Hellfire Pass Revisited

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Hellfire pass revisited HREF. AFP Liaison Officers at tended the official Anzac Day Iscrvicc at the War Graves Cemetery situated at Kanchanaburi, near the infamous Bridge on the River Kwai. in Thailand. Superintendent Steve Poldcn. Super intendent Denis Gray and Sergeant Ken Davis, with their families and other Embassy staff, travelled to Kancha naburi for the ceremony. Earlier, they attended a Dawn Service at I lelll'ire Pass, on the notorious World War II Burma-Siam Railway. "Last year, only seven people attended the Dawn Service, but this year it drew a congregation of 75 people, inluding the Deputy Governor of Kanchanaburi Province and many local Thais," Su Lieutenant Colonel Terry Beaton, Luke Polden and Superintendent Steve perintendent Polden said. "Even at 5.30 Polden with the sign they installed at Hellfire Pass. am the atmosphere in the Pass was hot and muggy and one can imagine what it Royal Thai Army Vehicle Rebuilding by jungle to update existing maps. must have been like for the POWs to cut Workshops, where he is attached, to About 40km north of Kanchanaburi the Pass out of the mountain so many produce a sheet metal memorial sign to on the road to Three Pagoda Pass, the years ago and under such difficult cir be erected at I lelll'ire Pass. ropes securing the sign to the top of cumstances." The previous sign at the Pass was Colonel Beaton's vehicle broke and the For the Polden family, the visit to written in Thai only and veterans and sign hurtled back at the Polden's car. Kanchanaburi nearly ended in disaster. visitors to the area had difficulty in "Despite evasive action, a rear wheel They left Bangkok a couple of days reading it. of our car got caught on the shoulder of before Anzac Day. accompanied by the bitumen and the front right-hand Lieutenant Colonel Terry Beaton, an Retrace railway tyre blew,"Superintendent Polden said. Army Engineer, and his wife. The party also was planning to retrace "We finished up at the side of the road Colonel Beaton had organised for the sections of the railway now overtaken on an embankment. Fortunately no-one was hurt." With the assistance of local villagers, the party was able to make running repairs and proceed with the visit. The sign was later erected at the top of Hellfire Pass. Running repairs also were carried out to hand rails at the site. Over the next two days, the party retraced sections of the railway and dis covered viaduct sites anil embankments constructed by the POWs. Railway sleepers and ballast clearly marked sections of the railway, even though the jungle had reclaimed most of the wooden structures. "We also took the opportunity of tak ing a Thai longtail boat up the River Kwai Noi toSai Yok Falls, the site of a large POW camp." Superintendent Polden said. "Just north of Sai Yok Falls is the site of some Japanese Baths constructed for Japanese officers at a hot spring. These Anzac Dawn Service baths are still used by the local Thais," Hellfire Pass. he said. Platypus 30. April-June Quarter. 19)0 Pane 13.

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Hellfire Pass & Kanchanaburi War Cemetery Thailand
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