THE TRAIL OF THE AUSTRALIANS

- AN UPDATE - From Sid Dodds

       Sid writes . . “I have contacted the Veterans Affairs newsletter and so far it has produced one more Kinkaseki survivor. Please send him one of the memorial packages as he is anxious to see what has been done there in our memory. (Ed. Done and letter of thanks has been received already).
          I also received a telephone call from a chap who worked on the “Railway”, and I have been contacted by two widows of former Australian POWs who worked in the mines in Japan, so you see, the word is getting around.
            I’ve been in touch with the former wife (living in Australia) of one of the Kinkaseki men who died at Heito Camp in 1944. Her details are as follows - can you please send her a memorial package? (Ed. - Done )
            I have three more names of ex-Kinkaseki men in the UK and I hope you can make a contact and that they are still around. (Ed. - contact made and three memorial packages sent out to these men.)
          I have given the list of names you sent to the Veteran Affairs newsletter and I expect it to be published in their next quarterly paper, as we just missed the last issue. Hopefully it will lead to us finding some of the former Aussie Taiwan POWs.
          I’m afraid that’s all the news there is for now, so until next time, take care of yourselves and God bless.” Sid

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

JUST IN TIME. . .

        This summer, while at the POW reunion in England, I was given the name of a former Kinkaseki man by one of the other POWs. Upon returning to Taiwan I immediately sent this man - Tom Watson of Dumfries Scotland, a memorial package. I received a letter from his wife a few days before we went to press with this issue. She writes, “ Thank you so much for the letter and the enclosed material. Sadly, Tom died on the 23rd September, but he had the pleasure of knowing that he and his colleagues had not been forgotten.
          He never spoke a great deal about his experiences, but every now and again he would recall incidents and the people around him then. He kept his courage through everything and humour was the answer to any situation. Thank you again for writing to Tom.”

Sincerely, Mrs. N. Watson

(Ed. I have had several similar experiences as I have corresponded with the POWs and their families over the past two years. Some we have reached “just in time”, while for several others it has been “just a little too late”. This shows the urgent need to get the messge of Kinkaseki and the other former Taiwan POW camps out while we still have time.)

"COFEPOW"
- An Organization Everyone Should Know About

        It all began with the story of a lost POW diary, and has resulted in the formation of one of the most useful organizations for the POWs since the war!
        In 1994, a Norfolk lady - Carol Cooper, read an article in a local newspaper about a man who had purchased an old POW diary at an auction. When she found out that the diary had belonged to her father, she contacted the man but he refused to sell it to her. After some months of effort she was able to obtain the diary with help from a producer at the BBC. The BBC then took her to Thailand to retrace the steps her father had taken as a POW before his death in Burma. They also made a film about her story..
         During her trip Carol saw the places where the POWs slaved and learned about their terrible ordeal. On her return home, and after the film was released, she received many calls from other children of POWs, and so in the fall of 1997 decided to form an organization for them.
         “COFEPOW” - the Children and Families of Far East Prisoners of War - is an organization dedicated to ensuring that the memory of the fathers, uncles, brothers, and cousins who gave so much for their country will never be forgotten, and to the building of a memorial for all the FEPOWs.
          Since 1945 there has been no official National Memorial from the British Government - at home or abroad, in memory of their own men who died, or depicting the courage of those who survived.
Carol says, “They were British servicemen, our fathers and brothers, and they deserve to be honoured, not forgotten. The ordinary men and women of this country can preserve their memory and fate - a fate that the government wants buried and forgotten. If we, their children and families do not act now to build a lasting Memorial, their memory will be lost to future generations.”
           COFEPOW is  now a registered charitable organization in the UK, and has more than doubled its membership each year since it was formed. They have a new website on the internet and will keep adding to it in the days ahead. The website address is -

www.rjt.co.uk/cofepow/index.htm

If you are a son, daughter or other family member of a Far East Prisoner of War, or wish more information on how you can help, you can contact COFEPOW at -
20 BURGH ROAD, GORLESTON, GT. YARMOUTH, NORFOLK, NR31 8BE ENGLAND
- email - carol.cooper@rjt.co.uk