Majority PoWs spent first night in church
Published on: Sun, Jul 27, 2025 Text Size: AS the church of St Michael and All Angels in Sandakan is closely associated with the Allied POW story in orld War II, I read with great interest the report in Daily Express on the 'engineering marvel' of this beautiful heritage building. It was in St Michael's that, on arrival from Singapore, the majority of the Australian POWs spent the night, along with a contingent of British prisoners transferred from Jesselton some months later. The following morning, they weremarched to the camp at Mile 8 and, ultimately, to their deaths. St Michael's Church is the only surviving building, anywhere, to have any connection to the prisoners of war. It was because of this connection that in 2005 families of POWs and others donated sufficent money to install the magnificent stained glass Windows of Remembrance, in memory of the POWs and as a thanksgiving to the local people who risked, and gave, their lives to help them. The project was completed in 2008 with the unveiling of the Friendship Windows to celebrate the close ties bewtween Australia and the UK with the people of Sabah. However, what is not generally known is that the restoration of the church after World War II was initiated by St Michael's congregation as a memorial project to the Allied prisoners of war who had died at Sandakan and on the infamous death marches. In 1948 Mr H Bentham. a director of Harrison and Crosfields, visited Australia, where he made the announcement to the press. At the time of initiating the Windows Project in 2003 I was not aware of this, but it is fitting that what the parishioners began in 1948 with the restoration of the building, we finished 60 years later in 2008 with the 'crown jewels in the rainforests of Borneo', the Windows of Remembrance, which also honour the local people, shamefully neglected until then. Lynette Silver The views expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Express. If you have something to share, write to us at: [email protected]
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Majority PoWs spent first night in church
Published on: Sunday, July 27, 2025 Published on: Sun, Jul 27, 2025 Text Size: AS the church of St Michael and All Angels in Sandakan is closely associated with the Allied POW story in orld War II, I read with great interest the report in Daily Express on the 'engineering marvel' of this beautiful heritage building. It was in St Michael's that, on arrival from Singapore, the majority of the Australian POWs spent the night, along with a contingent of British prisoners transferred from Jesselton some months later. The following morning, they weremarched to the camp at Mile 8 and, ultimately, to their deaths. St Michael's Church is the only surviving building, anywhere, to have any connection to the prisoners of war. It was because of this connection that in 2005 families of POWs and others donated sufficent money to install the magnificent stained glass Windows of Remembrance, in memory of the POWs and as a thanksgiving to the local people who risked, and gave, their lives to help them. The project was completed in 2008 with the unveiling of the Friendship Windows to celebrate the close ties bewtween Australia and the UK with the people of Sabah. However, what is not generally known is that the restoration of the church after World War II was initiated by St Michael's congregation as a memorial project to the Allied prisoners of war who had died at Sandakan and on the infamous death marches. In 1948 Mr H Bentham. a director of Harrison and Crosfields, visited Australia, where he made the announcement to the press. At the time of initiating the Windows Project in 2003 I was not aware of this, but it is fitting that what the parishioners began in 1948 with the restoration of the building, we finished 60 years later in 2008 with the 'crown jewels in the rainforests of Borneo', the Windows of Remembrance, which also honour the local people, shamefully neglected until then. Lynette Silver The views expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Express. If you have something to share, write to us at: [email protected]
