Far East prisoners of war is a term used in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

to describe former British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

held in the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The t ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. The term is also used as the

initialism An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

FEPOW, or as the

abbreviation An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

Far East POWs.

Compensation scheme

Since 2000, following a campaign led by the

Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in ...

, former Far East POWs are eligible for UK Government compensation for their suffering in POW and internment camps operated by the Japanese during the War. Compensation may be payable to any member of all British Groups imprisoned by the Japanese in the Second World War. It is therefore available to British civilians and merchant seamen as well as members of British and Commonwealth forces. An amendment of the scheme in 2002 extended compensation to former Gurkha soldiers. An application may be made by either a former POW or their family or estate. A successful FEPOW applicant is entitled to an '' ex gratia'' payment of £10,000. The scheme is currently administered by the

Veterans Agency The Veterans Agency was an Executive Agency of the UK government's Ministry of Defence (MoD). It was amalgamated into the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA) on 2 April 2007 under the brand ''Veterans-UK''. It was formerly known as th ...

Clubs and organisations

The Far East Prisoners of War Memorial Building, National Memorial Arboretum - geograph

The National Federation of Far East Prisoner of War Clubs and Associations (NFFCA) acts as an umbrella organisation for over 60 autonomous FEPOW Clubs and Associations in the UK. Th
FEPOW Community
has been set up to research loved ones who suffered under Japanese captivity during World War II. It does incorporate a free group, with its members helping each other in research. The Roll-of-Honour
Roll of Honour
has every death of service personnel and civilians mentioned in the site, most having a page of their own. The Far Eastern Heroes
Far Eastern Heroes
covers stories from the FEPOWs themselves, with a special page which promote
FEPOW Day
as 15 August, the day Japan surrendered. Children and Families of the Far East Prisoners of War (COFEPOW) was founded in 1997 by Carol Cooper in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

after a chance reading of a newspaper article about the discovery of a diary of a soldier who had died working on the Burma Railway. It emerged that the soldier was her father. In 1999 it became a registered charity. Today it comprises a membership of children and siblings of those who died as POWs and campaigns to raise awareness, raises funds for the creation of memorials both in the UK and the Far East, and offers resources for research. In 2005, it established the Far East Prisoners of War Memorial Building at the National Memorial Arboretum in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands C ...

, England. Within the building an exhibition tells the story of those captured by the Japanese during the Second World War. In the same area of the Arboretum are memorials for those prisoners of war who suffered and died building the Burma and

Sumatra Railway The Muarakalaban–Muaro–Pekanbaru railway is an inactive railway section in Sumatra, Indonesia. It was a railway project of two parties in two different times, '' Staatsspoorwegen ter Sumatra's Westkust'' in the Dutch East Indies era and ''Ri ...

s. See Inside and explore the Museu
here

FEPOW War Artists

Life in the POW camps was recorded at great risk to themselves by artists such as Jack Bridger Chalker, Philip Meninsky, Ashley George Old and

Ronald Searle Ronald William Fordham Searle, CBE, RDI (3 March 1920 – 30 December 2011) was an English artist and satirical cartoonist, comics artist, sculptor, medal designer and illustrator. He is perhaps best remembered as the creator of St Trinian's S ...

. Human hair was often used for brushes, plant juices and blood for paint, and toilet paper as the "canvas". Some of their works were used as evidence in the trials of Japanese war criminals. The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine undertook a study of British Far East POW medical art subsequent to a FEPOW oral history. An exhibition 'Secret Art of Survival - Creativity and ingenuity of British Far East prisoners of war, 1942 - 1945' was held at Victoria Gallery and Museum,

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

from 25 October 2019 - 20 June 2020.

FEPOW Memorial Church

Wymondham Catholic Church and FEPOW memorial - geograph

Our Lady & St Thomas of Canterbury in Wymondham,

, England was completed in 1952 on the initiative of Father Malcolm Cowin - former Roman Catholic

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intelligence ...

to the

2nd Cambridgeshire Regiment The Cambridgeshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, and was part of the Territorial Army. Originating in units of rifle volunteers formed in 1860, the regiment served in the Second Anglo-Boer War and the First and Second W ...

and who himself had spent 3½ years in Japanese POW camps. The site and a fund to build the church had been provided by Irish labours and

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

personnel in the area. While a prisoner he helped construct three chapels in different camps and determined that on his return to the UK he would build a church in memory of those who died in Japanese POW and internment camps. It serves as a parish church for the local Roman Catholic community as well as a focal point for the wider FEPOW community. There is a FEPOW shrine and an annual FEPOW memorial service held on the nearest Sunday to 14 May the anniversary of the relief of Rangoon.

Wisbech FEPOW Memorial

St Peter and St Paul's Church, Wisbech The Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul or St Peter's Church, Wisbech, is an Anglican church in the market town and Port of Wisbech, the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. It is an active parish church in the Diocese of Ely. The church was ...

contains a FEPOW memorial dedicated to those who lost their lives in the Far East. Designed by Brian Krill the memorial is in the style of a bamboo prisoner of war hut. An exhibition to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Singapore campaign was held February to April, 2022 in the nearby Wisbech & Fenland Museum.

References

{{Reflist

External links

The FEPOW Community is for those researching ''Far East Prisoners of War''

Far Eastern Heroes are stories by ''Far East Prisoners of War''

Roll of Honour for ''Far East Prisoners of War''

FEPOW memorial church

A FEPOW research site

A Java FEPOW veterans club
Aftermath of World War II in the United Kingdom British military memorials and cemeteries Military units and formations of the United Kingdom in World War II Monuments and memorials South-East Asian theatre of World War II Veterans' affairs in the United Kingdom World War II prisoners of war held by Japan