Saturday 15th October 2011 saw the unveiling of this important memorial in FEPOW history. It is dedicated to the internees who returned from the Far East to Liverpool.
Situated on the memorial wall on the Pier Head this is a light-grey, granite plaque. It displays the names of the 21 ships who repatriated our FEPOW. These ships arrived between 8th October and early December 1945 and brought home over 20,000 FEPOW and civilians.
On the memorial inscription the ships are listed either side of a dedication. The unveiling date was the 66th anniversary of the return of the FEPOW on the Dutch ship called 'Nieuw Holland'. Included on this ship were young Merseyside merchant seamen who had been interned at Changi Gaol in Singapore; this, therefore, was a fitting date for this location on the Mersey River.
The memorial brings a dedication to those who returned and a sense of respect to their suffering. At long last a tribute to their lives and survival amongst all the misery and death which surrounded them.
The unveiling invitation can be seen here: visit link
It is often forgotten that when the war in Europe ended in May 1945 our troops and the civilians in the Far East were starving to death as the war continued there. Due to the restrictions of war even Japan's people were starving back in their country as they were isolated from the rest of the world.
The valuable Researching FEPOW History Group tells the story: visit link
'By the summer of 1945 a multinational Allied fleet of British, Australian, New Zealand and Canadian ships had joined the vast US Navy in the Pacific ready for the invasion of Japan. At the same time tens of thousands of British and colonial forces had gathered in India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in preparation for “Operation Zipper”, the liberation of Malaya and Singapore.
After final warnings of dire consequences the United States unleashed their new weapon on Hiroshima on 6 August. Still the Japanese High Command refused to accept unconditional surrender. Three days later, on 9 August, the second atomic bomb fell on Nagasaki. Only then did the Emperor intercede to bring the war in the Far East to an end.
The Allies had planned the repatriation of Far East Prisoners of War (FEPOWs) for some time and their response was swift and effective. The British organisation for the Repatriation of Allied Prisoners of War and Internees – RAPWI – had only recently completed the evacuation of British prisoners from mainland Europe; now they turned
their attention to the Far East.
Many of the camps were known about; others took weeks to locate and evacuate. Food and medical supplies were dropped and the massive invasion fleet was hurriedly transformed into a repatriation force. Aircraft carriers in the Pacific steamed for Australian ports to offload their redundant aircraft. Hangars were converted into vast
temporary dormitories and wards for the thousands of sick FEPOW. Red Cross personnel met at designated embarkation ports such as Rangoon in Burma, Bangkok in Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Manila in the Philippines, and Yokohama and Nagasaki in Japan.
The Americans spearheaded the liberation of areas to the north of Manila while the British concentrated on Singapore, Rangoon and Batavia (now Jakarta in Indonesia). Within a week or so of the end of the war, most senior military prisoners of war had been liberated by the Russians from camps in Manchuria in North East Asia and were
flown home. However, the vast majority of men, and almost all civilians, had to wait for several more weeks in their camps. Where possible, the seriously ill were transferred to hurriedly-established military hospitals for immediate treatment.
British POWs liberated in the easternmost parts of the former Japanese empire, such as Hong Kong and Japan, eventually travelled back via the Pacific to the west coast of America, took trains across Canada and embarked for Britain from either Halifax, Nova Scotia or New York. Those liberated from South East Asia sailed from Singapore or Rangoon. They called at Colombo in Ceylon or Bombay in India before reaching the Suez Canal. The final leg of their journey took them through the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. From here they crossed the Bay of Biscay before landing at either Southampton
or Liverpool. Whichever route they took home, most benefited from up to six weeks at sea in which they could start to adapt to freedom and begin the task of healing shattered bodies and minds.'
The website continues to describe the memorial and inscription in detail:
'THE REPATRIATION MEMORIAL
The engraved silver-grey granite stone plaque on the Pier Head differs from many memorials to the victims of war in that it is dedicated to the memory of those who survived. Many of the servicemen who ended up in camps in the Far East had left their home country from Liverpool in 1941 or even earlier. For so many of them their struggle to survive continued long after their return home.
The list below shows the names of the repatriation ships which arrived back in Liverpool during the eight weeks from early October to early December 1945. These ships’ names are inscribed on the stone plaque in two columns. In between the two lists, the dedication acknowledges the role Liverpool played in the lives of many FEPOW; it pays tribute to all those who survived captivity in the Far East and returned home and it acknowledges their struggle to rebuild post-war lives. In the list below, the date of arrival in Liverpool and the port of embarkation have been included.
Ship:
October 1945 Embarked: (The figures denote the day of the month - so follows - Ship Name - Day of Month Arrived at Liverpool - Embarkation Location)
Monowai 8 Singapore
Tegelberg 9 Singapore
Empire Pride 12 Rangoon
Boissevain 12 Rangoon
Mooltan 14 Singapore
Nieuw Holland 15 Singapore
Worcestershire 16 Rangoon
Orduna 19 Rangoon
Britannic 21 Singapore
Sobieski 23 Singapore
Georgic 25 Singapore
Antenor 27 Singapore
Empress of Australia 27 Hong Kong
Cilicia 29 Singapore
November
Felix Roussel 5 Rangoon
Empress of Scotland 8 Bombay
Orbita 9 Rangoon
Duchess of Richmond 15 Singapore
Somersetshire 21 Bombay
Duchess of Bedford 23 Bombay
Mauretania 25 Bombay
December
Oxfordshire 5 Hong Kong
THE MEMORIAL DEDICATION
This memorial commemorates the
repatriation of men, women and children
from captivity in the Far East at the
end of World War Two.
During 1941 hundreds of thousands of Allied Forces
left Liverpool and other ports to serve overseas.
Many of those men were destined to spend
over three and a half years in captivity;
thousands did not return.
The ships listed here brought over 20,000 Far East
prisoners of war and civilian internees back
to Liverpool in late 1945.
For those who survived captivity, the struggle continued
long after they had returned home.
This memorial was unveiled on 15 October 2011.'
Continuing on the website is the Order of Service, Readings and Prayers. The following people are thanked for making the memorial a possibility:
'The Researching FEPOW History Group wish to thank everyone who has
contributed to the creation and dedication of the Repatriation Memorial.
Special thanks to:
Liverpool City Council for help and support
Liverpool Shanty Kings
Sgt Andrew Beaumont, The Band of the King’s Division (bugler)
Cadets and staff of 2184 Upton ATC
CCF cadets and staff from Calday Grange Grammar School
Pupils and staff Pensby High School for Girls
David Williams of Birkenhead Monumental Ltd
CBRE for arranging use of the Cunard Building'
Female Dragontree's Grandfather was repatriated on the Ship named Worcestershire on 16th October 1945 which embarked at Rangoon. The fact that he embarked here tells us that he was in hospital recovering as he was rescued from the horrors of the Mergui Road after working on the Death Railway.