Life History

Notes

• Kanchaburi War Cemetery
  This is the place where the remains of 6,982 POWs died during theconstruction of the Death Railway are buried. The cemetery, which islocated on Saengchuto Road, opposite the Railway Station, just 1.5kilometres from the TAT office, It is open daily from 8.30 a.m. to6.00 p.m..
  
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  Kanchanaburi. Thailand's third largest province, Kanchanaburi coverssome 19,473 square and oftentimes mountainous kilometres, and bordersMyanmar (Burma) to the west of Bangkok.
  
  The most important landmarks in Kanchanaburi are The Bridge over theRiver Kwai was constructed by Allied prisoners of war (POWs) andsupervised by the Japanee army during World War II.
  
  The bridge was a section of the "Death Railway" intended to linkThailand with Myanmer. Many Allied soldiers died due to the harshcondition. The railway was never fully completed but is still in usetoday.
  
  War Museum is located near the River Kwai Bridge and displays thecollection of weapons, tools and utensils used by the Allied POWs andthe Japanese during World War II Kanchaburi.
  
  War Cemetery contains the remains of nearly 7,000 POWs who perishedduring the Construction of the "Death Railway"
  
  <http://www.tropicalvoyages.com/des_kan.htm>
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  The living and working conditions on the railway were horrific. Theestimated total number of civilian labourers and POWs who died duringconstruction is about 160,000. About 25% of the POW workers diedbecause of overwork, malnutrition, and diseases like cholera, malaria,and dysentery. The death rate of the Asian civilian workers was evenhigher; the number who died is unknown, as the Japanese did not countthem.
  
  POWs and Asian workers were also used to build the Kra Isthmus Railwayfrom Chumphon to Kra Buri, and the Sumatra or Palembang Railway fromPakanbaroe to Moeara.
  
  The construction of the Burma Railway is only one of many major warcrimes committed by Japan in Asia during the war. It is regarded as amajor event in the "Asian Holocaust", during which millions ofcivilians and POWs were killed by Japanese personnel.
  
  The graves of the people who died a brutal death were transferred fromcamp burial grounds and solitary sites along the railway to three warcemeteries after the war, except for Americans, who were repatriated.The main POW cemetery is in the city of Kanchanaburi, where 6,982 POWsare buried, mostly British, Australian, Dutch and Canadians.
  
  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burma_Railway>
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Sources

• 1. Chartham War Memorial
  • Name: World War 1 & 2 - Roll of Honour;