Boyup Brook's vow to never forget the WWII horrors of Sandakan

A small town in Western Australia has vowed to never forget the horrors of Sandakan, a notorious Japanese prisoner of war camp during World War II. The town of Boyup Brook, about 260km south of Perth, has a long history of commemorating the soldiers who lost their lives in the camp.

A personal connection to the tragedy

For 101-year-old June Edwards, the memories of her brother Bill Beard, who died in the Sandakan camp, are still etched in her mind. The last words she has from him are a scrawled note sent from the camp in 1945, simply stating: "Today is my birthday."

Ms Edwards said it took years for her family to discover the full extent of her brother's captivity and treatment by the Japanese.

"We had hopes of him coming back," Ms Edwards said. "But Mum said ... he'll never come back, I know from his photograph he'll never be back."

The Sandakan death marches

After the fall of Singapore in 1942, nearly 2,500 Commonwealth troops became Japan's prisoners of war on the Malay-Indonesian island Borneo. The Japanese forced more than 2,000 sick and weak prisoners to march 260 kilometres across Borneo in the final year of the war, an event that became known as the Sandakan death marches.

Those too weak or unable to continue were killed, with many of the bodies never recovered. Just six soldiers survived the horrific treatment inflicted by their captors.

A town's dedication to remembrance

Boyup Brook locals built a dedicated Sandakan war memorial in the early 1990s, one of the first in the country outside of Sydney. A service is held on the second Tuesday in September each year to remember the soldiers who lost their lives.

Late resident and former POW Ted McLaughlin wanted to pay tribute to his good mates who died in Borneo. His son, Joe McLaughlin, said his father became dedicated to ensuring those men were never forgotten.

"It took a while to find out how his mates died, and he said he must remember them," Mr McLaughlin said.

Keeping the history alive

In addition to the memorial service, the town sponsors a local student to travel to Malaysia each year, alongside historian Lyn Silver, to learn the history. Ms Silver said the horrors of Sandakan were covered up after the war and should never be forgotten.

"The number who died and the manner of death were so horrific," she said. "When this was all discovered by investigators, a conscious decision was made not to give out any details to prisoners of war's families because it was too distressing."

Ms Edwards was still brought to tears at the memory of her brother, and the cruelties he suffered. At 101, she concedes this year's service at Boyup Brook could be her last, but she was touched to see new generations learning the history of Sandakan.

"The schools come down with their choirs and all the young ones are there," she said. "They've got to hold them to let people know."