HISTORY & ORGANIZATION

Since early in 1997 there has been an effort here in Taiwan to recognize the sufferings of the former Commonwealth and Allied prisoners of war at the hands of the Japanese during World War II. This project which was known as the KINKASEKI POW MEMORIAL PROJECT, came about as a result of information coming to light late in 1996 about the notorious Prisoner of War camp at Chinguashi, Taiwan, formerly known as Kinkaseki. Michael Hurst, a Canadian expat living in Taipei, formed a committee to organize a memorial service for the men of Kinkaseki in May of 1997, and this ultimately led to the construction of a memorial to the POWs of Kinkaseki and the other POW camps in Taiwan. The Kinkaseki / Taiwan POW Memorial was officially dedicated on November 23, 1997.

(See "How It All Began" in the KINKASEKI section - for more of the history of the building of the Kinkaseki Memorial.) 

In November 1998 several information plaques were erected near the memorial to tell more of the story of the POW camp and the adjacent copper mine where the prisoners were forced to work in horrific conditions as slaves of the Japanese. The memorial project was finally completed in March 1999 after the building of a low wall along the one side of the memorial.

The other principle objective of the committee had been to make sure that the former POWs were informed of the memorial and of the fact that they and their comrades had not been forgotten. During the first two years a worldwide search for the surviving POWs of Kinkaseki was undertaken, with the result that many living survivors and immediate next-of-kin were located.

Since the Kinkaseki Memorial Committee had completed the principle task of building the memorial - which it was originally formed to do, the committee was stood down at the end of April 1999. However the ongoing job of locating survivors and also identifying the other POW camps on Taiwan still remained.

To that end a new society was formed on May 1, 1999 to carry on the work that was begun by the Kinkaseki Memorial Committee. This new organization was called the "TAIWAN POW CAMPS MEMORIAL SOCIETY", and like the former Kinkaseki Committee, is made up of representatives of the Commonwealth and Allied community in Taiwan.

The aim of the Society is to do research on all the former Japanese POW camps on Taiwan, and to try to locate those camps and the POWs who were interned in them. Most importantly, the new committee wants to ensure that the survivors of these camps know that they and their mates have not been forgotten.

The director of the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society is Michael Hurst, the founder and first chairman of the Kinkaseki Memorial Committee. The directors and advisors are made up of members of the British, Canadian, Australia/New Zealand, American and Taiwanese communities in Taipei. The committee also has FEPOW representatives in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, and historical advisors in the United Kingdom and Taiwan.

We are looking for POWs who were in Taiwan during World War II and it is hoped they will come forward with their stories and any facts which will aid us in our research. We would appreciate help from anyone who might have information about surviving POWs or the former POW camps on Taiwan. If you can be of any assistance to us in any of these areas, we would like to hear from you.

For information on the Kinkaseki Memorial and the POW camps on Taiwan, please contact the TAIWAN POW CAMPS MEMORIAL SOCIETY at the following address and phone/fax numbers: