We are sad to announce the passing of several Kinkaseki men during the past year - our deepest sympathies go out to their families and friends, with the assurance that they have not - and will not, be forgotten.
| ANDREW CAMERON | - Sgt., 2ND. Btn., Gordon Highlanders - February 1998 |
| ALBERT LAWTON | - Spr., Royal Engineers - April 3, 1998 |
| ARTHUR WALKER | - Gnr., 155TH Field Reg’t.., R.A. - May 8, 1998 |
| MICHAEL ROWLANDS | - Tpr., 18TH Btn. Recon. Corps. - November 7, 1998 |
| BILL CHAMBERS | - Gnr., 148TH Field Reg’t., R.A. - December 1998 |
| JACK TURNER | - Gnr., 80TH Anti-Tank Reg’t., R.A. - January 1, 1999 |
| JOHN WAUGH | - Sgt., 155TH Field Reg’t., R.A. - January 22, 1999 |
| GEORGE ANGUS | - Bdr., 80TH Anti-Tank Reg’t., R.A. - January 23, 1999 |
With
the installation of the three memorial plaques which we spoke of in our
last newsletter, the placing of a historical plaque on the old gatepost,
and the construction of a low wall along one side of the monument, the
Kinkaseki POW Memorial in Chinguashi is now finally complete.
The plaques are made of stainless steel
with the characters and letters engraved and filled with enamel. These
plaques are beautifully done and should withstand years of weather. We
decided to go with this material and format as that is what the local
government has used for their tourism information signs in the area.
With these plaques, visitors to the area
will get a clear and concise account of the Kinkaseki POW Camp, and also
learn of the sufferings of the POWs more than fifty years ago. The plaque
on the gatepost serves to identify it as a historical site, which will
hopefully ensure its survival.
We want to thank all those who supported
this project by becoming "Friends of Kinkaseki", and for those who gave
in other ways. Your contributions helped to push this last phase of the
memorial project over the top to completion.
"The completed Kinkaseki POW Memorial"
IN
CONCLUSION...... FOR THE FUTURE
It
has now been decided that with the completion of the POW memorial, information
plaques and wall at the site, the Kinkaseki Memorial Committee has concluded
the work it was formed to do and therefore will be stood down.
A new society, called the TAIWAN POW
CAMPS MEMORIAL SOCIETY has recently been formed to further the work begun
by the Kinkaseki Memorial Committee. The aim of the society is to do research
on all the former 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 and American
communities in Taipei.
The society will send newsletters
to all "Friends”, and will participate in activities pertaining to the
memorial and the annual remembrance service held in November each year.
For information on the Kinkaseki
Memorial and the other POW camps on Taiwan, you may contact the TAIWAN
POW CAMPS MEMORIAL SOCIETY at the above address and phone/fax numbers.
INSCRIPTION ON THE POW MEMORIAL
One of the POWs wrote in after receiving our last newsletter and asked if we might put the exact text that is on the memorial in our next newsletter. In answer to that request, here is the text on the monument -
IN MEMORY OF THE MORE THAN 1000 GALLANT MEN OF THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH AND ALLIED FORCES, WHO SUFFERED BRUTAL AND SAVAGE TREATMENT HERE AND IN THE NEARBY COPPER MINE, AND OTHER PLACES IN TAIWAN, AS PRISONERS OF WAR OF THE JAPANESE, FROM 1942 TO 1945. THEIR SOULS REMAIN HERE FOREVER. "NONE OF US SHOULD FORGET" DEDICATED 23 NOVEMBER 1997