Around 400 men under the command of Col. Knight (Norfolks) British Officer in charge and a Capt. Suki being the Japanese Officer. The Camp had a Hospital and Cemetery. After a few months more huts were built and the Camp grew to about 800 strong. It was in open jungle and also had a charcoal pit operated by POWs.

From Henry (No Surname) of Surrey

Colonel Knights took a party to Tarsao were he became the Commander of Group IV, there were five groups in total, Group II had about 11,000 men in it, the other groups were made up of similar numbers.

Tarsao was a huge H.Q. camp built in the shelter of big trees with roads which carried the supplies and the Japanese troops to Burma. The roads were always muddy and badly rutted and the trucks were always getting bogged down, during the monsoon season they could not be used.

Information from Railway of Death by John Coast

April 1943

Sketch of Operating Theatre, Tarsao

By Herbert Elsey

Lance Corporal Herbert Elsey of the Gordon Highlanders, was a patient at Tarsao Hospital twice during 1943, for Cerebral Malaria and then Tropical Ulcers.

6 May 1943

Passing through - There were big holes in culverts and bridges and little stumps to trip and fall upon all along the distance of miles and miles. It's not roads here in this country, but rough-made tracks through the Jungle; but what the POWs trip on - big holes or stumps in the road are nothing to the Thais or Nips. There were wild animals here also - tigers, etc.

Was glad to get a wash in that swift-flowing, picturesque river as it wound beneath those tall mountains.

We have caught up with some of C and D Force who pioneered this particular area, roads and buildings, campsites, etc. English, Dutch and Australian. About 70 English, some Australians, and over 100 Dutch and Javanese are buried in a rough cemetery in this area of Jungle, 75 miles from Banpong.

There were three cemeteries at Tarsao:

Cemetery 1 (plan)	St Georges
Photo shows St Luke’s Cemetery
Cemetery 2 (plan)	St Lukes	The sign reads "St Luke's Cemetery Tarsao POW Camp. Consecrated on Easter Sunday 1944 to the glory of God & the memory of the men at Tarsao." Tarsau (Tarsao).
Cemetery 3 (plan)	Cholera

Keeping The Candle Burning

In Memory of FEPOW Family Loved Ones

Who Suffered in the Far East

Thanks for all the support

Designed by Ronnie Taylor

Ronnie.Taylor@fepow.family

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