2008 REMEMBRANCE WEEK – A SPECIAL TIME

It was 66 years ago on November 13th 1942 that a Japanese hellship called the England Maru, docked in Keelung Harbour with 1150 allied prisoners of war aboard. 523 of those men were sent to the infamous copper mine camp at Jinguashi, better known in those times as Kinkaseki, and Walter Kirkby was one of those men – he was POW # 278. On November 12th 2008 he returned to the camp again!

This time it was as a guest of the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society, and he was here – not to slave down the mine, but to see the old place again as a free man and to lay his ghosts to rest. He came from Yorkshire in the UK with his wife Mary, daughter Christine and son-in-law Bob Gate.

While taking a tour of the Gold Ecological Park, the mining museum and the POW display, the old mine tunnel and finally the POW camp site, his mind wandered back over the years and he could vividly remember the time he spent there. He could also remember his mates, some of whom lay buried in the cemetery across the valley from the camp when he left Taiwan in February 1945 to go to another prison camp in Japan. It was there – on the island of Kyushu in the Omine Camp, where he finished the war – this time slaving in a coal mine!

Friday saw the arrival of two more POW guests - Brian and Jim Ferguson, the sons of L/Bdr. George F. Ferguson, 5th Field Reg’t., R.A. who had been a prisoner at Taihoku # 6 Camp for all of his time in Taiwan.

Saturday morning the group took a trip to the Kukutsu “jungle” Camp in the hills south of Hsintien for a memorial service with our Taiwanese friends there. (See story pg 9)

On Saturday evening our annual POW banquet was held once again at the Imperial Hotel in Taipei and as every year, a good number of friends and supporters turned up for an evening of excellent food and fellowship. Sunday the 16th saw threatening weather with some rain, but that did not dampen the spirits of the more than 70 people who showed up for the Remembrance Day service on the site of the former Kinkaseki POW Camp in the POW Memorial park in Jinguashi.

Piper Mal Turner led off the service with a selection on the bagpipes, Rev. Diane Wong opened the service in prayer and Michael Hurst, Director of the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society gave the opening remarks, introduced the POW guests and spoke about remembering those who sacrificed so much for our freedom.

Michelle Slade, Director of the New Zealand Commerce and Industry Office in Taipei brought a message on behalf of the Commonwealth and Allied representatives, before Walter Kirkby reflected on his time as a POW there and his memories of his mates. Jim Ferguson then spoke on behalf of his father, and Chris Gate read the poem “POW Tribute”,

Mark Wilkie, a POW Society board member read “A Time to Remember” which was followed by a message and prayer of remembrance from Rev. Wong. Wreaths were laid on the memorial as the pipes softly played and this was followed by the Last Post, a minute’s silence and Reveille – ably played on the trumpet by Andrew Tsao.

Walter paying tribute to his mates and remembering
his time at Kinkaseki Camp

Everyone then joined together in reciting the “Ode of Remembrance” before our piper played his closing number to end the service. A time of fellowship followed around the memorial and at the picnic lunch provided by the Trade Offices at the nearby community center.

It was a great weekend and a wonderful week for our POW guests and we hope we will have more POWs and their family members coming to join us in years to come.

POW guests with Piper Mal Turner