The Far East Prisoners of War Building
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This building was opened on the 15th August 2005 - the 60th Anniversary of VJ Day. It was funded partly by the Children of the Far East Prisoners of War (COFEPOW) so that the contribution of their parents during WWII would never be forgotten. Other contributors included the Millennium Commission, the Veterans Challenge Fund and the Foyle Foundation. |
 The interior of the FEPOW building is designed to look like a Far Eastern hut |
The Memorial Building houses an exhibition which clearly unfolds the life and experiences of these prisoners. This includes archive news-reels and interviews.
Some 55,000 prisoner of war names are projected continually in alphabetical order, with a facility to highlight a particular name which is then displayed. This facility was enabled by the Birmingham branch of the Far East Prisoners of War (FEPOW) which obtained the full list from the Public Records Office.
| Beautiful stained glass windows were incoporated into the building thanks to the efforts of COFEPOW member Meg Parkes. The windows are replicas of the two made by Lt Cdr Upton RNVR for the tiny St George's Church built by the prisoners of war at Tandjong Priok, Java. The original windows were saved after the war and are now on permanent display at the Anglican Church of All Saints in Jakarta. The replicas form a fitting memorial to not only all those held at Tandjong Priok, but all those who were taken prisoner by the Japanese and held captive. There is also a large map of South East Asia on which many relevant sites can be highlighted.
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 A stained glass window in the FEPOW museum |
