Fall / Winter 2002

Page 4

Spring 2004

REMEMBRANCE WEEK – 2003

This past November we had only one former Taiwan POW return for our Remembrance Week, reflecting the age and physical status of many of our beloved POW friends.

John Emmett from Brampton, Ontario, Canada – a member of the famed Gordon Highlanders, was our special guest and what a wonderful time we had together.

On the first day we visited Kinkaseki and Keelung Harbour - where many of the men who were first sent to the Kinkaseki and Taihoku camps, arrived in November 1942. It was also here where all the POWs who remained on Taiwan at the end of the war, departed from on their way home.

The next day was spent on local sightseeing, and Saturday morning we paid a visit to the site of the former Kukutsu Camp. John recognized many things at Kinkaseki and Kukutsu, and it must be said that he has the greatest memory for recognizing the former campsites of any POW who has returned to Taiwan in the past seven years.

John gave a moving address at the Saturday evening POW banquet sponsored by the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei and the Taiwan POW Camps Memorial Society. A variety of WWII artifacts were displayed - courtesy of the POW Society, and the British and Japanese military items and articles used by the Taiwan POWs, generated a lot of interest among those who were present. These items will form part of the future POW display at the new museum presently under construction in Chinguashi (Kinkaseki), which is scheduled to open in 2004. The evening finished off with the showing of the Canadian film “A War Story”.

Sunday November 16 was anything but clear and bright, and those in attendance at the memorial service experienced the only really rainy day we have ever had for the event. Despite this it all went off very well and we had a very moving service to honour those men who sacrificed so much for our freedom. At the wreath-laying ceremony John saluted his comrades amidst the wind and the rain. Thanks to the Chinguashi Community Centre, we had a nice dry place to hold our picnic after the service.

L/Cpl John Emmett, salutes his former comrades

John had also been a POW in the Heito Camp near Pingtung in the south of the island, and so on Monday and Tuesday November 17 and 18, we made a trip down there for a look at his former place of enslavement. While there he met two of the former camp guards and a wonderful time of reconciliation took place.

Many times during his visit with us, John commented on how wonderful it was to be able to return to Taiwan and re-visit the places of his former captivity again.

He spoke of how it had brought him peace and closure, and how thankful he was to everyone who had made his visit such a success. We are glad he was able to make the trip and wish him well in the days to come.

DUTCH POWS ON TAIWAN…

The Dutch POWs were the third largest group of allied POWs to be held on Taiwan during WWII, after the British and the Americans.

Most of the Dutch POWs who were held here came from the Netherlands East Indies following its surrender in March 1942, and the group was largely made up of the most senior officers and also the top civilian personnel from the Dutch East Indies , including Governor van Starkenborgh.

We are pleased to report that in the past year, with the co-operation of several Dutch friends of the Society around the world, we have now found the names of all of the former Dutch POWs who were held on Taiwan .

According to official information supplied by the Dutch Government and the Dutch Veterans’ Associations, there were 108 Dutch POWs held here. From various sources, we have gathered information on all of these men, and they are now all listed in the Honour Roll on our website.

This past year we also located a former Dutch POW who is living in Australia . He is the first surviving Dutch POW we have found. Previously our only other contact was with the son of Maj. Gen. Hans de Fremery, who also lives in Australia .

We want to thank Mr. Henk Nouwens, Deputy Representative of the Netherlands Trade & Investment Office in Taipei for his continued help and interest in our project, and for the great translation work he does on our behalf. We would also like to thank Mr. C.M. Leewenburgh, the only surviving Dutch POW we have found so far, for the information and remembrances he has provided. Also to be acknowledged is Mr. Nick Posthumus of the Netherlands , the great-nephew of Col. Rimke Posthumus who died while a POW on Taiwan in the Shirakawa Camp, and Mr. John Tesselaar from Ontario , Canada and his family in Holland who have been a great help as well.

These people have given us a lot of valuable assistance, and we couldn’t have successfully completed our listing of all the former Dutch POWs without their dedication and efforts on our behalf.

If anyone knows of any other surviving Dutch POWs who were interned on Taiwan , or their families, please get in touch with us as soon as possible. We want them to know that they have not been forgotten!

Comings and goings…

We are sad to report that after 44 years of faithful service as a missionary, teacher, historian and community member in Taiwan, our dear friend and historical advisor Jack Geddes has left the island to return to Canada. Jack and his wife Betty have supported the Society over the past six years and we thank them for their friendship, encouragement and help. We will miss them and we wish them well in their new life. Jack will still remain on our board and serve as he can from his home back in Canada.