Fall / Winter 2002

Page 10

Spring 2004

--- from the Director

Once again I must apologize for not getting this newsletter out sooner to our friends and supporters. This past year has been so incredibly busy - with research, travel, correspondence and other projects, so that we have had very little time to put a newsletter together. It has been an exciting and rewarding year though – full of surprises and discoveries, and warm, heartfelt moments as well.

For example, a while back I received a letter from a family member of one of the Taiwan POWs who died here during the war. In it she said…

”Thank you for all you have done – I would like to quote from that poem written in the First World War – In Flanders Fields –

“To you from failing hands, we throw the torch, Be yours to hold it high,
If ye break faith with those of us who die,
We shall not sleep…”

I am glad I met a young Canadian who has held high the torch and who has kept faith with our countrymen.”

This is why we do what we do, so the former Taiwan POWs can have some closure in their lives and the satisfaction at long last – after nearly 60 years, that what they and their comrades went through in those terrible camps here in Taiwan has not - and will not, ever be forgotten. Also, we want to help their families to know more about these wonderful men – many of whom never spoke of the suffering they had to endure. If we can have even a small part in all of this, then it is all worthwhile.

This year is going to be very full with many opportunities for the Society. As mentioned elsewhere in this issue, we are currently working on a number of projects that are ongoing in various stages, and we hope to see some of them completed this year. Some are longer range projects and may take another year or two to complete, but we are confident in seeing them through.

I would like to thank all those who have continued to support us and encourage us in our efforts. We have had some generous donations to help with funding for research and other projects, and are very grateful for those who have given so that the memory of the POWs will be remembered. There is still so much to do and we look forward to an exciting year ahead.

It means so much to have you behind us, helping us with your encouragement and your gifts. I am looking forward to doing even more in the days ahead so that the memory of the Taiwan POWs will “never be forgotten”.

Sincerely,

Michael Hurst, MBE
Director, Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society

KUKUTSU POW MEMORIAL TO BE RE-DEDICATED…

In November 1999 we dedicated the Kukutsu POW Memorial in the corner of the garden in the former POW camp. During the past two years the memorial stone had to be removed to make way for a construction project. It was recently remounted into a permanent cement base (shown above) located on government land set back just off the road at the site of the camp. The memorial stone will be re-dedicated on Sunday May 16, 2004 at 11:00am.
This permanent memorial, which was constructed with the approval and aid of the local county government, will be a lasting memorial to the men who suffered so much in that camp in the closing months of the war. Our thanks to all who have had a part in its reconstruction.
We will have a report with photos of the re-dedication ceremony in our next newsletter.

TAIWAN POW HONOUR ROLL INCREASING…

We estimate that there were around 3600 Allied POWs held in the various camps on Taiwan during WWII. During the past year we have found quite a few more new names of former Taiwan POWs, bringing the current total to over 3100 entries listed in our Honour Roll.

We still have a ways to go before we have all of the names, so if any of our readers know of anyone – of any nationality – who was a former Taiwan POW, please get in touch with us and give us the information.

We also want to hear from former POWs and their families - even if their name is listed, so that we can make a personal contact and learn more about that person.

Note: The POW Honour Roll can be found on our website in the section under “The Men”.

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE TAIWAN POW CAMPS AND THE POWS?

If your club, school or organization would like to know more about the prisoners of war, the POW camps on Taiwan and the work of the TPCMS, we would be very pleased to come to a meeting of your group and give a talk and show pictures and artifacts from our research. It is one of our aims to share the POWs’ story with as many as we can, so that more people in Taiwan will know the story and be able to better understand this part of their history.

For further information, please contact us at -

Tel. (02) 8660-8438 Fax. (02) 8660-8439 Email: society@powtaiwan.org