The Sandakan camp, also known as Sandakan POW Camp (Malay: Kem Tawanan Perang Sandakan), was a prisoner-of-war camp established during World War II by the Japanese in Sandakan in the Malaysian state of Sabah. This site has gained notoriety as the Sandakan Death Marches started from here. Now, part of the former site houses the Sandakan Memorial Park.
After a large-scale military success during the Second World War, Japanese forces had captured large numbers of Allied soldiers as prisoners of war. These prisoners were distributed to various lock-up facilities. In July 1942, the Japanese POW camps in Sandakan received about 1,500 Australians, most of them captured from Singapore and brought here for the purpose of building a military airfield for the Japanese; this date is considered to be the beginning of the camp. In 1943, another 770 British and 500 Australian soldiers were sent to the camp. At the camp's height in 1943, about 2,500 prisoners of war were located in the camp.
In October 1944, when the Japanese increasingly became defensive towards the end of the war, the airfield in Sandakan came under constant heavy bombing by Allied forces. By January 1945, the damage was so great, and the Japanese no longer able to repair the runway, that on 10 January 1945 work on the airstrip was completely stopped. Also in the same month, a group of about 455 prisoners were sent on forced marches by the Japanese. [1] [2]
In May 1945, the Japanese finally decided to close the POW camp. Takakuwa Takuo took over command of the camp on 17 May. On 29 May, he ordered the 536 prisoners to march to Ranau and then set the camp area on fire. Almost all records about the site were destroyed by fire. Other prisoners were marched into the jungle where they perished or were shot by the Japanese guards. [2]
On 10 June 1945 – 30 prisoners had died in the meantime – a final group march of 75 prisoners towards Ranau was set in motion. The remaining prisoners who were stranded on the burned area either died of malnutrition and disease, or were killed by the Japanese guards. By 15 August 1945, none of them remained alive. [2]
Six men returned to Australia from Sandakan as written in Russell Morris' song "Sandakan". One of those men was his father. The other was Billy Young who has published a book about his time in Sandakan.
A rescue operation to free the prisoners, Operation Kingfisher, never came to fruition.
The camp was located about 1.5 kilometres southwest of the present-day Sandakan Airport.
According to records, the site was once an experimental farm for the North Borneo Chartered Company, where fruit, grain and cattle were kept. [3]
When the Japanese occupied Borneo, the site then was divided into three main areas; each one bearing part of the Australian and British prisoners of war (Australian compound and the British compound) as well as a site for the Japanese guards and for the residential buildings of the Japanese.
The camp produced its own electricity with a steam vessel, coupled to an alternator. The power house originally was part of the agricultural research station. The wood fired steam vessel propelled the alternator which produced a voltage of 110 V for the illumination of the camp and the fencing. The power house also played an important role for the operation of the clandestine transmitter of the camp underground organisation. From 1942 up to its discovery in July 1943, the voltage was raised secretly in the evening hours to provide sufficient voltage for the transmission equipment.
"The Great Tree" (The Big Tree) – a huge specimen of a Mengarisbaumes ( Koompassia excelsa ) – was the dominant structure of the POW camp.
Not far away from the Australian part of the camp was a provisions depot and a kitchen for the Japanese, operated by the Japanese quartermaster. Still today, a baseplate as well as a concrete water reservoir of this facility is left.
During the Japanese occupation, the leader who was responsible for the managing of the camp was Susumi Hoshijima, who held the rank of lieutenant. As a military engineer, he was entrusted with the task of establishing a military airfield. [4] Towards the end of the war he was promoted to captain. Athletically built, and with a body height of 1.8 m, he was an impressive appearance. He revealed his despotic, unscrupulous character to the newly arrived POWs in April 1943 with the words:
"You will work until your bones rot under the tropical sun of Borneo. You will work for the Emperor. If any of you escape, I will pick out three or four and shoot them. The war will last for 100 years".
In May 1945, the Japanese military leadership gave the order to abandon the POW camp. On 17 May, Captain Takakuwa Takuo and Hoshijima together commanded the prisoners of war. [2]
Both Hoshijima and Takakuwa would later be brought to the Labuan War Crimes Trials, where they were found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging on 6 April 1946 in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea. [5] [6]
The camp was secured by barbed wire to prevent the POWs from escaping. In front of the guards office, there is a large wooden cage with a size about 1.8 x 1.5 x 1.2 metres, which is quite similar to a dog cage. Originally, cage for punishing minor offences by the Japanese soldiers was already provided; but it was never used for this purpose. [7]
In June 1943 and October 1944, new cages were built, each are larger than the previous one. The second cage was about 2.7 x 2.1 x 1.5 metres, while the third cage was 4.5 x 2.7 x 2.7 metres. The majority of the prisoners who were placed in the cage were caught stealing food from the camp kitchen. [7]
The camp rules for the punishment were based on the same rules that were provided to the Japanese soldiers in other occupied places. The maximum duration of the placement in the cage are limited to 30 days. The use of a toilet was only allowed twice a day. Ill-treatment by shock and water torture were also frequent and the victim was left in the cage with no food, wearing only a loincloth or shorts, the prisoners were also defenceless against the mosquitoes, their constant attacks on the victims weakened body also make sleeping at night almost impossible. [7]
All remains of the prisoners of war that were found during the investigations after the war were transferred to a military cemetery in Labuan. The identified victims were buried there and their graves marked with their name, while the names of the others were listed on the corresponding plaques in Labuan and Singapore.
In 1986, a memorial stone was erected on the site, to pay tribute to Captain Lionel Matthews and other resistance movement people in Sandakan as well as the six survivors of the death marches. In 1995, after finalisation of an agreement between the Government of the State of Sabah, Government of Australia, the veterans association of the Returned and Services League of Australia and the City Council of Sandakan, a memorial was built at the POW camp site, which is known as Sandakan Memorial Park. The unveiling of the memorial took place on 18 March 1999. [8]
The Sandakan Death Marches were a series of forced marches in Borneo from Sandakan to Ranau which resulted in the deaths of 2,434 Allied prisoners of war held captive by the Empire of Japan during the Pacific campaign of World War II at the Sandakan POW Camp, North Borneo. By the end of the war, of all the prisoners who had been incarcerated at Sandakan and Ranau, only six Australians survived, all of whom had escaped. It is widely considered to be the single worst atrocity suffered by Australian servicemen during the Second World War.
The Borneo campaign or Second Battle of Borneo was the last major Allied campaign in the South West Pacific Area during World War II to liberate Japanese-held British Borneo and Dutch Borneo. Designated collectively as Operation Oboe, a series of amphibious assaults between 1 May and 21 July 1945 were conducted by the Australian I Corps, under Lieutenant-General Leslie Morshead, against Imperial Japanese forces who had been occupying the island since late 1941 – early 1942. The main Japanese formation on the island was the Thirty-Seventh Army under Lieutenant-General Masao Baba, while the naval garrison was commanded by Vice-Admiral Michiaki Kamada. The Australian ground forces were supported by US and other Allied air and naval forces, with the US providing the bulk of the shipping and logistic support necessary to conduct the operation. The campaign was initially planned to involve six stages, but eventually landings were undertaken at four locations: Tarakan, Labuan, North Borneo and Balikpapan. Guerilla operations were also carried out by Dayak tribesmen and small numbers of Allied personnel in the interior of the island. While major combat operations were concluded by mid-July, localised fighting continued throughout Borneo until the end of the war in August. Initially intended to secure vital airfields and port facilities to support future operations, preparatory bombardment resulted in heavy damage to the island's infrastructure, including its oil production facilities. As a result, the strategic benefits the Allies gained from the campaign were negligible.
The Ranau District is an administrative district in the Malaysian state of Sabah, part of the West Coast Division which includes the districts of Kota Belud, Kota Kinabalu, Papar, Penampang, Putatan, Ranau and Tuaran. The capital of the district is in Ranau Town. The landlocked district bordering the Sandakan Division to the east until it meets the Interior Division border. Ranau sits 108 km (67 mi) east of Kota Kinabalu and 227 km (141 mi) west of Sandakan. As of the 2010 Census, the population of the district was 94,092, an almost entirely Dusun ethnic community.
Kundasang is a hill station in the district of Ranau in Sabah, Malaysia that lies along the bank of Kundasang Valley within the Crocker Range, and also neighboring the town of Pekan Nabalu. It is located about 6 kilometres away from Kinabalu National Park, 12 kilometres from Ranau town and is renowned for its vegetable market which is open seven days a week. It is the closest town to Mount Kinabalu and has a panoramic view of the mountain. It is populated mainly by the native Dusun and a small population of Chinese people. Almost all the shops are operated by locals.
Labuan War Cemetery is a Commonwealth World War II graveyard in Labuan, Malaysia.
British Borneo comprised the four northern parts of the island of Borneo, which are now the country of Brunei, two Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, and the Malaysian federal territory of Labuan. During the British colonial rule before World War II, Sarawak was known as the Raj of Sarawak (1841–1946), Sabah was known as North Borneo (1881–1946), and Labuan was known as the Crown Colony of Labuan (1848–1946). Between World War II and their independence from Britain, Sarawak became the Crown Colony of Sarawak (1946–1963) whereas Sabah and Labuan combined to form the Crown Colony of North Borneo (1946–1963). The Kingdom of Brunei (1888/1906–1984) was a protectorate of the United Kingdom since the 1888/1906 Protectorate Agreement, and was known as British Protectorate State of Brunei.
Batu Lintang camp at Kuching, Sarawak on the island of Borneo was a Japanese-run internment camp during the Second World War. It was unusual in that it housed both Allied prisoners of war (POWs) and civilian internees. The camp, which operated from March 1942 until the liberation of the camp in September 1945, was housed in buildings that were originally British Indian Army barracks. The original area was extended by the Japanese, until it covered about 50 acres. The camp population fluctuated, due to movement of prisoners between camps in Borneo, and as a result of the deaths of the prisoners. It had a maximum population of some 3,000 prisoners.
Lieutenant-Colonel Tatsuji Suga of the Imperial Japanese Army was the commander of all prisoner-of-war (POW) and civilian internment camps in Borneo, during World War II. A war criminal, Suga died by suicide five days after being taken prisoner by Australian forces in September 1945.
Athol Randolph Moffitt (1914-2007) was an eminent Australian jurist and was the author of several books. He is best known as the chair of the landmark 1973-74 Moffitt Royal Commission, which investigated organised crime in New South Wales.
Lionel Colin Matthews, was an Australian Army officer in World War II. He was posthumously awarded the George Cross, the highest award for extraordinary acts of gallantry away from the field of battle that could be awarded to a member of the Australian armed forces at the time. Matthews was born in Adelaide, South Australia, and was schooled there before moving to Victoria. He trained as a signalman in the Royal Australian Naval Reserve before joining the Militia in April 1939. Commissioned as an officer in the Australian Corps of Signals, Matthews transferred to the 8th Division of the Second Australian Imperial Force after the outbreak of World War II.
Major Gordon Senior 'Toby' Carter DSO was a New Zealand surveyor and road engineer who worked in Sarawak, Borneo prior to World War II for Shell Oil. He enlisted with the British Army during the war, and served in the Royal Australian Engineers and later in Z Special Unit in Borneo, where he was the Officer in Command of the Semut II operation in the Kelabit Highlands of Sarawak. In 1962 Carter had the initial idea for and was the driving force behind the establishment of both the Kinabalu National Park and the Kundasang War Memorial and Gardens near Mount Kinabalu in Sabah.
Before the outbreak of World War II in the Pacific, the island of Borneo was divided into five territories. Four of the territories were in the north and under British control – Sarawak, Brunei, Labuan, an island, and British North Borneo; while the remainder, and bulk, of the island, was under the jurisdiction of the Dutch East Indies.
The Kundasang War Memorial is a memorial located in Kundasang in the Malaysian state of Sabah, which is dedicated to the British and Australian soldiers who died in the Sandakan POW camp during their death marches to Ranau. Besides that, it also recognises the suffering and sacrifice of the native population of Sabah.
Quailey's Hill Memorial is a memorial in Ranau District, Sabah, Malaysia. It commemorates an Australian POWs, Allan Quailey who been killed on 16 February 1945 during the first Sandakan Death Marches by the Japanese soldiers.
Cho Huan Lai Memorial or also known as Keningau War Memorial in the Malaysian town of Keningau in Sabah is a monument dedicated to Chinese Consul General Cho Huan Lai and his colleagues who died on 6 July 1945 after being executed by the Japanese.
The Sandakan Memorial Park is a memorial site built in the former grounds of the former Sandakan camp in the Malaysian state of Sabah. The site is dedicated as a memory for all prisoners in the camp who died during the Sandakan Death Marches, and to those died during a march to Ranau. It is also recognises the suffering and sacrifice of the native population. This park hosts the Sandakan Memorial Day service on August 15.
The Last POW Camp Memorial is a memorial in the district of Ranau in the Malaysian state of Sabah, which commemorates the victims of the Sandakan Death Marches who died during their march to Ranau. Of 1,047 British and Australian prisoners of war, only 189 survived to reach this site which is located near Liwagu Valley. Of these 189 total, 153 prisoners died in the next six weeks, 32 were murdered, while only four managed to escape. The current memorial was built where the former camp was located.
Operation Kingfisher was an operation planned to rescue Allied prisoners of war from Japanese captivity in Borneo towards the end of the Second World War. The operation did not come to fruition and almost 2,500 POWs died during the Sandakan Death Marches.
Operation Agas was a series of reconnaissance operations carried out by Australia's Z Special Unit in 1945 during the final stages of World War II. This operation was part of the Borneo Campaign, supporting Allied operations to secure North Borneo. Another closely related operation codenamed Semut was carried out in Sarawak. Both operations combined and relayed their intelligence through the Stallion Project to Australian forces and carried out guerrilla warfare against the Japanese in the region with support of the local population. A total of five operations were undertaken, commencing in March 1945, continuing up to September and October 1945.
Naval Base Borneo and Naval Base Dutch East Indies was a number of United States Navy Advance Bases and bases of the Australian Armed Forces in Borneo and Dutch East Indies during World War II. At the start of the war, the island was divided in two: British Borneo and Dutch East Indies. Both fell to the Empire of Japan, Japan occupied British Borneo and the Dutch East Indies in 1942 until 1945.
