National Memorial Church of
Far East Prisoners Of War (FEPOW)

FEPOW Memorial Service 2026

Arrangements are in place for the ecumenical FEPOW Memorial service on
Sunday 17th May 2026 @ 12:30pm.

No invitation needed. ALL are welcome.

Teas and Coffees available in the Meeting room beforehand.
Light Refreshments are available in the Hall opposite afterwards.

All enquiries about the memorial service
contact Peter Wiseman via email fepow@wymondhamrcchurch.org.uk or telephone 01953604144

Special moments from 2025 service

Report on the Service

A FEPOW Christmas in captivity Thailand 1942

After the Annual FEPOW service on 11th May 2025, a FEPOW’s much treasured keepsake of his captivity in WWII was presented to Fr Denis by Jane Flower, FEPOW historian. The single sheet of old-fashioned writing paper was dated 25th December 1942 and was a carol hymn sheet. On the back it has 30 signatures, all choir members. It would mean certain death if found! It had been scrunched up in a tiny ball and survived 3½ years secreted away in the heat and humidity of the Far East, and treasured by its owner until he died in freedom. In 2022 his widow gave it to Jane to find it a home. After conservation the restorer gifted it to the FEPOW Church. Fr Denis accepted this important symbol of faith and hope in adversity and pledged its safe keeping. A copy is displayed in the FEPOW side chapel. Click here for how it came into our custodianship.

Fr M L Cowin & Christian Japanese Doctor ca 1943

Chungkai Chapel also ca 1943: sketch by unknown Dutch RC FEPOW

LIVESTREAMING:

The service will be Livestreamed. Anyone unable to attend in person can join us virtually. The Live stream is available at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmPstVjBimy3N0oC3Zmln8g/videos?vie fepow@wymondhamrcchurch.org.ukw=57.

Peter Wiseman is still available for other queries about the Books of Remembrance, visits and other FEPOW information at fepow@wymondhamrcchurch.org.uk

It is not a requirement to have a FEPOW/Internee family connection to attend; just an opportunity to REMEMBER those lost to the ravages of the war in the Far East of WWII.

The National Archives lists 56½ thousand British & Commonwealth names of POWs in the Far East. Perhaps you know of someone or have a relative listed? We have some 35,000 names in our Books of Remembrance, so we are missing a few. Can you help us to add any more, or can we help you? Come and see! Help keep their memory alive. Make a connection.

We will be delighted to see you.

Previous FEPOW services

Previous FEPOW memorial service is available to view

2021 - http://www.wymondhamrcchurch.org.uk/fepow-2021
2022 -http://www.wymondhamrcchurch.org.uk/fepow-2022
2023 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVgvpJ5xds8
2024 -http://www.wymondhamrcchurch.org.uk/fepow-2024

FEPOW Prayer

And we that are left grow old with the years
Remembering the heartache, the pain and the tears,
Hoping and praying that never again
will Man sink to such sorrow and shame.
The price that was paid we will always remember:
Every day, Every month; Not just November.
We will remember them.

Click here to listen to this Prayer along with “The last Post” and “Reveille”

The Kohima Epitaph

When you go home, tell them of us and say,
For your tomorrow, we gave our today.
We Will Remember Them

ABOUT THE CHURCH

The FEPOW Memorial Church was built by Fr. Malcolm Cowin in 1952 to the design of Donovan Purcell, as a permanent memorial to those who suffered as prisoners of war and internees of the Japanese during World War II, and is the only church of its kind in the world.
The church acts as a ‘Living Memorial’, and a Roman Catholic Parish church. It is unique in being the only church dedicated to the memory of FEPOW and Civilian Internees of all Faiths and Nationalities who died in the Japanese POW and Internment Camps of WWII.

Opening Hours

MEMORIAL SERVICE

An annual memorial service for surviving FEPOW internees and their families is held in May of each year. All are welcome to join us. A small committee oversees the management of the service. Specific information about the service may be obtained from the Archivist.

Visits at other times can be arranged via the Parish Office or the Archivist, Peter Wiseman BA Hons (Honorary Archivist) February 2016

Visit the FEPOW JAVA website, for more resources.

DATABASE & ARCHIVE

We hold a computerised database of the 25,000 original names. An additional 6000 FEPOW (unlisted) who died before cessation of hostilities on 2nd September 1945 have been added. It was further extended to record names of FEPOW who survived the camps but have died in freedom.

The database is not available for public access but is searchable by the archivist on request.

Among the Armed Forces listed in the books are British Air, Sea and Land Forces and Regiments.
Also included are:

Merchant Navy
Overseas Volunteer Forces
Commonwealth Forces
Indian Army
Dutch Military

We also hold some records on civilians and some civilian internees; unfortunately little detailed information has survived for the civilians mentioned.

Details of Service Personnel generally include the following:

Service Number
Rank
Surname
Initials (some Forenames appear in full)
Regiment &/or Unit

Some details are missing for some names.
Only a few Camps are mentioned in the database.
Names that are already entered, can have the details corrected if they are incorrect.

Viewing / searching the Books

The Books can be seen in the cabinet when visiting – a page is always open.
NB. To view/search a specific name an appointment has to be made before visiting to avoid disappointment.

Visits at other times can be arranged by contacting the Parish Office or the Archivist. Suitable arrangements can then be made for your visit, and additional information given.

Adding names to the Books

To be added to the Books, names must fit at least one of the criteria, below:

The person who died was held captive in the Japanese POW/ Internment Camps (there were over 600) or Prison-‘Hellships’ during WWII.

The person survived captivity and the hostilities as FEPOW/Internee, and died in freedom post-war from 2nd September 1945.

The intention of this criteria is specific; however, it is apparent that some of the names are now known to have been Killed in Action. We aim to abide by the original criteria of FEPOW or Internee for inclusion. This criteria applies equally to Civilian Internees including children and those born in internment. To ensure a correct entry we need as much detail as possible. Ideally, Service Number; Rank; Surname, Forenames or Initials and Regiment. For civilians we require places of employment. Local Defence Forces details may also be helpful as well as Camp names and approximate dates of imprisonment/ internment if known.

Original entries:

We cannot alter the handwritten Books on display. However, as these names have been transferred to an electronic database, amendments can be made to incomplete records there.

Sources:

The original list was compiled in the 1950s, but no information about where the names were obtained from survives, but relatives, casualty lists, and any organisation that held relevant details were approached before inception of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

The information we hold is entirely dependent on information provided (by relatives, friends, ex-comrades or veterans newsletters which may not always be correct. We do not have the resources to substantiate names submitted for inclusion, but we will assist where we can from the knowledge and published books we have acquired..

Please note: We are not, and have never been part of any military or governmental organisation. Neither do we receive information from any official source.

Lest we Forget
May their honoured memory live on in our hearts

Donations

The Far Eastern Prisoners of War (FEPOW) Memorial Church was paid for largely by public subscription through appeals, parish fund raising and relatives’ donations.

A formal fee for checking/entering names is not demanded for this facility. To help maintain the work of this important Memorial Church all donations to the church are welcome. If the donor is a UK taxpayer the donation can be gift-aided: HMRC requires a special gift aid envelope to be used. This is available on request.

Donations can be made by

Cheque - made payable to: Wymondham Roman Catholic Church
Online - by Dona at https://donate.mydona.com/wymondham-rc-church

Guided Visits

Visitors are most welcome. The FEPOW Memorial Shrine is a side-Chapel within the church to the memory of FEPOW. It houses a cabinet displaying three Books of Remembrance with names of FEPOW who died in Japanese captivity. A second cabinet houses some New Books of Remembrance. These augment FEPOW who died but were not listed in the original Books, and one volume contains the names of FEPOW Survivors who have died since their release from captivity. There are also other FEPOW artefacts.

Special Entry Certificate

A copy page of a FEPOW’s Entry in the Book of Remembrance is now available on request for a fee of £20 .
Please contact the Archivist via the email below, to obtain a copy.

Useful Links

There are many sources of help & information available. Here are a few

Web links to other useful FEPOW Resources

JAVA Club - http://www.thejavafepowclub42.org/

NFFWRA National Fellowship of FEPOW Remembrance Association - https://nationalfepowfellowship.org.uk/

CoFEPOW –Children of FEPOW - https://www.cofepow.org.uk/

Taiwan POW Memorial Association - http://www.powtaiwan.org/

For Overseas Volunteer Forces

MVG Malayan Volunteers Group https://www.malayanvolunteersgroup.org.uk/

FEPOW Community https://www.fepow-community.org.uk

There are many more…

Contacts

Archivist
Peter Wiseman

Tel: 01953 604144
Email: phandtmwiseman@gmail.com

General Enquiries

Email: FEPOW@wymondhamrcchurch.org.uk

National Memorial Church ofFar East Prisoners Of War (FEPOW)