| Chungkai War Cemetery | |
|---|---|
 War graves cemetery | |
 | |
| Details | |
| Location | |
| Country | Thailand |
| Coordinates | 14°00′19″N99°30′53″E / 14.0052°N 99.5146°E /14.0052; 99.5146 |
| Type | Military Cemetery |
| Owned by | Commonwealth War Graves Commission |
| No. of graves | 1,692[1] |
| Find a Grave | Chungkai War Cemetery |
Chungkai War Cemetery, also known asChung Kai War Cemetery, is a war cemetery inTha Ma Kham nearKanchanaburi,Thailand. Established in the 1950s, the cemetery hosts the graves of 1,426 British and 313 Dutch prisoners of war who died duringWorld War II.[1] It was originally aprisoner of war camp on theBurma Railway.
The cemetery at Chungkai hosts the graves of 1,426 British and 313 Dutch servicemen who died during World War II.[2] The majority of the interred died building the sections of the nearbyBurma Railway. The cemetery is built on the site of a prisoner of war camp used by the Japanese army to house Allied POWs during the conflict.[3][4]
In 1946, it was decided to re-bury the Burma Railway deaths which were buried in many graveyards along the line in three large cemeteries. The current Chungkai cemetery is an extension of the existing camp cemetery.[5] American POWs were repatriated back to the United States.[6] The status of the Australian soldiers is unclear. One source describes Australians being buried at the cemetery,[7] while another states no Australians are buried there.[8] or that it only contains several non-military Australian prisoners.[9] The cemetery was designed byColin St Clair Oakes.[10][1]
Chungkai (also: Thai No.2 Camp[11]) was founded as a prisoner of war work camp. It was located 57 kilometres from the beginning of the line,[12] at the edge of the jungle near theMae Klong River.[13] The first prisoners arrived in October 1942,[14] and were tasked to work on thebridges atTamarkan and the section up to Wun Lun,[14] at kilometre 68.[15] One of the tasks was the Chungkai cutting, arailway cutting through solid rock.[13] In November 1942, a hospital was constructed at Chungkai.[9] Chungkai was considered one of the best camps with sufficient food.[14] The camp and hospital closed in June 1945. The hospital had treated 19,975 patients during its existence.[9]
