Royal Navy: HMS Tamar sailors restore WW2 memorial honouring British prisoners of war executed by Japanese

The crew of Portsmouth-based HMS Tamar have brought the weather-beaten monument on the tiny island of Balalae, in the Solomon Islands chain, back to life. It honoured 57 British Army gunners, with their names now being rededicated.

In total, 517 Royal Artillerymen were brought to the island in November 1942, a year on from the fall of Singapore. They were captured by Japanese forces and were demanded to hack down trees and clear an airstrip – dubbed as an ‘unsinkable aircraft carrier’.

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Held against their will, they were forced to support the defence of the island chain during bitter fighting. Prisoners of war died from exhaustion and tropical disease during forced labour.

Some were killed by Allied bombs when the island was assaulted, with their captors forbidding them from building trenches to shelter themselves. By 1943, just 57 prisoners were left on the islands.

With Allied forces liberating many of the Solomon Islands, Japanese commanders on Balalae thought they would be next. They ordered the executions of the remaining prisoners.

The island was not liberated until 1945, with troops finding the murdered remains of the prisoners of war in shallow trenches. A mass grave containing the bodies of another 436 artillerymen were then discovered.

They were re-interred in separate graves at the Bomama War Cemetery near Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, their headstones marked only with the words: Here lies a Soldier, known only to God. The murdered 57 were honoured when three relatives made a pilgrimage to Balalae in 2003.

A dedicated memorial was constructed with a plaque donated by the Royal Artillery Association on the airfield. It does not receive regular maintenance, as it is not a registered Commonwealth War Grave. Balalae is now uninhabited.

British High Commissioner to the Solomon Islands Tom Coward is keen to ensure the memorial is maintained. HMS Tamar is on the latest leg of her five-year Asia-Pacific patrol, and given it’s the 80th anniversary of the tragedy, the crew began work to restore the memorial.

Sailors removed 16 years worth of rust and tropical grime – as it was rebuilt after it was ruined by weather damage – returning it to its former glory. HMS Tamar’s Commanding Officer, Commander Teilo Elliot-Smith, said: “Balalae is – simultaneously – the site of a horrific chapter of World War Two, in the most inhospitable of places, and now a peaceful and idyllic island.

"Our sailors were eager to pay their respects and did so beautifully.” A service of re-dedication was held to remember the soldiers who had died on the island.

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This was lead by the ship’s chaplain Reverand Mick Uffindell, with sailors, Mr Coward and local island chiefs joining him for the commemoration. “It was an incredible privilege to be able to pay tribute to these servicemen and their families,” Rev Uffindell said.

"In addition to restoring the memorial we placed 517 white stones, one for each individual who lost their life on Ballalae Island.” HMS Tamar is permanently deployed alongside her sister ship, HMS Spey, in the Indo-Pacific region.

Her task is to support the British High Commission, strengthening the UK’s civil and military ties with the Solomon Islands.