Ban Tai in Amphoe Mueang Kanchanaburi, Kanchanaburi, Thailand — ประเทศไทย (Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula)

That Valiant Company Who Perished While Building the Railway

— The Kanchanaburi War Cemetery at Don Rak —

Memorial Tablet image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Jj Karwacki, July 4, 2023

1. Memorial Tablet

Inscription.
In honoured remembrance of the fortitude and sacrifice of that valiant company who perished while building the railway from Thailand to Burma during their long captivity. Those who have no known grave are commemorated by name at Rangoon, Singapore, and Hong Kong, and their comrades rest in the three war cemeteries of Kanchanaburi, Chunkai, and Thanbyuzayat.

I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD.

Topics and series. This memorial is listed in this topic list: War, World II. In addition, it is included in the The Thailand-Burma Railway series list.

Location. 14° 1.913′ N, 99° 31.548′ E. Memorial is in Ban Tai, Kanchanaburi, in Amphoe Mueang Kanchanaburi. It can be reached from Sangchuto Road (National Route 323) north of Thawornwitee Road, on the left when traveling west. It is in the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery at DonRak (สุสานทหารสัมพันธมิตรดอนรัก), inside the entrance gate, on the left. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 1939 Sangchuto Rd, Ban Tai, Kanchanaburi 71000, Thailand. Touch for directions.

Regionally, it is in Asia,

specifically in Southeast Asia,

in IndoChina,

on the Bay of Bengal,

and in the Pacific Rim.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers

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are within 3 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Kanchanaburi War Cemetery (here, next to this marker); The Kanchanaburi Memorial (a few steps from this marker); Tribute to Royal Dutch East Indies Army and the Royal Netherlands Navy Personnel Who Perished (a few steps from this marker); Memorial to Dutch Prisoners of War (about 120 meters away, measured in a direct line); The Tomb of 10,000 Souls (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Takashi Nagase (Fujiwara) (approx. 1.8 kilometers away); The JEATH War Museum (approx. 1.8 kilometers away); Thai-Anusorn (approx. 2.4 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ban Tai.

Also see . . . Commonwealth War Graves Commission page for this cemetery.

The notorious Burma-Siam railway, built by Commonwealth, Dutch and American prisoners of war, was a Japanese project driven by the need for improved communications to support the large Japanese army in Burma. During its construction, approximately 13,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway. An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 civilians also died in the course of the project, chiefly forced labour brought from Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, or conscripted in Siam (Thailand) and Burma (Myanmar).

Two labour forces, one based in Siam and the other in Burma worked from opposite ends of the line towards the centre. The Japanese aimed at completing the railway in 14 months and work began in June 1942. The two sections of
Photographed by Jj Karwacki, July 4, 2023

2. In the Gate Building, Looking Left
Behind the locked bronze door below the tablet is the Cemetery and Memorial Register of Names.
the line finally met near Konkoita towards the end of October 1943 and the completed line, 424 kilometres long, was operational by December 1943.

The graves of those who died during the construction and maintenance of the Burma-Siam railway (except for the Americans, whose remains were repatriated) were transferred from camp burial grounds and isolated sites along the railway into three cemeteries at Chungkai and Kanchanaburi in Thailand and Thanbyuzayat in Myanmar.

KANCHANABURI WAR CEMETERY is only a short distance from the site of the former 'Kanburi', the prisoner of war base camp through which most of the prisoners passed on their way to other camps. It was created by the Army Graves Service who transferred to it all graves along the southern section of railway, from Bangkok to Nieke.

Some 300 men who died (most from a Cholera epidemic in May/June 1943) at Nieke camp were cremated and their ashes now lie in two graves in the cemetery. The names of these men are inscribed on panels in the shelter pavilion.

There are now 5,085 Commonwealth casualties of the Second World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. There are also 1,896 Dutch war graves and 1 non-war grave.

Within the entrance building to the cemetery will be found the KANCHANABURI MEMORIAL, recording the names of 11 men of the army of undivided India buried
Photographed by Jj Karwacki

3. Kanchanaburi War Cemetery Entrance Gate
As you enter, this tablet is on the left.
in Muslim cemeteries in Thailand, where their graves could not be maintained.

The cemetery was designed by Colin St Clair Oakes.

(Submitted on July 15, 2023.)

Kanchanaburi War Cemetery at Don Rak<br>1939 – 1945 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by D. Manners, February 10, 2022

4. Kanchanaburi War Cemetery at Don Rak
1939 – 1945

Credits. This page was last revised on July 22, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 15, 2023, by Jj Karwacki of Tha Maka, Kanchanaburi. This page has been viewed 296 times since then and 16 times this year. Last updated on July 15, 2023, by Jj Karwacki of Tha Maka, Kanchanaburi. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 15, 2023, by Jj Karwacki of Tha Maka, Kanchanaburi. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.