National Memorial Church of
Far East Prisoners Of War (FEPOW)

Special moments from this year’s service

Report from this year’s service (and epilogue) click here and for the speaker’s address, Jane Flower, click here

LIVESTREAMING:

The service will be Livestreamed. Anyone unable to attend in person can join us virtually.  The Live stream is available at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmPstVjBimy3N0oC3Zmln8g/videos?vie fepow@wymondhamrcchurch.org.ukw=57. 

 Peter Wiseman is still available for other queries about the Books of Remembrance, visits and other FEPOW information at fepow@wymondhamrcchurch.org.uk

It is not a requirement to have a FEPOW/Internee family connection to attend; just an opportunity to REMEMBER those lost to the ravages of the war in the Far East of WWII.

The National Archives lists 56½ thousand British & Commonwealth names of POWs in the Far East. Perhaps you know of someone or have a relative listed? We have some 35,000 names in our Books of Remembrance, so we are missing a few. Can you help us to add any more, or can we help you? Come and see! Help keep their memory alive. Make a connection.

We will be delighted to see you.

Previous FEPOW services

Previous FEPOW memorial service is available to view

2021 - http://www.wymondhamrcchurch.org.uk/fepow-2021
2022 -http://www.wymondhamrcchurch.org.uk/fepow-2022
2023 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVgvpJ5xds8

FEPOW Prayer

And we that are left grow old with the years
Remembering the heartache, the pain and the tears,
Hoping and praying that never again
 will Man sink to such sorrow and shame.
The price that was paid we will always remember:
Every day, Every month; Not just November.
We will remember them.

Click here to listen to this Prayer along with “The last Post” and “Reveille”

The Kohima Epitaph

When you go home, tell them of us and say,
For your tomorrow, we gave our today.
We Will Remember Them

ABOUT THE CHURCH

The FEPOW Memorial Church was built by Fr. Malcolm Cowin in 1952 to the design of Donovan Purcell, as a permanent memorial to those who suffered as prisoners of war and internees of the Japanese during World War II, and is the only church of its kind in the world.
The church acts as a ‘Living Memorial’, and a Roman Catholic Parish church. It is unique in being the only church dedicated to the memory of FEPOW and Civilian Internees of all Faiths and Nationalities who died in the Japanese POW and Internment Camps of WWII. 

MEMORIAL SERVICE

An annual memorial service for surviving FEPOW internees and their families is held in May of each year. All are welcome to join us. A small committee oversees the management of the service. Specific information about the service may be obtained from the Archivist. 

Visits at other times can be arranged via the Parish Office or the Archivist, Peter Wiseman BA Hons (Honorary Archivist) February 2016

Visit the FEPOW JAVA website, for more resources.

We hold a computerised database of the 25,000 original names. An additional 6000 FEPOW (unlisted) who died before cessation of hostilities on 2nd September 1945 have been added. It was further extended to record names of FEPOW who survived the camps but have died in freedom. 

The database is not available for public access but is searchable by the archivist on request. 

Viewing / searching the Books

The Books can be seen in the cabinet when visiting – a page is always open.
NB. To view/search a specific name an appointment has to be made before visiting to avoid disappointment. 

Visits at other times can be arranged by contacting the Parish Office or the Archivist. Suitable arrangements can then be made for your visit, and additional information given. 

Adding names to the Books

To be added to the Books, names must fit at least one of the criteria, below:

The intention of this criteria is specific; however, it is apparent that some of the names are now known to have been Killed in Action.  We aim to abide by the original criteria of FEPOW or Internee for inclusion. This criteria applies equally to Civilian Internees including children and those born in internment. To ensure a correct entry we need as much detail as possible. Ideally, Service Number; Rank; Surname, Forenames or Initials and Regiment. For civilians we require places of employment. Local Defence Forces details may also be helpful as well as Camp names and approximate dates of imprisonment/ internment if known. 

Sources:

The original list was compiled in the 1950s, but no information about where the names were obtained from survives, but relatives, casualty lists, and any organisation that held relevant details were approached before inception of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Donations

The Far Eastern Prisoners of War (FEPOW) Memorial Church was paid for largely by public subscription through appeals, parish fund raising and relatives’ donations.

A formal fee for checking/entering names is not demanded for this facility. To help maintain the work of this important Memorial Church all donations to the church are welcome.  If the donor is a UK taxpayer the donation can be gift-aided: HMRC requires a special gift aid envelope to be used. This is available on request.

Donations can be made by

Cheque - made payable to: Wymondham Roman Catholic Church
Online - by Dona at https://donate.mydona.com/wymondham-rc-church

Useful Links

There are many sources of help & information available.  Here are a few

Web links to other useful FEPOW Resources

JAVA Club - http://www.thejavafepowclub42.org/

NFFWRA National Fellowship of FEPOW Remembrance Association - https://nationalfepowfellowship.org.uk/

CoFEPOW –Children of FEPOW - https://www.cofepow.org.uk/

Taiwan POW Memorial Association - http://www.powtaiwan.org/

For Overseas Volunteer Forces

MVG Malayan Volunteers Group https://www.malayanvolunteersgroup.org.uk/

FEPOW Community https://www.fepow-community.org.uk

There are many more…

Contacts

General Enquiries

Email: FEPOW@wymondhamrcchurch.org.uk