Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

RANAU NUMBER 2 PRISONER OF WAR JUNGLE CAMP

THE LAST CAMP

"During 1945, more than 1000 Australian and British Prisoners of War were marched by the occupying Japanese through the jungle from Sandakan to Ranau, a distance of 250 kilometers. In June, the 189 men who had survived these death marches were concentrated in the valley below, at 'the last camp".

Conditions were appalling. Six weeks later, all but 32 were dead. Of these, seventeen were murdered on 1 August. The remaining fifteen were killed on 27 August , twelve days after the war had ended.

Another 1400 prisoners died at the main Sandakan Camp. Six Australians, including four from this camp, managed to escape and were hidden by the local people, who risked their lives to help them.

They were the sole survivors.

Beside the names of all 183 POWs who died here, it also has the story in Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and English.

Good