The Researching FEPOW History Group (RFHG) is pleased to confirm the VJ80 conference, 14-15 June 2025, is on! As veterans of our conferences know, we are self-financing and rely on sufficient registrations to cover the costs of the conference.
Once again, the conference is hosted by the world-renowned Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM). As well as marking the 80th anniversary of the ending of the war and the release of military and civilian survivors of Far East captivity, it is also 80 years since the start of LSTM’s link with FEPOW patients. Clinical work began in late 1945 with the first of many sick FEPOW seeking help from doctors at LSTM. This had a pivotal role to play in the work of generations of LSTM doctors and scientists over the decades, encompassing tropical medicine, scientific and diagnostic research, as well as a wide range of medical specialties from psychiatry to ENT. Latterly LSTM’s focus has shifted to recording the medical history of what has been a unique collaboration between doctors, scientists, and patients, and to supporting the families of FEPOW wishing to understand this history.
In 2025 it will also be 20 years since the RFHG conferences were inaugurated. We are proud that over the years we have brought together almost 1,000 delegates and speakers from around the world to share the history of Far East captivity during WWII. The majority of delegates are personally related to this history and, as well as seeking to understand, have so much to share with the academics, curators, archivists, researchers and authors who attend each conference.
Over the years RFHG has highlighted many of the themes of captivity and its aftermath, inviting both UK-based and international experts in FEPOW research to share this still little-known aspect of WWII history.
This year’s conference is looking at aspects of trans-generational trauma, forgotten experiences, medicine, creativity in captivity and remembrance and reconciliation. There are still places left, do join us! For more information about the speakers and how to register visit – fepowhistory.wordpress.com
