THANBYUZAYAT WAR CEMETERY
Myanmar
Location
Information:
The village of Thanbyuzayat
is 65 kilometres from Moulmein, and the war cemetery lies at the foot of the
hills which separate the Union of Myanmar from Thailand. At present the only way
in which the cemetery may be visited is by train. This is a long and
uncomfortable journey and three days should be allocated. Only those in good
health should attempt the journey. Prior permission is needed to travel to the
cemetery, which is close to areas of unrest. Enquiries about the possibility of
obtaining permission to visit the cemetery should be made to the nearest Union
of Myanmar (Burmese) Embassy, or a Commonwealth Embassy in Yangon (Rangoon).
Historical
Information:
The notorious Burma-Siam
railway, built by Commonwealth, Dutch and American prisoners of war, was a
Japanese project driven by the need for improved communications to support the
large Japanese army in Burma. During its construction, approximately 13,000
prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway. An estimated 80,000 to
100,000 civilians also died in the course of the project, chiefly forced labour
brought from Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, or conscripted in Siam (Thailand)
and Burma (Myanmar). Two labour forces, one based in Siam and the other in Burma
worked from opposite ends of the line towards the centre. The Japanese aimed at
completing the railway in 14 months and work began in October 1942. The line,
424 kilometres long, was completed by December 1943. The graves of those who
died during the construction and maintenance of the Burma-Siam railway (except
for the Americans, whose remains were repatriated) were transferred from camp
burial grounds and isolated sites along the railway into three cemeteries at
Chungkai and Kanchanaburi in Thailand and Thanbyuzayat in Myanmar. Thanbyuzayat
became a prisoner of war administration headquarters and base camp in September
1942 and in January 1943 a base hospital was organised for the sick. The camp
was close to a railway marshalling yard and workshops, and heavy casualties were
sustained among the prisoners during Allied bombing raids in March and June
1943. The camp was then evacuated and the prisoners, including the sick, were
marched to camps further along the line where camp hospitals were set up. For
some time, however, Thanbyuzayat continued to be used as a reception centre for
the groups of prisoners arriving at frequent intervals to reinforce the parties
working on the line up to the Burma-Siam border. Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery was
created by the Army Graves Service who transferred to it all graves along the
northern section of the railway, between Moulmein and Nieke. There are now 3,149
Commonwealth and 621 Dutch burials of the Second World war in the cemetery.
No. of
Identified Casualties:
3617 |
