Coordinates: 14°00′19″N 99°30′53″E / 14.0052°N 99.5146°E / 14.0052; 99.5146

Chungkai War Cemetery

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Chungkai War Cemetery
Chunkai.jpg
War graves cemetery
Details
Location
, Kanchanaburi
CountryThailand
Coordinates14°00′19″N 99°30′53″E / 14.0052°N 99.5146°E / 14.0052; 99.5146
TypeMilitary Cemetery
Owned byCommonwealth War Graves Commission
No. of graves1,692[1]

Chungkai War Cemetery, also known as Chung Kai War Cemetery, is a war cemetery in 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.[1] It was originally a prisoner of war camp on the Burma Railway.

Description[]

The cemetery at Chungkai hosts the graves of 1,426 British and 313 Dutch servicemen who died during World War II.[2] The majority of the interred died building the sections of the nearby Burma Railway. The cemetery is built on the site of a prisoner of war camp used by the Japanese army to house Allied POWs during the conflict.[3][4]

In 1946, it was decided to re-bury the Burma Railway deaths which were buried in many graveyards along the line in three large cemeteries. The current Chungkai cemetery is an extension of the existing camp cemetery.[5] American POWs were repatriated back to the United States.[6] The status of the Australian soldiers is unclear. One source describes Australians being buried at the cemetery,[7] while another states no Australians are buried there.[8] or that it only contains several non-military Australian prisoners.[9] The cemetery was designed by Colin St Clair Oakes.[10][1]

Camp Chungkai[]

Chungkai (also: Thai No.2 Camp[11]) was founded as a prisoner of war work camp. It was located 57 kilometres from the beginning of the line,[12] at the edge of the jungle near the Mae Klong River.[13] The first prisoners arrived in October 1942,[14] and were tasked to work on the bridges at Tamarkan and the section up to Wun Lun,[14] at kilometre 68.[15] One of the tasks was the Chungkai cutting, a railway cutting through solid rock.[13] In November 1942, a hospital was constructed at Chungkai.[9] Chungkai was considered one of the best camps with sufficient food.[14] The camp and hospital closed in June 1945. The hospital had treated 19,975 patients during its existance.[9]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Chungkai War Cemetery". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Cemetery Details | CWGC". www.cwgc.org. Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  3. ^ "Chong Kai War Cemetery". www.tourismthailand.org. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  4. ^ "THA. Chungkai War Cemetery". World War Two Cemeteries - A photographic guide to the cemeteries and memorials of WW2. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  5. ^ "Graven van Krijsgevangen". Nieuwe courant (in Dutch). 8 June 1946. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Cemeteries". 2/29th Battalion A.I.F. Association. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  7. ^ Hudson, C., 2009. Embodied spaces of nation: Performing the national trauma at Hellfire Pass. Performance Paradigm, 5(2), pp.142-161.
  8. ^ "Thailand POW Cemetery | COFEPOW". www.cofepow.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  9. ^ a b c "Chungkai Camp and Hospital Camp 60k - Thailand". 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion Ex Members Association. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Chungkai War Cemetery". www.roll-of-honour.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  11. ^ "Camplist". Netherlands Foundation for War Victims in the East. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Chungkai". Japanese Krijsgevangenkampen (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  13. ^ a b Sears Eldredge (2014). The Tamarkan Players Present: Tamarkan Convalescent Camp. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-615-57445-5.
  14. ^ a b c "Chungkai". Far East POW Family. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  15. ^ "Wan Lun". Japanse Krijgsgevangenkampen (in Dutch). Retrieved 28 January 2022.

External links[]

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