On Wednesday November 15th I went to the Chiang Kai-Shek Intl. Airport to meet the first overseas POW guests, but this year – for the first time in 10 years, I wouldn’t be meeting any former Taiwan POWs. There were none coming this year, due mainly to age and health reasons, but also partly due to the recent terrorist activities in the UK and the new regulations, which made some feel that all the hassle at Heathrow Airport was just too much trouble.
I was glad to welcome Isabel Winstanley, the daughter of former POW James A. Winstanley of the 18th Btn. Recon. Reg’t. and her best friend and travelling companion Cindy Ruth from Wales in the UK. When Isabel first heard of our work last year she was determined to come to see where her father had been kept as a prisoner of war and to find out more information for herself and her family members who knew so little about their dad.
This year’s event began on Thursday November 16th with a day trip to Kinkaseki. We took in all the sights of the Gold Ecological Park – including the museum and the old mine tunnel. This was Isabel’s first glimpse into what her father went through as a POW at Kinkaseki those many years ago, and she had a chance to see and feel what it must have been like for her father. Later we toured the area of the former POW camp and the mine before returning to the city.

Our guests by the POW Wall of Remembrance in the museum

Friday was spent in sightseeing around Taipei city visiting the world famous National Palace Museum, Chiang Kai Shek Memorial, and the Dragon Mountain Temple, with a visit to a night market rounding out the day’s activities.
Later in the evening, we met the other overseas guests who had arrived that afternoon - Jim Ferguson from Hong Kong, and his brother Brian and his wife Sylvia from Scotland. Their father, L/Bdr. George Ferguson of the 5th Field Reg’t. R.A. had been in the Taihoku # 6 Camp for all of his time as a POW on Taiwan.
On Saturday morning we made a trip to Keelung Harbour, where George and many of the men had landed when they first arrived in Taiwan aboard the England Maru in November 1942, and where all the remaining Taiwan POWs were evacuated from at the end of the war. On the way back to the city we drove by the site of the former Camp # 6.

Sunday morning was a beautiful day - warm and bright and one of the nicest we have ever had for our Remembrance Day service. Around 80 people turned out for this year’s event which began with the dedication of the new “Eternal Flame of Peace and Remembrance” - erected by the Society in memory and honour of all those who suffered and those who died in the POW camps on Taiwan during WWII.

The Memorial Flame before the unveiling ceremony

After welcoming everyone to the dedication ceremony and sharing a little of the story of how the memorial flame came to be, words of tribute were given by Maj/Gen. (Ret.) Chi Chin-Chang, Deputy Secretary-General of the R.O.C. Veterans Affairs Commission and Richard Holt, Director of the Admin Section of the Australian Commerce and Industry Office in Taipei. Mr. Lai Chi-Man - the sculptor, also spoke prior to the unveiling.
On this the 10th anniversary Remembrance Service, the POW Society chose to honour three local Chinguashi residents who have helped us so much over the years. Mr. Chang In-Jie, Mr. Chang Ah-Hui, and Mr. Cheng Ching-Mou were recognized for their support and dedication to the POWs and the work we are doing to remember them. Each was presented with a small gift in appreciation from our Society. Following the unveiling, a prayer of dedication was offered by Rev. Edmund Ryden SJ.

The Taiwan “Eternal Flame of Peace & Remembrance”

(cont’d on page 7)