labuan war cemetery

LABUAN WAR CEMETERY

Labuan---Malaysia4.jpg

LABUAN WAR CEMETERY​

HISTORY INFORMATION
From 1880 until over-run by the Japanese in 1942, the State of North Borneo was governed by the British North Borneo Chartered Company, the last chartered company to administer any part of the British Empire. It did not become a British Crown Colony until 26th June 1946, when the Chartered company transferred the sovereign rights and assets to the Crown. In July 1946, Sarawak was ceded to Britain, and thus was formed the new Crown Colony of Sarawak. Brunei was, until 1984, a British Protected State (it is now an independent Sultanate).

Strategically important after Singapore as the key to the area between Malaya and Australia, and a springboard for any large scale operations on Malaya and Java, Borneo came within the Malaya command, and North Borneo was the first of the British possessions in the Pacific to fall to the Japanese. Through lack of resources only token forces could be stationed there, and they could be expected to do little more than gain sufficient time for the demolition of the oilfield installations. In December 1941 the Garrison consisted of the 2/15th Punjab Regiment; they were stationed at Kuching in Sarawak, where there was an airfield, and at Miri, some 400 miles as the crow flies to the north-east. At Miri and at Seria, in near by Brunei, were the oilfields; and on the 8th December 1941 orders were given for their demolition. This the local garrison carried out successfully, the troops, oil company officials and a detachment of Straits Settlements Police were evacuated by sea on the 13th. On the 16th, Japanese troops landed at Seria.

On December 23rd orders were received for the demolition of the landing ground at Kuching which, as well as the town, had suffered several air attacks during the few days before that date. On December 24th Japanese landing-craft made their way up the waterways between the sea and Kuching, and by the afternoon of that day the Japanese flag was flying over the residence of the Rajah of Sarawak. The following morning the British Commander, Lt. Col. Lane, decided to withdraw westwards into Dutch West Borneo, and then south. On reaching Sanggau on December 29th the battalion came under the orders of the local Dutch commander. There it fought alongside the Dutch to prevent the Japanese from taking the airfield at Sanggau, the principal Anglo-Dutch base in West Borneo. In Dutch Borneo, Tarakan, an important oil centre in the north-east, was taken on the 10th January 1942; and Balikpapan, farther south, with its huge modern refineries and groups of oil tanks was lost at the end of the month.

Finally, through February and March, after fighting a rearguard action, the Punjabis made their way through wild and difficult country to the south coast of Borneo. This they reached, exhausted, towards the end of March, having covered a total distance of some 800 miles since leaving Kuching. The Dutch, by then, had been forced to surrender, and on the 3rd April the 2/15th Punjab Regiment became Prisoners of War.

In 1945 Borneo was freed from the Japanese by Australian forces. The Commander of the 9th Division, Australian Imperial Force, received the unconditional surrender of the 32nd Japanese Southern Army in North Borneo and Sarawak on a spot in the north of Labuan island, which is now marked by a plaque recording the fact. The recovery of Borneo virtually completed the tactical control of the South pacific.

After the fall of Singapore several thousand British and Australian Prisoners of War were sent to camps in Borneo, mainly in the Sandakan area on the eastern coast of North Borneo, where they were employed on aerodrome construction. The Australians belonged to the 8th Australian Division (“B” force numbering 1,494 and “E” force 500). In October 1943 most of the officers were separated from their men and sent to Kuching. Thereafter conditions at Sandakan greatly worsened; the men were starved, beaten and overworked by their captors. In February 1945 the Japanese, anticipating Allied landings in North Borneo, decided to move the Prisoners of War westwards to Ranau, more than 160 miles inland from Sandakan. Although many had already been transferred to other centres, more than 1,900 British and Australian servicemen remained to take part in the “Death march to Ranau”. Those who fell, sick or exhausted, on the journey were killed; the survivors who reached Ranau were made to perform superhuman work on starvation rations. Out of the 2,000 men who left Sandakan only 260 arrived at Ranau, and most of these succumbed later. Only six survived the end of the war. These six escaped from Ranau and were living with the natives when rescued.

When the Australian Army Graves Service entered Borneo they followed the route from Sandakan to Ranau, and found many unidentifiable victims of this infamous march. These and other casualties from Battlefield Burial Grounds and from scattered graves throughout Borneo were taken in the first instance to Sandakan, where a large number of prisoners of war were already buried. This flat coastal area, however, was subject to severe flooding and it proved impracticable to construct and maintain a permanent cemetery. The Sandakan graves, numbering 2,700 of which more than half were unnamed, were therefore transferred to Labuan War Cemetery in 1949, which was specially constructed to receive graves from all over Borneo.

As well as the graves from Sandakan, about 500 are from Kuching where there was another large prisoner-of-war camp. The total number of burials is 3,922. The preponderance of unidentified graves is due to the destruction of all the records of the camps by Lieutenant-Colonel Suga, the Japanese commandant, before the Australians reached Kuching, his headquarters. When apprehended, this man committed suicide rather than face questioning on his conduct of the Borneo Camps.
  1. 200 FLIGHT RAF Theyer, Ernest Frederick

    SURNAME Theyer FORENAME Ernest Frederick UNIT R.A.A.F. RANK Flight Lieutenant NUMBER 422755 DATE OF DEATH 21st May 1945 AGE 27 GRAVESITE Labuan War Cemetery,Malaysia F.A.1 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION son of John Frederick Moore and Isabella Tyler Theyer,Murwillumbah,N.S.W...
  2. 200 FLIGHT RAF Starr, Lawrence James

    SURNAME Starr FORENAME Lawrence James UNIT R.A.A.F. RANK Sergeant NUMBER 71522 DATE OF DEATH 21st May 1945 AGE 22 GRAVESITE Labuan War Cemetery,Malaysia C.B.16 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION son of Selby James and Eva Lillian Starr,Wahroonga,N.S.W.,Australia Liberator A72-177...
  3. 200 FLIGHT RAF Proudlock, Ralph

    SURNAME Proudlock FORENAME Ralph UNIT R.A.A.F. RANK Warrant Officer NUMBER 420488 DATE OF DEATH 21st May 1945 AGE 22 GRAVESITE Labuan War Cemetery,Malaysia C.B.14 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION son of John Rodgerson and Mary Isabella Proudlock husband of Mary Emily...
  4. 200 FLIGHT RAF Emmett, Keith Roy Norman

    SURNAME Emmett FORENAME Keith Roy Norman UNIT R.A.A.F. RANK Flight Lieutenant (pilot) NUMBER 411761 DATE OF DEATH 21st May 1945 AGE 25 GRAVESITE Labuan War Cemetery,Malaysia C.B.13 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION son of Rupert Roy and Sarah Ann Emmett husband of Esther Alice...
  5. 200 FLIGHT RAF Cormack, Phillip Hector

    SURNAME Cormack FORENAME Phillip Hector UNIT R.A.A.F. RANK Warrant Officer NUMBER 421295 DATE OF DEATH 21st May 1945 AGE 23 GRAVESITE Labuan War Cemetery,Malaysia F.A.8 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION son of Christopher and Edith May Cormack husband of Joyce Almeda...
  6. 200 FLIGHT RAF Walker, Rodney Nelson

    SURNAME Walker FORENAME Rodney Nelson UNIT R.A.A.F. RANK Flight Lieutenant NUMBER 421421 DATE OF DEATH 21st May 1945 AGE 24 GRAVESITE Labuan War Cemetery,Malaysia C.B.12 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION son of Rodney Llewellyn and Olive Muriel Walker,Guildford,N.S.W.,Australia...
  7. 200 FLIGHT RAF Taylor, Reginald Lee

    SURNAME Taylor FORENAME Reginald Lee UNIT R.A.A.F. RANK Flying Officer NUMBER 120044 DATE OF DEATH 21st May 1945 AGE 31 GRAVESITE Labuan War Cemetery,Malaysia F.A.4 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION son of Ernest John and Ada Ethel Taylor husband of Winifred Ellen Taylor,Glen...
  8. 200 FLIGHT RAF Shorter, Ernest Travers

    SURNAME Shorter FORENAME Ernest Travers UNIT R.A.A.F. RANK Warrant Officer NUMBER 14791 DATE OF DEATH 21st May 1945 AGE 27 GRAVESITE Labuan War Cemetery,Indonesia C.B.15 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION son of James Wallace and Florence Isabelle Shorter,Lane Cove,N.S.W.,Australia...
  9. 200 FLIGHT RAF Graham, John Oswald

    SURNAME Graham FORENAME John Oswald UNIT R.A.A.F. RANK Flight Lieutenant NUMBER 418101 DATE OF DEATH 21st May 1945 AGE 28 GRAVESITE Labuan War Cemetery,Malaysia F.A.3 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION son of Thomas Oswald and Aimee Irene Graham husband of Joyce Christina...
  10. 200 FLIGHT RAF Davern, Owen William John

    SURNAME Davern FORENAME Owen William John UNIT R.A.A.F. RANK Flight Sergeant NUMBER 5312 DATE OF DEATH 21st May 1945 AGE 32 GRAVESITE Labuan War Cemetery,Malaysia F.A.2 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION son of Phillip and Amy Caroline Davern husband of Dorothy Mary Jean...
  11. 200 FLIGHT RAF Anderson, John Colin William

    SURNAME Anderson FORENAME John Colin William UNIT R.A.A.F. RANK Flight Sergeant NUMBER 424011 DATE OF DEATH 21st May 1945 AGE 27 GRAVESITE Labuan War Cemetery,Malaysia C.B.5 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION born 18.03.1918, Nowra, Shoalhaven City, New South Wales, Australia son of...
  12. 200 FLIGHT RAF Litchfield, Eric Mileham

    SURNAME Litchfield FORENAME Eric Mileham UNIT R.A.A.F. RANK Sergeant NUMBER 439370 DATE OF DEATH 25th March 1945 AGE 20 GRAVESITE Labuan Memorial,Malaysia Panel 32 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION son of Francis Raymond and Madeline Eleanor Litchfield,Killara,N.S.W.,Australia...
  13. 200 FLIGHT RAF Hale, Robert Roland

    SURNAME Hale FORENAME Robert Roland UNIT R.A.A.F. RANK Sergeant NUMBER 444233 DATE OF DEATH 25th March 1945 AGE 19 GRAVESITE Labuan Memorial,Malaysia Panel 32 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION son of Roland Joseph and Annie Daisy Hale,Cremorne,N.S.W.,Australia Liberator A72-191 MIA...
  14. ZSU Rudwick, Alfred John

    SURNAME Rudwick FORENAME Alfred John UNIT A.I.F. RANK Lieutenant NUMBER VX 102007 DATE OF DEATH 30th December 1944 AGE 23 GRAVESITE Labuan War Cemetery,Malaysia 19.A.3 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION born 28.1.1921 Ballarat,Victoria son of William Richard and Mary Ellen...
  15. ZSU Mahomed Sarif, --

    SURNAME Mahomed Sarif FORENAME -- UNIT A.I.F. RANK Corporal NUMBER WX 36795 DATE OF DEATH 3rd July 1945 AGE 30 GRAVESITE Labuan War Cemetery,Malaysia F.8 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION son of Manafbit Yusoff and Sinah,Singapore Op.Platypus - died
  16. ZSU Maaruff bin Shalid, --

    SURNAME Maaruff bin Shalid FORENAME -- UNIT A.I.F. RANK Lance Sergeant NUMBER WX 41467 DATE OF DEATH 3rd July 1945 AGE 21 GRAVESITE Labuan War Cemetery,Malaysia F.7 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION son of Shalid bin Fakil and Halimah Maaruff,Ulu Klang,Kuala Lumpur,Selangor, Malaya...
  17. ZSU McLaren, Leslie Alec

    SURNAME McLaren FORENAME Leslie Alec UNIT A.I.F. RANK Lieutenant NUMBER VX 4326 DATE OF DEATH 21st May 1945 AGE 26 GRAVESITE Labuan War Cemetery,Malaysia F.A.6 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION son of William and Edith May McLaren husband of Dorothy Joan McLaren,North...
  18. ZSU McKenzie, Donald George

    SURNAME McKenzie FORENAME Donald George UNIT A.I.F. RANK Sergeant NUMBER WX 40238 DATE OF DEATH 30th December 1944 AGE 22 GRAVESITE Labuan War Cemetery,Malaysia 19.A.5 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION born 22.10.1922 Wagin,Western Australia (20.11.1922 in Australian War Memorial)...
  19. ZSU Higginbottom, Robert Nathaniel

    SURNAME Higginbottom FORENAME Robert Nathaniel UNIT A.I.F. RANK Private NUMBER VX 36783 DATE OF DEATH 11th April 1945 AGE 25 GRAVESITE Ambon War Cemetery,Indonesia 30.B.12 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION son of Percy Robert and Daisy Annie Higginbottom husband of Evelyn Ella...
  20. ZSU Hardie, Kenneth Lloyd

    SURNAME Hardie FORENAME Kenneth Lloyd UNIT A.I.F. RANK Private NUMBER NX 201540 DATE OF DEATH 21st May 1945 AGE 25 GRAVESITE Labuan War Cemetery,Malaysia F.A.7 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION born 30.1.1920 son of Alexander Lees and Maud Caroline Hardie,Albury,N.S.W.,Australia...
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