SANDAKANCOMMUNITY EDUCATION COMMITTEE

Welcome to theSANDAKAN REMEMBRANCE SERVICE

SYDNEY SANDAKAN MEMORIALBURWOOD PARK, BURWOOD

11AM · SUNDAY · 6 August 2006

Above: Professor Dick Braithwaite, Burwood 2005

Cover Photo: Trinity Grammar Cadet, Burwood 2005

Below: Photo taken at the Sandakan Memorial, Sandakan 2005.

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Message from the ChairmanThe Sandakan Community Education Committee seeks to increase publicawareness of Australia’s greatest war time atrocity, the infamous Sandakan- Ranau Death Marches.

Each year the Committee holds a Remembrance Service at the SydneySandakan Memorial located in Burwood Park, Burwood. The Service isalways held on the first Sunday of August at 11:00am.

This year the Committee, with the assistance of various organisations, hasproduced Sandakan caps, memorial badges, framed photographs ofLocal Boys and Remembrance Service booklets. A DVD of the Service willalso be produced and archived for future generations.

The committee is grateful for the ongoing financial support of BurwoodCouncil, local RSL clubs and Sub-branches. Grants have also been receivedfrom the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the Mayors of Ashfield,Burwood, the City of Canada Bay and Strathfield Council’s for which theCommittee is especially appreciative.

Local schools contribute greatly to the success of the RemembranceService. Burwood Girls High School, Homebush Boys High School,St Patrick's College Strathfield and Trinity Grammar School provide music,a Drum Corp, seating and a catafalque party respectively. The magnificentcontribution of each of these schools demonstrates that the youth oftoday acknowledge the sacrifices made by members of the Armed Forcesin the defence of our nation.

Thank you for attending. God bless those whoprotect our freedom.

Cr David WeileyChairman Sandakan Community Education Committee

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Sandakan Memorial DayThe year was 1945, the place Sandakan, then the capital of British NorthBorneo (Sabah) where 2428 Japanese Prisoners of War (POWs) wereinterned. They numbered 641 British and 1781 Australian militarypersonnel taken during the fall of Singapore. The POWs were now in their3rd year of captivity by the Japanese.

They were used as labourers to build a military airstrip in Sandakan. In late1944 as the Allied Forces won back much of the Pacific, the airstrip itselfwas destroyed by repeated air operations.

At the beginning of 1945 the Japanese began moving the POWs, 260 kmswest into the mountains to the small settlement of Ranau. After enduringstarvation, overwork and beatings, the prisoners were forced on threemarches through the jungle and tracks from Sandakan to Ranau.

The losses were tragically high on these gruelling marches betweenJanuary and June 1945. During the first march from January to March, ofthe 455 Prisoners of War who set out, over one hundred were lost to eitherexhaustion or disease. Others were shot or beaten to death. The secondmarch, a ‘more brutal version of the earlier march’ (Laden, Fevered,Starved) from May to June saw similar losses. On 29 May about 530marchers set out to Ranau, yet only 183 reached Ranau on 27 June 1945.There were no survivors at the War’s end, the remainder of the prisonershaving died at the Ranau and Sandakan camps.

By the end of August 1945, the only survivors were the six Australians whohad escaped from the death marches. The two who escaped into thejungle on the second march in June 1945 were helped by locals beforebeing rescued by allied forces. The other four all escaped from Ranau inJuly 1945 and were also helped by the locals in the area until they too wererescued by allied forces in early August 1945.

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Sandakan Memorial Day (continued)

The dead POWs are named on the Honour Roll at the Commonwealth War

Graves Cemetery at Labuan.

Six men escaped this most horrific atrocity, just six out of the 2428 men.

They were:

Bombardier Richard (Dick) Braithwaite 2/15 Field RegimentLance Bombardier William (Bill) Moxham 2/15 Field RegimentGunner Owen Campbell 2/10 Field RegimentPrivate Nelson Short 2/18 Infantry BattallionWarrant Officer William (Bill) Hector Sticpewich AASCPrivate Keith Boterill 2/19 Battallion

Truly may it be said of these gallant menTheir name liveth for evermore.

Inscribed at the Labuan Memorial.

AcknowledgementThe Australian War Memorial is a unique Australian national institutionthat combines a shrine, a world-class museum and an extensive archive.Our most consulted resource is the Roll of Honour, which provides detailsof the more than 102,000 Australian servicemenand women who have fallen in all conflicts sincethe Sudan commitment of 1885. The Australians atWar section of the site is a rich source ofinformation for anyone interested in AustralianMilitary History.

Major General Steve Gower AODirector, Australian War Memorialwww.awm.gov.au

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CALL TO ORDER

ENTRYHomebush Boys High School Drum Band

MOUNTING OF HONOUR GUARDTrinity Grammar School

WELCOMEMr Russ Kenny · Master of Ceremonies

REFLECTIONS

CALL TO WORSHIPFr. Joe Camilleri

READING ONE

POEM

READING TWO

REMEMBRANCE ADDRESSRusty Priest AM

Order of Service

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PRAYERS

THE LORD’S PRAYER

TRIBUTE CEREMONYRepresentatives and individuals to lay wreaths

ODE OF REMEMBRANCEMr John Walsh PSM JP

LAST POST

ONE MINUTE SILENCE

REVEILLE

SANDAKAN COMMITMENTMrs Mary Bryant - Committee Member

NATIONAL ANTHEM

FINAL BLESSING

HONOUR GUARD WITHDRAWS

CLOSINGCouncillor David WeileyCommittee Chairman

Order of Service

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CALL TO WORSHIP Reverend ???

We are assembled here in the presence of Almighty God to remember before Him, with gratitude and pride, those who

perished at the Sandakan camp and on the Sandakan—Ranaudeath marches, the honoured dead who gave up their lives for

their country.

Each of us has come this morning with deepened expectations: Some to honour a loved one, a friend, or a Comrade-in-Arms.

Others to mourn a death or celebrate a life.

All of us to commit ourselves to live worthy of the suffering andsacrifice which was the lot of so many in that tragic episode of

our nation’s history.

Let us pause in silence to ask God to fulfil His purposes in us and to enable us to do our duty today in a manner befitting those we

honour and who have gone before us.

(A brief period of silence will be observed)

WELCOME Mr Russ Kenny

REFLECTIONS Mr Rusty Priest

Mr Russ Kenny MC

Alice Kang

Fr. Joe Camilleri

May we in this service give thanks to God for His goodness to us inthe past, remember the sacrifice of those who have helped preservewhat we enjoy in the present, and commit ourselves to the future,praying that we might be worthy inheritors of all we enjoy.

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READING ONE

Reader:

Passage from Sandakan POW survivor, Nelson Short

You saw these men every day when you were getting treated for ulcers.The dead were lying there, naked skeletons. They were all ready to beburied. Day after day they were just dying like flies in the camp, malaria,malnutrition. And you thought to yourself, well, how could I possibly getout of a place like this? Then when it came to the death march, youthought, how can I get out of this? And even after escaping, you’d say toyourself, well, right, we’ve escaped, now what are our chances, where arewe going? Nowhere. We’re in the middle of Borneo, we’re in the jungle.How could we ever survive? Sydney was a long way from there.

http://www.dva.gov.au/media/publicat/sandakan/sand09.htm

POEMReader:

From walking in the footsteps of the dead,Feeling their presence in a rotten boot,A blaze upon a tree that marks a grave,A bullet scar still unhealed in the bark,

A scrap of webbing and an earth-stained badge,A falling bamboo hut, a giant tree

They rested at, this creek,This climb that runs the sweat into your eyes -Though you aren’t laden, fevered, starved…

You tell yourself you know how they went by.

Colin Simpson, from script of Six from Borneo, reproduced by kind permission of the ABC.

http://www.dva.gov.au/media/publicat/sandakan/sand10.htm

PRAYERS Chaplain:

Our Father God, as we remember especially on this day thosewho were prisoners of war and used as forced labour at Sandakan and on the forced marches to Ranau, we give thanks for theircourage, their devotion to duty, and the sacrifice of life itself, that we may have the opportunity to live in peace and freedom. Wethank you for their lives and for what they meant to families andfriends, for the love, joy and, on occasions, the tears some amongus shared with them and for them.

Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer. (say together)

Fr. Joe Camilleri

Hear our prayer.

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READING TWO

Reader

Passage from Sandakan POW survivor, Richard Braithwaite

I had nowhere to go because of the gloom, and the surrounding vegetationwas all heavy jungle, thorny. I just sat down on a log there and watchedthose reptiles, insects, crawling past, thinking, well, this is where ithappens, mate, you’re finished. After about half an hour just sitting, all ofa sudden I thought, no, you’re not finished. You’re not going to die in aplace like this. And I became really angry. I just put my head down like abull and charged that jungle, and, I don’t know, it just seemed to part.Maybe someone was looking after me.

http://www.dva.gov.au/media/publicat/sandakan/sand09.htm

REMEMBRANCE ADDRESS Professor Dick Braithwaite

BSc(UQ), MSc(UQ), PhD(Monash)

Rusty Priest AM

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These many years later, please continue to give comfort and to easethe hurt from their loss. As we commit ourselves to the ideals forwhich they died, we join in praying together:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace (say together)Where there is hatred, let me sow love;Where there is injury, pardon;Where there is doubt, faith;Where there is despair, hope;Where there is darkness, light;Where there is sadness, joy:Grant that we ourselves may seek not so much to beconsoled, as to console;To be understood, as to understand;To be loved, as to love.For it is by losing that we find;It is by forgiving, that we are forgiven;And it is by dying, that we rise again to eternal life,In Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

(‘The Prayer of St Francis’, source unknown)

Reader:

Lord, as we are surrounded by memories of the grim reality of war,we pray for peace in our world. Prosper the efforts of all those wholabour to bring understanding and reconciliation between nations,that all people may learn to live peaceably together, to the honourof your name.

Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer. (say together)

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Reader:Almighty God, direct the hearts and minds of those who bearresponsibility for the government of the nations of the world. Maythey seek honour and justice, restrain evil and oppression, and seekthe true prosperity of their people and the welfare of all peoples.

Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer. (say together)

Reader:We pray for those currently serving in our defence forces, especiallythose in peace keeping roles, that all may be given courage in theface of danger and may always seek to uphold that which is right,even in the midst of conflict.

Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer. (say together)

Acknowledgement

The Sandakan committee greatlyappreciates the generous financial support of the Granville Sub-Branch R.S.L.

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THE LORD’S PRAYER Mr John Murphy MP

Member for LoweThe Committee Patron will lead the Assembly in prayer.

Accept our prayers through Jesus Christ our Lord, who taught

us to pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name,

Thy Kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses

As we forgive those who trespass against us.

Lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

The power and the glory

For ever and ever. Amen.

TRIBUTE CEREMONY Representatives and individuals to lay wreaths

(Families, friends and members of the public who wish to lay tributes are invitedto report, on arrival, to the Wreath Marshal. An invitation to lay private tributes

will be announced as part of the ceremony.)

(say together)

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ODE OF REMEMBRANCE

With special acknowledgement to the late Owen Campbell (1914-2003) last of the six

Sandakan survivors

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them. We will remember them. (say together)

Lest we forget. Lest we forget. (say together)

BUGLE WILL SOUND ‘THE LAST POST’

ONE MINUTE SILENCE

BUGLE WILL SOUND ‘REVEILLE’

SANDAKAN COMMITMENT Mr John Walsh. PSM

Let us give thanks for this Sandakan memorial and all that it stands for. May those who come to this place find peace andhope in moments of solitude. May they remember the service and sacrifice made by our fellow citizens in defence of this greatnation. May they be reminded of duty, service beyond self andtender care for those who suffer.

Mr John Walsh PSM JP

With special acknowledgement to the late Owen Campbell (1914-2003) last of the six Sandakan survivors

Mrs Mary Bryant

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THE NATIONAL ANTHEM‘Advance Australia Fair’

Led by Councillor Ernest Wong

Australians all let us rejoice,

For we are young and free;

We’ve golden soil and wealth for toil;

Our home is girt by sea;

Our lands abounds in nature’s gifts

Of beauty rich and rare;

In history’s page, Let every stage

Advance Australia Fair

In joyful strains then let us sing,

Advance Australia Fair.

FINAL BLESSINGFr. Joe Camilleri

HONOUR GUARD WITHDRAWS

CLOSING

Mayor of Burwood · Councillor David WeileyCommittee Chairman

Thank you for attending today’s Remembrance Service.To ensure you receive an invitation to attend next year’s service,

please sign our guest book.

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Acknowledgement

The Sandakan Caps were produced to commemorate the 2006 Service.Distinctive in appearance, these caps feature the Sandakan badge and arecoloured Green and Gold, our national colours.

The Committee is grateful for the support of AUGA Travel who assisted inthe design and production of these magnificent caps.

AUGA TRAVEL SERVICE P/LSUITE 1005, LEVEL 10, 370 PITT ST SYDNEY NEW 2000TEL: 02 9283 6886FAX: 02 9283 6880

Acknowledgement

The Sandakan committee is very grateful forthe financial support of the Concord DistrictSub-Branch R.S.L and the Concord R.S.L andCommunity Club Limited.

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Private Lance Wilton Maskey

Paybook photograph, taken on enlistment, of NX27883 Private LanceWilton Maskey, No. 2 Company, Australian Army Service Corps. He wasone of over 2000 Allied prisoners of war (POW) held in the Sandakan POWcamp in north Borneo, having been transferred there from Singapore as apart of B Force. The 1494 POW's that made up B Force, were transportedfrom Changi on 7 July 1942 on board the tramp ship Ubi Maru, arriving inSandakan Harbour on 18 July 1942. Private Maskey, aged 27, was shot,along with 16 other sick and dying prisoners, by the Japanese on 1 August1945. He was the son of Wilton and Florence Mary Maskey, of Burwood,NSW. He is commemorated on the Labuan Memorial Panel 24.

Source: Australian War Memorial Negative Number P02467.180

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The Catafalque PartyA catafalque is a raised structure supporting a stand, upon which a coffin isplaced for display before burial. People may then file past and pay their lastrespects to the deceased person.

Legend has it that the first catafalque (cat-a-falk) parties guarded importantand wealthy people’s coffins from thieves and vandals.

Today vigils, or catafalque parties, are mounted as a sign of respect aroundpersonages as they lie in State and around memorials on occasions ofremembrance such as Anzac Day. (It could be said that a memorial is a‘symbolic coffin’ for those who have fallen).

A catafalque party consists of four sentries, a waiting member in reserve anda commander.

If a catafalque party is requested to be mounted for an extended period of e.g.‘lying in state’ then a series of ‘watches’ divided into ‘vigil’ periods will beprovided.

A catafalque party must not be senior in rank to the deceased over whom itis mounted.

The origin of the tradition of resting on reversed arms is lost in time. However,it was used by a Commonwealth soldier at the execution of Charles I in 1649,with the soldier being duly punished for his symbolic gesture towards theKing's death. It is later recorded that at the funeral for Marlborough, in 1722,the troops carried out a formal reverse arms drill, which was especiallyinvented for the service, as a unique sign of respect to the great soldier.

The ‘modern trend’ of sticking rifles upside down into the ground as atemporary memorial to a fallen soldier (with a helmet or a hat over the butt)originated with the introduction of tanks. When a soldier fell during anadvance his comrade would pick up the rifle and stick it into the ground, bythe bayonet, as a marker to indicate to the tanks that a wounded or deadsoldier lay there. This was an attempt at ensuring that the armoured vehiclewould not accidentally run over the body.

http://www.anzacday.org.au/education/tff/catafalque.html

http://www.defence.gov.au/Army/ASOD/

Mayor John FakerBurwood Council

Mayor Rae JonesAshfield Council

Mayor Angelo TsirekasCanada Bay Council

Mayor Bill CarneyStrathfield Council

The Local Boys Photographic Exhibition was proudly sponsored by:

Trinity Grammar Catafalque Party

Father Joe Camilleri, Burwood 2005

Trinity Grammar Cadets, Burwood 2005

Rusty Priest AM, Burwood 2005

Sen. Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Prof. Dick Braithwaite, Cr David Weiley - Burwood 2005

Prisoners of the JapaneseOver 22,000 Australian servicemen and almost forty nurses were captured bythe Japanese. Most were captured early in 1942 when Japanese forcescaptured Malaya, Singapore, New Britain, and the Netherlands East Indies.Hundreds of Australian civilians were also interned.

By the war’s end more than one in three of these prisoners – about 8,000 –had died. Most became victims of their captors’ indifference and brutality.Tragically, over a thousand died when Allied submarines torpedoed theunmarked ships carrying prisoners around Japan’s wartime empire.In 1945 survivors were liberated from camps all over Asia: some in the placesthey had been captured, others in Burma and Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, andeven Japan itself.

Source: http://www.awm.gov.au/stolenyears/ww2/japan/index.asp

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Godfrey Eugene (Rusty) Priest AM – Guest Speaker 2006

Rusty Priest was born on 27 June 1927 in the Melbourne suburb of Armadale.

Rusty was the NSW State President of the Returned and Services League ofAustralia (1993-2002), and the National Deputy President (1997-2002). He wasmade a Life Member of the League in 1994.

His Primary school education was at St James Gardenvale, followed by a scholarshipto St Thomas Moore School before finally moving to Christian Brothers College EastSt Kilda, where he attained the Leaving Certificate (Victoria), passing in English,Latin, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics 2 and 3.

On 2 July 1945 Rusty enlisted in the 2nd AIF in Melbourne and was posted toCowra, NSW for initial training with 5 Australian Recruit Training Battalion and thenon 3 October joined the Australian Training Centre at Canungra, Queensland forfurther training in Jungle Warfare.

On 2 Jan 1946 he was promoted Temporary Corporal and transferred to 22Australian Line Maintenance Section, Australian Corps of Signals for onwardmovement to Japan as a member of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces.

Rusty served in Japan with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF)from 24 April 1946 until 21 December 1948 when he returned to Australia. Duringthis period he was a Corporal Linesman with 22 Line Maintenance Section,attended the 8th United States Army School of Signals at Yokohama for 6 months,qualifying as a Skilled Wire Chief.

Rusty then attended and qualified at a Small Arms Weapons Instructors course atthe BCOF Central Army Training School, Matsuyama. On 2 November he wastransferred to A Field Battery Royal Australian Artillery at Hiro, and returned toAustralia with the 34th Infantry Brigade in December 1948.

During this period Rusty decided to make the Army his career and over the next 22years was to enjoy a variety of postings in Artillery and Infantry.

In 1965 he was posted to the Directorate of Artillery at Army Headquarters inCanberra from where he retired in September 1967 with the rank of WarrantOfficer Class 1. In this period he was to specialise in the fields of Artillery Survey,Sound Ranging, Flash Spotting and Field Artillery Radar.

Rusty continued to serve in the Australian Regular Army (ARA) Emergency Reserveuntil 9 August 1975. During his service he qualified as an Army Light Aircraft Pilot.

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"To the best of my knowledge I was the only Warrant Officer Pilot that the Armyever had", said Rusty.

Rusty’s father, William Joseph Priest (1894-1979) set the very high standards ofethics and morality that proved to be a benchmark for Rusty to observe during hisfuture years.

Rusty’s mother, Patricia Brady Priest (nee O'Keeffe) (1902-1933) died when he wasaged 5 years. He has two brothers, the eldest Patrick Arthur served with the 3rdDivision Signals (Militia) in New Guinea during 1942-43 until wounded andevacuated and a younger brother Gerald. Both are still living in Melbourne.

He married Gloria Merle in June 1955 and has a son Michael Patrick and a daughterCarole-Anne. He has 4 grandchildren Hayley, Liam, Evin and Marlee.

Rusty's interests have always been directed towards the continuing need forAustralians to remember and commemorate the service of those who gave somuch in defence of their country.

The Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway at Concord Repatriation General Hospital isa project, 'a living memorial', to which he has devoted much of his time and energyto ensure that the story of this vital part of our history is available to ourschoolchildren.

The re-naming of the Glebe Island Bridge to the ANZAC Bridge and the largebronze statue of "Digger" the World War 1 Australian soldier on the bridge are dueto his success in convincing the Premier of NSW Bob Carr of the need to ensurethat the memory of the ANZAC tradition is commemorated forever.

The inaugural International Service for Peace and Fallen Olympians became a realityone week before the opening of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games as a result of hiscontinued lobbying for some two years beforehand.

A Register of War Memorials NSW is now being compiled on a website so that yetanother vital part of our history does not disappear with the passage of time.

Rusty continues to devote much time and effort in photographing and recordingWar memorials throughout NSW and at the same time endeavouring to convincelocal schools to assist as part of their civic studies.

The Sandakan Community Education Committee is proud to have Rusty Priest AMas Guest Speaker for the 2006 Remembrance Service.

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Message from the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs

On 29 May 1945, some 530 Australian and British prisoners of war left the Sandakanprisoner of war camp in Borneo, on a forced march to Ranau.

They were the second group of prisoners to be moved – another 470 had marched out inJanuary as the Japanese emptied the camp ahead of the expected Allied landing on Borneo.

Sandakan was a prisoner of war camp of Australian and British servicemen captured in Javaand Singapore during World War II.

The Japanese showed no mercy. The prisoners endured daily beatings, sickness andstarvation, and they were constantly surrounded by death.

As World War II came closer to conclusion the more extreme the conditions became for theprisoners. Rice rations were reduced, and then completely ceased. Medical supplies werealso withheld leading to an immediate rise in deaths.

In all, more than 2,400 Allied servicemen were held at Sandakan. Many of them died ofmalnutrition, exhaustion, disease and ill treatment. Some 300 who remained at Sandakanfollowing the second march were all dead by 15 August 1945. Of the 1,000 men who tookpart in the two marches just six, who managed to escape, survived.

The stories surrounding Sandakan prisoner of war camp are tales of courage, mateship andendurance despite the horrendous circumstances and acts of cruelty that the Australian andBritish soldiers were forced to endure.

Their suffering is unimaginable. The stories of the treatment of these men, the mindless andneedless brutality imposed upon them, is also unforgettable once heard.

There are images of the beaten and abused men, of emaciated shuffling figures forced towalk hundreds of kilometres along jungle tracks to their eventual death. There are alsomany tales of kindness, mateship, selflessness and courage.

The tragedy of Sandakan is heightened in that the marches occurred in the months beforethe Japanese surrendered ending World War II.

It has taken a long time for the story of Sandakan to be told.Even now, we cannot fully imagine the suffering, the utterinhumanity that they endured, the horrific conditions and thecruelty with which they lived and died.

Today, we remember and honour them all.

We grieve for their memory – young men taken from theirfamilies to defend our ideals of peace and freedom and end upa part of the darkest chapter in our wartime history.

The Hon Bruce Billson MP

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A message from Hon. Paul Keating

It was only since the memorial to those who perished at Sandakan was built in 1993that the country has known, with clarity, the appalling atrocity which Sandakanrepresents and the toll it took on Australian and British servicemen. Of the 2500 whowere captured by the Japanese, we know that only six survived. And that the lossesexacted at Sandakan against Australian servicemen was three times the number lostin the battles of Papua New Guinea. These men died as prisoners and slaves unableto glean any hint of human mercy. And they died ingloriously while their fight; thefight for Australia, was as glorious as any one in our national history.

It was perhaps the ingloriousness and abject indecency of it that led the Australianarmed forces and the remembrance organisations to either pass over Sandakan ordiminish its moment or see it as something which failed to define it as part of thebattle history of Australia.

Naturally, this was never good enough for the relatives of those who lost sons,brothers, husbands, uncles, who only knew ‘when’ but not ‘how and why’ thosewho, for so long, could not get at the truth.

No stylised remembrance was good enough for them and, in the knowledge of whathad happened, nor should it have been.

Not that the death of these men was entitled to commemoration and remembranceover any others who died in the same war, but their sacrifice and the circumstancesof their deaths was so profoundly sad and their testimonial belief in Australia sostrong, they were entitled to solemn and perpetual regard. And still are.

These men would have always known that they were overhauled and defeated byan enemy of smaller force than that at their commander’s disposal. There wouldhave always been an ignominy in that for them. Theyknew or quickly found out that the Japanese armed forcewas a pitiless and cruel aggressor. And in that realisationtheir only comfort could have been love of their lovedones, love of Australia and regard and camaraderie forand between one another.

For their sacrifice we owe them much. And while we say‘Lest we Forget’ one only has to think about Sandakan fora second, and wonder ‘how could we’.

The Hon. Paul Keating

BURWOOD

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Reflection

In 1945 a group of over 2000 Australian and British prisoners of theJapanese in Borneo were sent on a torturous 160 mile march fromSandakan to Ranau.

The events at Sandakan and the subsequent death marches to Ranau markthe worst wartime atrocity suffered by Australian soldiers and one of thedarkest chapters in our military history. Of the 2345 men, only six survived. It has taken many decades for the story of Sandakan to be told. Even now,we can only try to imagine the suffering, the utter inhumanity that themen endured, the horrific conditions and the insane cruelty under whichthey lived and died.

Today we remember the tales of selflessness, the courage shown in theface of death, the tenacity, strength of characterand the great human spirit that kept these mengoing day after day.

We owe it to these POW’s to tell their story – oneof the most tragic of the war and one of the leastknown. Let us honour their memory and beinspired by their example of courage, bravery andfortitude.

Alice Kang

Acknowledgement

Westfield Burwood kindly donated a gift voucher to the committee.Westfield is a generous supporter of a broad range of community eventsacross Australia and their donation is greatly appreciated by thecommittee.

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Ashfield RSL Sub BranchReturned & Services League of Australia

374 Liverpool Road Ashfield NSW 2131 • Telephone (02) 9797 9036

JOHN WALSH PSM JPPRESIDENTASHFIELD RSL SUB BRANCH

SANDAKAN RECOLLECTIONS

Of the 8031 Australian servicemen and women who died as prisoners of war of theJapanese during WW ll, 22.5%, 1787 died of starvation, disease, exhaustion and/or werekilled by their captors during the Sandakan death march and in the Sandakan and Ranaucamps.

Six Australian soldiers survived the death march because they escaped into the jungle andwere hidden and fed by local Borneo people. One of the six survivors, Private Nelson Short(2/18 Battalion) lived in Ashfield for many years until he passed away in 1995. He was amember of Ashfield RSL sub Branch for many years.

A very close friend Sister Maria Sullivan RSJ who has lived in Ashfield since 1983, had anUncle, Corporal Ron Sullivan (AASC) killed on the Sandakan march. “On 31 March 1945,Easter Saturday, when shortly after noon, Gunner Wallace Alberts, one of five Aboriginalsoldiers to be sent to Borneo and Corporal Ron Sullivan blacked out while tackling the hillnear Seg-in-dai. Both men were unconscious, so the guard bayonetted them to death”.(‘Sandakan - A Conspiracy of Silence’- Lynette Ramsay-Silver)

My family has always had a close association with the 8th Division - 2nd AIF, and we haveattended many ‘The fall of Singapore’ memorial services, which are celebrated each yearon the 15th February at the Martin Place Cenotaph. My Uncle, Private Bill Bruce (2/20Battalion) was killed in action during the defence of Singapore on 9 February 1942. Acousin Gunner Jim Ryan (2/15 Fld Regiment) died on the Sandakan march on 18 April1945. His name is recorded on the Labuan Memorial and on the Sandakan Memorial inBurwood Park. The serendipity of life is a mystery, my Uncle, by marriage L/CorporalRodney Parker (HQ AASC) was placed on both the Borneo B & E Force drafts but waswithdrawn from them at the last moment. He was eventually placed on the J Force draftand sent to Japan. He will be eighty-eight in October.

In 1999 I was invited to join the Sandakan Community Education Committee, and I feltvery proud, but humble when the committee asked me to design the programme anddraft the format for the 1999 memorial service. The 1999 memorial service was the firstmemorial service held at the Sandakan Memorial in Burwood Park, since the then PrimeMinister Paul Keating dedicated the memorial in 1993.

LEST WE FORGET

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Speech By Alex Khoo delivered at Sandakan 2004

The Right Honourable the Chief Minister of Sabah, Your Excellency and all ourvisiting guests and friends from Australia and ladies and gentlemen.Good morning.

Thank you for the privilege of speaking here.

Today, we are gathered, from far and near, to commemorate the bravery and thememory of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, 60 years ago, among themthe 1787 who perished in the Death March from Sandakan to Ranau. Where weare standing now was also the camp from which the Death March commenced.

We are humbled by their sacrifice and by their greatness. Their names and theirranks are engraved on walls and imprinted in hearts; their resting places arememorial parks, preserved with pride for posterity, and for recall in perpetuity.

In gratitude, and with dignity, solemnity and silent grief, we once again bid themfarewell.

We can shed tears that they have gone. We may also smile that they have lived andcome to Sandakan. They have crossed the oceans to defend the territorial integrityof North Borneo, now Sabah, Malaysia. They have come to liberate the subjugatedand the enslaved local inhabitants. They have set free a suffering humanity.

In the process, thousands of these fallen heroes have suffered untold misery andpain. But they endured to the end.

They have lived and fought through the darkness of the night, so that we may liveto greet the glory of a new dawn, in peace.

The devastation and reality of wars are, in different way, shape or form, imprintedin the minds of each and every one. Agnes Newton Keith describes them best.In her book “Three Came Home”, referring to her husband’s letter to her, shedescribes how North Borneo has been laid bare by friend and foe; how the landhas been burned clean by the Japanese, and bombed flat by the Allies. Wheneveryou dig, she writes, there are bones and death sticks out of the soil. The Chineseand the natives have been murdered or bombed accidentally, and the Eurasianshave been wiped out. The collaborators have been shot by one side for betrayingor by the other side for failing to betray.

Such was the reality of war.

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There is, however, one other important truth for us to remember, that is theexistence of local resistance. Some bear arms. Others untiringly work to relieve orreduce the sufferings caused by the man’s inhumanity to man, committed locallyand overseas.

The Massacre of May 27th 1945 in Sandakan is testimony of the unnecessary andsenseless atrocity and cruelty of the aggressors. (There are other incidences ofgroup murders.)

On that fateful day, May 27th 1945, no less than 28 top elites of the Sandakancommunity were called together, under the pretext of a meeting, only to bebeheaded in the same night at a place, just a mile from the Town Centre. Amongthem was my father, for the humanitarian work he carried out, which pleased notthe invaders.

But the day when the innocent die is also the day when heroes are born, both inAustralia and locally.

Many believe that the chance for peace is the readiness for war. I happen tosubscribe to that, but may I also pray that such readiness remains just readinessalways and need not be activated and turned into action.

Ladies and gentlemen, this episode in history, where the Australian and the Britishforces liberated North Borneo, has created a lasting bond between Australia andSabah. Australia has gone further. Australia has gone further to nurture Sabahafter the war and offered Sabah students hundreds of tertiary scholarships underthe Colombo Plan Scheme at a time of greatest need, for the future developmentof human resources in Sabah.

One of such scholars, who has excelled and returned to serve Sabah with highdistinction, is the President of the Sandakan Municipal Council, Datuk AdelineLeong, who is among us and standing over there.For all this, I take this opportunity to express profound thanks and gratitude to theAustralian Government and the Australian people.

To preserve freedom is to struggle, to suffer and to sacrifice. There is no other way.The responsibility is now ours.

Today, we specially remember all those who have gone before us, havingdischarged their duty and fulfilled their responsibility. We owe them. The properand grateful way of paying this debt is not only to perpetuate their memory butalso to strive to live up to the standard that they have laid down for us. No less.What they have given us, we will give to those who come after us. No less.

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We will not forget.We will remember.We are forever grateful.

Thank you for coming to this commemorative ceremony.Thank you everyone who made it happen.

Alex Khoo15 August 2004SANDAKAN

John was the son of Henry and Mary Christine Costello, of Strathfield, NSW.

Photograph details:QLD. c. 1941. Studio portrait of QX21581 Gunner John Costello, 2/10th FieldRegiment, Royal Australian Artillery. Costello died as a prisoner of war of theJapanese near Sandakan, Borneo, on or about 1945-06-21. He was aged 32.(Donor R. Lathlean)

Source: www.awm.gov.au

QX21581 Gunner John Costello

Local Boys

The Local Government Areas of Ashfield, Burwood,Canada Bay and Strathfield Council’s include the suburbsof:

Abbotsford, Ashbury, Ashfield, Burwood, Concord, Croydon,Croydon Park, Drummoyne, Enfield, Five Dock, Haberfield,Homebush, Hurlstone Park and Strathfield.

List of local enlisted men who died at Sandakan:

Abbotsford:

1. NX52096 Taylor D Bombardier

2. NX58387 Waddington G Sergeant

Ashbury:

3. NX24461 Hunter A C A Staff Sergeant

4. NX10946 Knight H E Gunner

Ashfield:

5. NX68405 Board W E Driver

6. NX67894 Elliot T A Corporal

7. NX2140 Erwin L R Private

8. NX66085 Harris L A Private

9. NX19931 Harris R C Private

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Ashfield continued…

10. NX39588 Kline J Private

11. NX7272 Soutar G A J Sapper

12. NX32966 Walker J S Bombardier

Burwood:

13. NX26263 Digby G H Signalman

14. NX72868 Dyson R R Bombardier

15. NX49847 Lister A W Signalman

16. NX68763 Logan R W B Driver

17. NX27883 Maskey L W Private

Concord:

18. NX39994 Child F T Private

19. NX57478 Cook J T Private

20. NX72666 Coy F T Lance Corporal

21. NX57251 Shields R Private

22. NX67623 Stanton A J Sergeant

23. NX51640 Woodcroft K R Private

24. NX60135 Young D G C Private

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Croydon:

25. NX53140 Fitzgerald G S Corporal

26. NX65469 Johnston C S Private

27. NX25816 Midgley J J Private

28. NX27558 Whereat M C Sergeant

29. NX54971 Whitehead B C Lance Sergeant

Croydon Park:

30. NX59722 Davis J T Private

31. NX43446 Fitzpatrick D A Private

Drummoyne:

32. NX53537 Clyne E F Staff Sergeant

Enfield:

33. NX21899 Bayley A E Private

34. NX51926 Mitchell W E Sergeant

Five Dock:

35. NX68904 McCarthy L Driver

Haberfield:

36. NX65224 Blackie J W Warrant Officer Class 1

37. NX68731 Trevillien R G Corporal

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Homebush:

38. NX39989 Adams A M Private

39. NX2555 O'Loughlan G J Private

Hurlstone Park:

40. NX38428 Boustead M G Private

41. NX59118 Smith R E Private

Strathfield:

42. NX68428 Black J Private

43. NX10791 Blatch W G Gunner

44. QX22902 Cameron C M Private

45. QX21581 Costello J Gunner

46. VX39217 Davidson R R Sergeant

47. NX58457 Ings J T Private

48. NX49712 Marshall P O Sapper

49. NX1797 Moore C G Private

50. NX49336 Nicholls S T A Private

Please note: Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of theserecords. The Committee sincerely regrets any errors in the compilation ofthis information.

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Message from Burwood RSL ClubThe Sandakan Memorial in Burwood Park honours the memory of all thosebrave soldiers from our community who died on the infamous Sandakan“death marches”. Lest we forget the "saddest story in Australia's warhistory”. We salute their service and honour the contribution of Australia’sservice men and women in wars.

Those names on the honour roll at the Sandakan Memorial are recognisedand commemorated in a respectful manner not only by those gatheredtoday, but by past and future generations. We pay homage to the heroesof Sandakan. Burwood RSL Club is committed to raising communityawareness of the service and sacrifice of Australian servicemen, educatingyounger Australians about our wartime heritage and its importance in thedevelopment of our nation.

Russ Kenny MCRuss has been a foundation member of the Sandakan CommunityEducation Committee and has carried out the duties of Master ofCeremonies since its inception thirteen years ago.

Russ is the President of Enfield RSL sub-branch,also President of the District Council of the RSL.

He takes an active interest in all Veterans and theirdependants, has been awarded life membership ofthe RSL, the Meritorious Medal and the CentenaryMedal for his services.

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AcknowledgementsThe Sandakan Community Education Committee is grateful for

the support of the following:

• Burwood Council• Cr John Faker - Mayor of Burwood• Cr Rae Jones – Mayor of Ashfield• Cr Angelo Tsirekas – Mayor of the City of Canada Bay Council• Cr Bill Carney – Mayor of Strathfield• Burwood Girls High School• Homebush Boys High School• St Patrick’s College, Strathfield• Trinity Grammar, Summer Hill• Ashfield R.S.L Sub Branch• Burwood R.S.L Club• Concord District Sub-Branch RSL• Concord RSL and Community Club Ltd• Enfield R.S.L Sub Branch• Granville RSL sub-Branch• Homebush/Strathfield R.S.L Sub Branch• Croydon Park Ex-Servicemans Club• Department of Veterans’ Affairs• Ability Badges• AUGA Travel• Boy Scouts – Burwood • MAD Design• Major Steve Gower AO from Australian War Memorial• Re-enactment Heritage Unit• R.M. Gregory Printers, Croydon Park• Rotary Club of Burwood• Salvation Army – Burwood • St John Ambulance• The Burwood Hotel• Westfield Burwood• Woolworths, Burwood Plaza

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