Camp Nong Pladuk | |
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Memorial stone at Nong Pladuk as the starting point of the Burma Railway | |
General information | |
Town or city | Ban Pong, Ratchaburi |
Country | ![]() |
Coordinates | 13°49′02″N99°54′39″E / 13.81733°N 99.91075°E |
Construction started | 1942 |
Camp Nong Pladuk (also: Nompuradokku [1] ) was a Japanese prisoner of war transit camp during World War II. It was located about five kilometres from the main railway station of Ban Pong [2] near a junction station on the Southern Line to Bangkok. Nong Pladuk served as the starting point of the Burma Railroad. Numerous British, Dutch, and allied troops passed through Nong Pladuk to construct the railroad. Nowadays, it serves as a rail road maintenance and repair facility.
In 1939, plans had been developed by the Empire of Japan to construct a railway connecting Thailand with Burma. Nong Pladuk was chosen as the starting point, [3] because it was the location of rail yard on the Southern Line to Bangkok. A camp was constructed to the north of the railway. [4]
On 23 June 1942, the first 600 British prisoners arrived from the First Mainland Party led by Major R.S. Sykes of the 18th Infantry Division. [5] The first groups were tasked to clear the forest, built the shelters, and a Japanese workshop. [1]
The barracks were made of wood with bamboo matting, and contained 200 to 300 prisoners each. There were originally six huts, a cook house with Chinese, British and Dutch canteens, a bamboo church, Japanese quarters and a guardroom. [6] The camp was originally built to house 2,000 prisoners, but was gradually enlarged for 8,000 prisoners. [7] On 16 September 1942, railway construction started at both ends of the planned line. [3]
Camp Nong Pladuk was initially used as a transit camp from where the prisoners were transported or had to walk to work camps along the Burma Railway. Later Nong Pladuk was also used a revalidation camp. [2] The work camps were numbered according to the distance in kilometres from Nong Pladuk. [8]
During World War II, at least 23,289 British, 12,329 Dutch, 4,708 Australian, 482 American, and 7,030 undetermined soldiers passed through the camp. [5] [9] [10] Of the 61,811 prisoners deployed on both sides of the railway line, 12,619 died. Of the estimated 177,700 civilian forced laborers deployed, 85,400 died. [11]
In December 1943, a second camp was constructed at Nong Pladuk. [12] The British, Australian and American prisoners were housed in Camp I while Camp II was used for the Dutch prisoners. [7] The proximity to a large rail yard implied it was a target for allied bombers. [13] On 6 September 1944, the camp was hit by five bombs resulting in 92 deaths and 70 wounded. The camp closed on 22 February 1945. [12] Nowadays, the camp is used as a rail road maintenance and repair facility. [13]
There were two large cemeteries to the north-east of the camp. [4] After the war, the bodies were re-buried at the Chungkai and the Kanchanaburi War Cemeteries except for the Americans who were repatriated back to the United States. [14]
The Burma Railway, also known as the Siam–Burma Railway, Thai–Burma Railway and similar names, or as the Death Railway, is a 415 km (258 mi) railway between Ban Pong, Thailand, and Thanbyuzayat, Burma. It was built from 1940 to 1943 by civilian laborers impressed or recruited by the Japanese and prisoners of war taken by the Japanese, to supply troops and weapons in the Burma campaign of World War II. It completed the rail link between Bangkok, Thailand, and Rangoon, Burma. The name used by the Japanese Government was Tai–Men Rensetsu Tetsudō (泰緬連接鉄道), which means Thailand-Burma-Link-Railway.
Hellfire Pass is the name of a railway cutting on the former Burma Railway in Thailand which was built with forced labour during the Second World War, in part by Allied prisoners of war. The pass is noted for the harsh conditions and heavy loss of life suffered by its labourers during construction. It was called Hellfire Pass because the sight of emaciated prisoners labouring by burning torchlight resembled a scene from Hell.
Ban Pong is a district (amphoe) of Ratchaburi province, Thailand. It is in the northeast of the province.
Nam Tok Sai Yok Noi is a small town in Sai Yok District, Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand, along the route of the Death Railway linking Thailand with Burma. It is named after Sai Yok Noi Waterfall of Sai Yok National Park. During World War II, the small town was known as Tarsoa or Tarsau.
Thanbyuzayat is a town in the Mon State of south-eastern Myanmar. It is the administrative center for Thanbyuzayat Township. Thanbyuzayat is about 64 kilometres (40 mi) south of Mawlamyine (Moulmein) and 24 kilometres (15 mi) south-east of Kyaikkami (Amherst) and Setse beach.
Payathonzu is a town in the Karen State of south Myanmar, close to the border with Thailand. It is separated from the Thai border township of Nong Lu by the Three Pagodas Pass. It is also the administrative seat of Hpayarthonezu Sub-township in Kyain Seikgyi Township, Kawkareik District of Kayin State in Myanmar.
Ban Song Karia, also spelled Songkalia (ซองกาเลีย) and alternatively known as Songkurai, is a village in the Sangkhla Buri District of the Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand near the border with Myanmar at the Three Pagodas Pass. It was the location of three World War II Japanese Prisoner of War Camps located about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) south of the Thai/Burma border.
Ban Pong,, is the central town of Ban Pong district in Ratchaburi province, Thailand, covering the entire Ban Pong Subdistrict (tambon). It is located by the Mae Klong river, roughly 80 km (50 mi) west of Bangkok.
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The Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery is a prisoner of war cemetery for victims of Japanese imprisonment who died building the Death Railway in Burma. It is at the Burmese end of the Second World War railway construction, in Thanbyuzayat, 65 kilometres south of Mawlamyine (Moulmein). Thanbyuzayat is considered the terminus of the Death Railway, and is where it connected with the Burmese main line.
Nong Pladuk Junction railway station is a railway station in Nong Kop Sub-district, Ban Pong District, Ratchaburi. It is a class 3 railway station and is 64 km (39.8 mi) from Thon Buri railway station. It is on the Southern Line, and is the junction of minor branch lines, the Nam Tok Line and Suphan Buri Line.
Kyauk Bi Lu or Kyaukbilu(Burmese: ကျောက်ဘီလူး) is a village tract of Kyain Seikgyi Township, Kawkareik District, in Kayin State, Myanmar (Burma). In 2014 it had a total population of 8,350 people. The village tract contains four villages.
Chungkai War Cemetery, also known as Chung Kai War Cemetery, is a war cemetery in Tha Ma Kham near Kanchanaburi, Thailand. Established in the 1950s, the cemetery hosts the graves of 1,426 British and 313 Dutch prisoners of war who died during World War II. It was originally a prisoner of war camp on the Burma Railway.
Tha Kilen railway station is a railway station located in Sing Subdistrict, Sai Yok District, Kanchanaburi Province. It is a class 2 railway station located 161.95 km (100.6 mi) from Bangkok railway station. It is located near the Mueang Sing Historical Park.
Franciscus Cornelis Gerardus "Fred" van der Poel was a Dutch military officer, and a football goalkeeper. He played one match for the Netherlands national football team in 1923. During World War II, he was taken prisoner of war by Japan and worked on the Burma Railway. He survived and fought in the Indonesian National Revolution on the Dutch side.
Tamarkan was a Japanese prisoner of war work camp during World War II. The camp was initially used for the construction of the bridge over the Khwae Yai or Mae Klong River and not the River Kwai. The camp was located about five kilometres from the city of Kanchanaburi. In November 1943, Tamarkan was turned into a convalescent camp and hospital. By 1945, the camp was gone.
The Wang Pho Viaduct, alsoWampo Viaduct or Tham Krasae Railway Bridge is a railway bridge made of wooden trestles which follow the cliff along the Khwae Noi River. The Wang Pho viaduct was constructed by allied prisoners of war of the Japanese during World War II as part of the Burma Railway. It is sometimes referred as the Double Viaduct, because of a nearby smaller viaduct. The viaduct is still in use and can be reached from the Wang Pho railway station.
Tha Khanun is a town and subdistrict (tambon) of Thong Pha Phum district of the Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand. It is named after the Jackfruit tree, and is located on the Khwae Noi River. Lam Khlong Ngu National Park and Wat Tha Khanun, a large Buddhist temple, are located near the town.
Konkoita is a former prisoner of war camp in the Sangkhla Buri District of the Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand. Located near the Karen village of Ban Kroeng Kruai, it was the location where the two sides of the Burma Railway met on 17 October 1943 at 262.87 kilometres from the starting point in Thailand. Konkoita and neighbouring villages were flooded in June 1984 by the construction of the Vajiralongkorn Dam. The population in the area was resettled several kilometres from the original villages.