WHERE THE DEAD OF THE
THAILAND-BURMA RAILWAY LIE BURIED

PRISONERS OF WAR and LABOURERS 1942-45
See Map Below For Locations


Country
of
Origin		 Total
Numbers 		CHUNGKAI KANCHANABURI THANBYUZAYAT Total Total
Deaths
British 30,000 ± 1,384 3,568 1,588 6,540 6,540
Dutch 18,000± 313 1,896 622 2,830 2,830
Australian 13,000± - 1,362 1,348 2,710 2,710
Malayan NA 37 104 79 220 220
Indian NA 6 12 15 33 33
New Zealand NA   2 3 5 5
Canadian NA   1 1 2 2
Burmese NA   1 1 2 2
Unknown NA   35 114 149 149
American 700 + - - - remains repatriated 356
Other NA   1 1   2
SUBTOTAL 61,000 ± 1,740 6,982 3,771 12849 12,849+
Asian
labourers		 200,000         80,000+

Japanese

 15,000         1,000
TOTAL 275 000 +         94,000 +

MEMORIAL LOCATION

Following the investigation into possible memorial sites by Jim Appleby, an engineer with SMEC, in 1984, the area known now as "Hellfire Pass" was selected as the most suitable. This was because of ease of access from the main road along the Kwai Noi valley and being a significant feature in its own right.

The memorial site is located on land under the control of the Thai National Security Command and, as such, has remained virtually untouched since the railway was taken up shortly after the war.

Access to "Hellfire Pass" from Highway 323 is via the National Security Command Developmental Farm’s roads for a distance of 600 metres and thence via concrete pathways and steps for 200 metres to the original rail bed: walking northwards a distance of 300 metres will bring you to the memorial site in Konyu Cutting.


 

locations of cemetaries

Brief Description Of Conditions At Hellfire Pass

Construction of the Hellfire Pass cuttings commenced with a workforce of 400 Australian prisoners on ANZAC Day, April 25, 1943. The section was behind schedule by June and in July 1943 the labour force was supplemented with additional Australian and British prisoners to bring the workforce to 1,000 men in an attempt to complete the section on schedule.

The excavation of soil and rock to a depth of 20 metres was carried out using a minimum of mechanical equipment. The prisoners were issued with 8-pound hammers, steel tap drills, explosives, bars, picks, shovels and chunkels (a wide blade hoe). Some assistance was given by the use of an air compressor and several jack hammers. To remove the huge volume of waste rock produced, ore skips running on light narrow gauge rail tracks were provided. However, the vast hulk of material had to be removed by hand using cane baskets and rice sacks slung between two poles.

The men laboured under intense pressure from the Japanese engineers and Korean guards at the height of the wettest monsoon season for many years. Such was the brutality that 69 men were beaten to death by their guards.

As the work schedule became more critical the prisoners were forced to work 12 to 18 hour shifts each day. In fact the work went on around the clock. This was achieved by the use of oil pot lamps and bamboo/wood fires kept burning all night. When viewed from above, these fires gave the impression of working in the "jaws of hell". Hence, the PoW’s applied the name "Hellfire Pass" to this cutting.

This frenetic pace, known as "Speedo", achieved its goal with the cutting being completed in August, albiet at the cost of many lives, estimated to be about 400. Proof of this can be seen today in the large number ofheadstone plaques in the main cemetery in Kanchanahuri, showing the deaths which occurred in June-August 1943.

Other significant structures and works in this section were "Compressor Cutting", the curved trestle bridges at Hintok and another large temporary trestle bridge which came to be known as "Pack of Cards" bridge because it collapsed three times during construction.
 

 

 

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