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  1. #1

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    dirtydog's Avatar
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    Kanchanaburi/Chungkai War Cemetery

    Kanchanaburi/Chungkai War Cemetery is where they buried all the dead Prisoners of war that were held by the Japanese, this was the base camp for building the railway and the bridge over the River Kwai during world war 2, there are over 1,700 prisoners of war buried here in what used to be the hospital grounds, I think the ones that died while building the bridge, which is about 5kms away were just buried near where they dropped, there is parking for maybe 2 cars and the war cemetery is obviously not visited much as it is quite hard to find, got to admit though it is well kept, not sure who pays for this upkeep though.










  2. #2
    diaw
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    Interesting thread, DD. Never knew it existed. I'd guess the British Govt must have a hand in its upkeep...

  3. #3
    punk douche bag
    ChiangMai noon's Avatar
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    ^^
    That poor bastard almost mede it through till the end.
    i'd like to go there.
    Reminds me a bit of Gallipoli.
    Really well preserved area that nobody goes to except for ANZAC day.

  4. #4

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    dirtydog's Avatar
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    I have a load of pictures of other gravestones, it's quite sad to see how many nearly made it if they could have held out for a couple of more months

  5. #5
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    It's all paid for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commision so presumably all the Commonwealth countries chip in according to some formula or other. What bothers me is that the plaques are too close. Are we absolutely sure that the troops are actually buried there?

  6. #6
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    Dougal's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by dirtydog
    not sure who pays for this upkeep though.
    The cemetery is paid for and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission which is itself financed by the various British Commonwealth countries.

    Link here:-
    :: CWGC :: you can do a search on Kanchanaburi.

    Although the cemetery itself is fairly sobering remember that there were far more Chinese, Malay etc deaths who have no formal cemeteries.

    I think somewhere it states that that each sleeper of the railway represents a death.

    If you plan to go out that way try to find Hellfire Pass.
    Lord, deliver us from e-mail.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chalk face
    What bothers me is that the plaques are too close.
    Bodies will have been collected after the war from various other burial sites. After a short time underground in the junle I doubt if the poor buggers need the standard six foot.

  8. #8
    Have you got any cheese Thetyim's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chalk face
    What bothers me is that the plaques are too close.
    Maybe, as they were soldiers, they were buried standing to attention.

  9. #9
    Thailand Expat
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    Quote Originally Posted by ChiangMai noon View Post
    Really well preserved area that nobody goes to except for ANZAC day.
    Never been there for ANZAC day but have been there on 3 different occasions showing family and friends it.

    Anyway, what does a welshman know about the ANZACS?

    The museum righ opposite is privately run by an Aussie bloke and it is well worth a visit.

    So DD....where you up there visiting Captain Sensible?
    News is what someone, somewhere is trying to suppress - everything else is just advertising.

  10. #10

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    dirtydog's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MeMock
    So DD....where you up there visiting Captain Sensible?
    Naaa, forgot to bring weapons with me

  11. #11
    punk douche bag
    ChiangMai noon's Avatar
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    Anyway, what does a welshman know about the ANZACS?
    probably not as much as I should know.
    but it's a place i will never ever forget.

  12. #12
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    The cemetary is very peaceful. Probably one of the only peaceful places in Thailand come to think of it.

    Well worth a visit.

  13. #13

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    dirtydog's Avatar
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    A few more Gravestones from those that didn't make it.












  14. #14
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    The garrison at Singapore had been reinforced not long before it fell by troops who had been evacuated out of Crete - talk about out of the frying pan into the fire.

  15. #15
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    Propagator's Avatar
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    It seems that there are two war cemetaries in Kanchanaburi. The following pics are taken from the one in the centre of the town - tho they look remarkably similar.










  16. #16

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    dirtydog's Avatar
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    Seems there are 3 war cemeteries in Kanchanaburi.


  17. #17
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    Propagator's Avatar
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    The cemetery at Thanbyuzayat is in Burma .

  18. #18
    Have you got any cheese Thetyim's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Propagator
    The cemetery at Thanbyuzayat is in Burma .
    I think there are three in Kanchanaburi and another at the HellFire Pass

  19. #19
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    Wallace's Avatar
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    Yes, there are 3 in Kanchanaburi. Next to the allied forces cemetery is the Chinese one. The third is the Chungkai cemetery over the river.

  20. #20

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    dirtydog's Avatar
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    Here is the Chinese war cemetery, not aswell kept as the other 2 though.




  21. #21
    Thailand Expat nedwalk's Avatar
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    thank you dd, i made a,promise to go last time, i failed.. next journey i bring my family and vow that we will visit this sacred place... those poor brave young men..and so many heroic stories of triumph in tragedy

  22. #22
    Thailand Expat AntRobertson's Avatar
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    I went to the Chungkai War Cemetery, got quite emotional I have to admit.

    Spent literally hours wandering up and down the rows of markers reading them. The one that still sticks in my mind (along with the fact so many of them died so young) was one that simply read: 'A Solider, Known Only Unto God'

    I went with my Japanese girlfriend at the time. Not surprisingly it was all a bit lost on her, they simply weren't taught about it at school.

  23. #23
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    was PNG that did me in ,

    rows of crosses as far as you could see ,

    walking amongst them , soon became apparent that 19 was a common age .................

    lest we forget

  24. #24
    Thailand Expat AntRobertson's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mid
    walking amongst them , soon became apparent that 19 was a common age .................


    Sobering innit. Perhaps some of the more gung-ho and quick to the call of war amongst us would find it a rather cathartic experience to simply just look at places like this.

  25. #25
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    ^^ braver than their hosts...as we know los has never been colonised, but i can never get a coherent response from Thais as to how it could be that the japs controlled chunks of their country and built railroads using slave labour, all without the slightest interference...

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