Prisoners of War Memorial, Kings Park
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LEST WE FORGET WESTERN AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIALS PRISONERS OF WAR MEMORIAL, KINGS PARK The Prisoners of War Memorial is located near the intersection of Saw Avenue and May Drive, Kings Park, and the inscription on its plaque reads: This Memorial was unveiled on the 16th February 1968 by His Excellency The Governor of Western Australia Major General Sir Douglas Kendrew KCMG CB CBE DSO This Memorial was consecrated on the 16th February 1968 by the Reverend J A Philson to the Memory of All Prisoners of War A second plaque reads: This Memorial was adopted by the Students of Mount Lawley Senior High School on 13 June 1997 Lest we Forget The Western Australian experience with Prisoners of War began with the War in South Africa during which a small number of Soldiers were taken captive. During World War I, large numbers of Soldiers were taken captive usually in small groups, mostly during raids and offensives on the Western Front. Those who died while captive are identified on the Rolls of Honour on the State Memorial and the Unit Memorials and associated nominal lists provided elsewhere on this Website. During World War II, large numbers of Soldiers were taken captive and some were released soon afterwards in the North African Desert operations, while others captured in Crete, and later during the Pacific War in Rabaul, Singapore, Java, Timor and Ambon died during captivity or were held to the War’s end. While, those Prisoners who died while captive are identified on the Rolls of Honour on the State Memorial and the Unit Memorials and associated nominal lists provided elsewhere on this Website, the lists associated with the 2/4th Machine Gun Battalion and the 2/28th Battalion also show the names of a large number of Prisoners from Western Australia who returned. The lists associated with the HMAS Perth Memorial and the No 460 Squadron RAAF Memorial also show large numbers of Prisoners of War who returned, but they were not predominantly from this State. A large number of Australian (and other allied) Prisoners of War lost their lives during transit by sea. This cause could have been arguably avoided had the protocols of the Geneva Convention LEST WE FORGET WESTERN AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIALS PRISONERS OF WAR MEMORIAL, KINGS PARK been observed whereby the voyage was advised in advance through diplomatic channels or intermediaries (Red Cross) and had the ships themselves displayed internationally recognised self- identifying signs. The loss of over 1,000 Australian lives occurred on 1 July 1942 with the sinking of the Japanese ship Montevideo Maru, which is the single worst day for the loss of Australian life during World War II. The Roll of Honour for Australian Prisoners of War lost in transit is shown below. This document is bookmarked for ease of navigation. Further information for each person shown in the list may be found on the National Archives of Australia, the Australian War Memorial, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs World War II Nominal Roll Websites.