New Farm Sandakan War Memorial

About

Sandakan memorial plinth and sculpture, featuring a relief terrain bronze of Sabah, formerly British North Borneo. It was the site of a number of 'Death marches' during which Australian and other prisoners of war, were forced to march through swamp and dense jungle between Sandakan and Ranau in 1945. The route of the death marches is shown by a bronze ribbon on the surface of the relief. There are numerous plaques and Rolls of Honour panels on the sides. The memorial was unveiled by Hon Sir Walter Campbell and dedicated by Father John Brendan Rogers on 24 September 1995. The Sandakan Memorial Foundation has erected other similar memorials. The whole memorial is set into a memorial precinct within the park. Additional Information The Japanese conquered British and Dutch Borneo early in 1942. B and E Forces were sent by ship from Changi to Borneo . B Force (1,496-strong) included 145 officers and medical staff. Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel A. W. Walsh of the 2/10th Field Regiment, it left Singapore in the Ubi Maru on 8 July 1942 and after a nine-day journey in poor conditions disembarked at Sandakan . E Force embarked on the steamer de Klerk on 29 March 1943 . It contained 500 British prisoners, who disembarked at Kuching, and 500 Australian prisoners, who were sent to Berhala Island (North Borneo). In early June 1943, E Force was moved to Sandakan. Prisoners in B and E Forces included troops from the 2/18th, 2/19th, 2/20th, 2/26th, 2/29th, 2/30th Battalions, 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion, and the 2/10th Field Ambulance. There were four main camps in Borneo : Sandakan , Kuching, Labuan and Jesselton. Of these, Sandakan contained the majority of Australians. Captain Hoshijima Susumi commanded Sandakan Camp. In January 1945 the first forced march to Ranau occurred, and the second in May 1945. Of the 2,500 Australian and British prisoners of war, only six Australians survived these death marches . (Source: Australian War Memorial www.awm.gov.au)