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Auction: 19001 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 315

Australia Service Medal (QX7861 J. R. W. Needham), nearly extremely fine

James Richard William Needham died on 27 October 1943, whilst attached to the A.I.F. 2/26th Battalion, Australian Infantry. The son of William Francis and Frances Agnes Needham, of Cardwell, Queensland, Australia, he is buried in the Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery, Burma.

This cemetery, together with Chungkai and Kanchanaburi in Thailand, contains the graves of many of the 13,000 prisoners of war who died constructing the notorious Burma-Siam railway. Thanbyuzayat became a P.O.W. administration headquarters and base camp in September 1942, and was close to the railway marshalling yard and workshops; heavy casualties were sustained by the prisoners during Allied bombing raids from March to June 1943, following which, the prisoners were marched to camps further along the line. Thereafter, the camp was used as a reception centre for groups of prisoners arriving at frequent intervals to reinforce parties working up the line to the Burma-Siam border. Aged just 30, it is likely that Needham died whilst working as a P.O.W. on the railway; sold with copied C.W.G.C. details.


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Sold for
£230