Thanbyuzayat Cemetery

One man from HMS Prince of Wales and two men from HMS Repulse, are buried here

Click on any picture for a larger view

STANLEY ARNOLD FORSTER
Able Seaman HMS Prince of Wales

Stanley's memorial page

FREDERIC JEANE SCOTT
Stoker 1st Class HMS Repulse

Frederic's memorial page

WILLIAM ROBERT WARNER
Able Seaman HMS Repulse

William's memorial page

Wider view of Stanley's grave

Wider view of Frederic's grave

Wider view of William's grave

(In the wider views, their grave markers are the ones in the middle, with the bunch of orchids on top)

As can be seen, the graves are kept neat and tidy, and with great respect for those buried there.

These pictures were kindly provided by Maurie Drew and his associates:

I take great pleasure in attaching .jpg files of photos of the three men you mentioned. There is a close up of each headstone and a wider view of the particular section in which the headstone is located.
A team of Yangon residents associated with the association formed to support a local museum initiative (see the link on the Burma Star page) returned last night after a three day expedition on some of the roughest roads in this country. They were taken on Saturday November 30th 2002 at about 11.00 am temp 38 C.
I would be very pleased to help out in any other way if you care to ask.
We placed a small bouquet of orchids on each of the headstones we were asked to photograph. The least we could do.

Maurie Drew of The Burma-Thailand Railway Memorial Association
General Manager
Focus Energy Ltd
Focus House
Mya Yeik Nyo Royal Estate
20 Pale Street
Bahan Tshp
Yangon, Union of Myanmar

Thanks for their help with arranging this should also go to: 

Tom Lipscombe of the HMS Fiji Association

Paul Loseby of the Burma Star Association

Please contact Andy (webmaster) with any information about these men.

Andy Wade (Webmaster)

Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery

The village of Thanbyuzayat is 65 kilometres from Moulmein, and the war cemetery lies at the foot of the hills which separate the Union of Myanmar from Thailand. At present the only way in which the cemetery may be visited is by train. This is a long and uncomfortable journey and three days should be allocated. Only those in good health should attempt the journey. Prior permission is needed to travel to the cemetery, which is close to areas of unrest. Enquiries about the possibility of obtaining permission to visit the cemetery should be made to the nearest Union of Myanmar (Burmese) Embassy, or a Commonwealth Embassy in Yangon (Rangoon).

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 October 1942. The line, 424 kilometres long, was completed 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. Thanbyuzayat became a prisoner of war administration headquarters and base camp in September 1942 and in January 1943 a base hospital was organised for the sick. The camp was close to a railway marshalling yard and workshops, and heavy casualties were sustained among the prisoners during Allied bombing raids in March and June 1943. The camp was then evacuated and the prisoners, including the sick, were marched to camps further along the line where camp hospitals were set up. For some time, however, Thanbyuzayat continued to be used as a reception centre for the groups of prisoners arriving at frequent intervals to reinforce the parties working on the line up to the Burma-Siam border. Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery was created by the Army Graves Service who transferred to it all graves along the northern section of the railway, between Moulmein and Nieke. There are now 3,149 Commonwealth and 621 Dutch burials of the Second World war in the cemetery.