HMS Tamar crew refurbish and rededicate memorial to British WWII prisoners of war
HMS Tamar crew have refurbished and rededicated a memorial to British Second World War prisoners of war on a remote island in the Pacific Ocean.
80 years ago, 517 Royal Artillery gunners were captured during the fall of Singapore, and were taken to the tiny Island of Ballalae – one of the 992 that make up the Solomon Islands – to construct an airfield the Japanese dubbed an 'unsinkable aircraft carrier'.
Armed Forces Minister James Heappey paid tribute to the crew of the Royal Navy vessel, he said: "An extraordinary story from WW2. BZ to crew of HMS Tamar for your work in refurbishing & restoring memorial monument."
Mr Heappey added: "Just another example of great work the Op Woodall ships are doing during their permanent deployment to Indo-Pacific. Developing our relationships across region."
In June, HMS Tamar visited the Australian city of Darwin after the successful completion of her first deployment in the Indo-Asia Pacific region.
The vessel was in the region as part of Britain's permanent naval presence.
She visited the northern territory briefly for crew rotation, before continuing her permanent deployment in the region.
Over the course of their five-year deployment, HMS Tamar and sister ship HMS Spey, who reunited at the start of this month, plan to work with allies and partners across the region and to visit countries including Australia, Japan, Fiji and Singapore.
The story behind the memorial
HMS Tamar produced a thread which you can see below, which gives the story behind the memorial on the tiny Island of Ballalae.
Related topics
Join Our Newsletter
