations, an image of the POWs, so they may better envision the suffering and sacrifice endured by those men to bring us the freedom that we enjoy today - " Lest We Forget! "

(Left) The Mates gaze out over a new Kinkaseki

(Above)  A dreary, rainy, typical Kinkaseki day reflects a time gone by.