Post by Administrator on Oct 5, 2021 16:36:05 GMT
National Memorial Arboretum
On 2 October 1942, the Lisbon Maru sank while transporting over 1,800 British prisoners of war (POWs). 828 POWs died after they were locked in the holds of the ship by their Japanese Imperial Army captors, who then shot at the men as they tried to escape.
The Lisbon Maru was a Japanese freighter requisitioned as a troop transporter which set sail, armed, from Hong Kong in late September 1942 carrying nearly 800 troops and 1,816 British POWs to be taken to Japan as slave labour.
As it had no markings to show the presence of the POWs on board, it was a legitimate target for allied attack and was torpedoed by USS Grouper on the morning of 1 October. It was holed below the waterline and the hatches were battened down on the three cargo holds where the POWs were crowded in cramped and squalid conditions.
When the POWs realised that their Japanese guards intended for them to go down with the ship, they began to plan their escape. The prisoners managed to break out of the holds just before it sank, but the Japanese troops began firing at them with rifles and machine guns as they jumped into the sea.
The intervention of local Chinese fishermen, who began to rescue men from the water, caused the Japanese to stop the killing but 828 of the prisoners died from gunshot wounds or drowning.
On Sunday, over 650 people, including descendants of the prisoners and representatives of the Armed Forces and veterans, attended a service at the Arboretum for the dedication of a new memorial commemorating those who lost their lives.
The new Lisbon Maru memorial was unveiled by Vice Admiral John McAnally CB LVO, Vice Patron of The Royal Naval Association. During the service, he said, “These men did not die in vain. Not only did the great gallantry of many individuals save the lives of their comrades but they, like all who fought in the Far East in the Second World War, contributed to development of the Japan we see today: a bastion of democracy in Asia and a country who has resumed her historic relationship of friendship with the United Kingdom”.
Earlier on Sunday, over 100 former members of The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), their families, relatives and friends gathered at the Arboretum to attend the dedication of The Royal Scots Memorial.
Afterwards, the attendees joined the dedication of the Lisbon Maru memorial to commemorate the 373 members of the 2nd Battalion The Royal Scots who had become POWs upon the surrender of Hong Kong on Christmas Day 1941 and were aboard the Lisbon Maru when it was attacked.
Of these, 181 died, were killed by their guards or drowned as a result of the sinking, and many more died as POWs as a result of their treatment, working subsequently as forced labourers in Japan in support of their war effort.
On 2 October 1942, the Lisbon Maru sank while transporting over 1,800 British prisoners of war (POWs). 828 POWs died after they were locked in the holds of the ship by their Japanese Imperial Army captors, who then shot at the men as they tried to escape.
The Lisbon Maru was a Japanese freighter requisitioned as a troop transporter which set sail, armed, from Hong Kong in late September 1942 carrying nearly 800 troops and 1,816 British POWs to be taken to Japan as slave labour.
As it had no markings to show the presence of the POWs on board, it was a legitimate target for allied attack and was torpedoed by USS Grouper on the morning of 1 October. It was holed below the waterline and the hatches were battened down on the three cargo holds where the POWs were crowded in cramped and squalid conditions.
When the POWs realised that their Japanese guards intended for them to go down with the ship, they began to plan their escape. The prisoners managed to break out of the holds just before it sank, but the Japanese troops began firing at them with rifles and machine guns as they jumped into the sea.
The intervention of local Chinese fishermen, who began to rescue men from the water, caused the Japanese to stop the killing but 828 of the prisoners died from gunshot wounds or drowning.
On Sunday, over 650 people, including descendants of the prisoners and representatives of the Armed Forces and veterans, attended a service at the Arboretum for the dedication of a new memorial commemorating those who lost their lives.
The new Lisbon Maru memorial was unveiled by Vice Admiral John McAnally CB LVO, Vice Patron of The Royal Naval Association. During the service, he said, “These men did not die in vain. Not only did the great gallantry of many individuals save the lives of their comrades but they, like all who fought in the Far East in the Second World War, contributed to development of the Japan we see today: a bastion of democracy in Asia and a country who has resumed her historic relationship of friendship with the United Kingdom”.
Earlier on Sunday, over 100 former members of The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), their families, relatives and friends gathered at the Arboretum to attend the dedication of The Royal Scots Memorial.
Afterwards, the attendees joined the dedication of the Lisbon Maru memorial to commemorate the 373 members of the 2nd Battalion The Royal Scots who had become POWs upon the surrender of Hong Kong on Christmas Day 1941 and were aboard the Lisbon Maru when it was attacked.
Of these, 181 died, were killed by their guards or drowned as a result of the sinking, and many more died as POWs as a result of their treatment, working subsequently as forced labourers in Japan in support of their war effort.