Funding appeal now launched
Repatriation Memorial has to be replaced - please support
Twelve years after it was unveiled, the FEPOW and Civilian Internee Repatriation Memorial on Liverpool’s Pier Head, one of the newer of the post-WWII memorials, is in urgent need of replacement due to severe weathering.The Researching Far East Prisoner of War (FEPOW) History Group, (RFHG) established the memorial after a national fundraising campaign in 2010-11.
The RFHG is working in partnership with COFEPOW, MVG, Birmingham FEPOW Association, Java Club, NFFWRA - all FEPOW groups in the UK which represent the descendants of FEPOWs and internees held captive under the Japanese during WWII.
The appeal has so far raised £4,500. A further £2,000 is needed. Can you help?
The RFHG established the memorial in Liverpool (two years later a similar memorial was unveiled in Southampton). Over time regrettably, it has become apparent that the type of granite recommended was not suitable, as rain and seawater caused irreversible staining to the stone. It was not resistant to rain and sea spray and has been permanently affected by discolouration. In addition, over the years, in such an exposed position, the black lettering has degraded and severe weather over the past decade has left much of it difficult to read. Fast action to replace the memorial is now needed.
The existing granite memorial has a central text, dedicated both to the memory of thousands of Far-East prisoners of war and civilian internees who returned through the port of Liverpool during the autumn of 1945, and those who did not survive captivity. Either side of the dedication are the names of ships that docked at the Princes Landing Stage between 8th October and the end of December that year.
The RFHG will replace the memorial with a bronze plaque bearing the same inscription and ships’ lists. The appeal will launch on 8th October, 78 years to the day that the first ship back to Liverpool from the Far-East, M.V. Monowai, docked.
For details about the appeal and how to make online donations, please visit: https://fepowhistory.com/
Alternatively, cheques should be made payable to ‘Researching FEPOW History’, (please write ‘Repatriation Memorial Appeal’ on the reverse) and send to Mike Parkes,
83 Saughall Massie Lane, Upton, Wirral CH49 6LZ.
For further information and photographs, please contact Meg Parkes at meg.parkes@lstmed.ac.uk
