Quailey's Hill Memorial

The memorial stone.

Allan Quailey, 1920-1945

Marking the death march route

The Quailey's Hill Memorial is a memorial in the district Ranau in the Malaysian state of Sabah , which commemorates the murder of the Australian POW Allan Quailey that on 16 February 1945 during the first of the Sandakan Death Marches was murdered by Japanese soldiers.

description

The memorial is located on a hill about seven kilometers east of Sabah within the tea plantation of Sabah Tea Bhd. The site and the memorial are open to the public.

The monument is located within a tree-lined area of around 100 m², delimited by a white fence. A granite memorial stone shows the following inscription in English:

QUAILEY'S HILL
An Australian Prisoner of War, Private Allan Quailey, 2/30
Battalion AIF, Was Killed Near This Spot On 16 February
1945, While On The First Sandakan-Ranau Death March. Unable
To Go Any Further, He Was Murdered By Japanese Guards.

He Was One Of The 2,428 Australian And British Prisoners Of War
Who Died At Sandakan, Ranau Or On One Of The Three Death
Marches, 1942–1945 Aged 24 Years.

Six Australians, Who Escaped And Were Helped By Local People,
Were The Sole Survivors

LEST WE FORGET

Allan Quailey

Allan Clarence Quailey was born on November 8, 1920 in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. On August 5, 1941, he joined the Australian Imperial Force as a war volunteer and was assigned to the 2 / 30th Australian Infantry Battalion . With the 8th Division he sailed to Malaya and when Singapore fell on February 15, 1942, he and 15,000 other Australians were taken as prisoners in the Changi POW camp. In July 1942, he was among 1,500 Australians transferred to Sandakan on board the SS Yubi Maru. On January 31, 1945, he was sent with other prisoners of war as "Group 3" on the first of the three death marches.

On February 15, the group had come within twelve miles of their target in Ranau and camped out near Kampung Nalapak. They added wild tapioca, sweet potatoes, fern tips and a large melon that they had found on the way to their meager food ration. They did not know that the melon was inedible for humans because of its bitter substances. When the meal was ready, none of the group could choke down a bite. The next day, his comrades noticed that Quailey's will to survive was dead. When he reached a hill, he refused to go on; knowing full well that the Japanese guards had orders to kill anyone who could no longer keep up. Shortly afterwards, he was killed by the Japanese, who were bottom of the group.

Shortly after the end of the war, Quailey's remains were taken to the war cemetery in Labuan along with other corpses and buried there as an "unknown soldier". His identity was only clarified in 1999 and the plate with the inscription Known unto God was replaced by a personal tombstone.

History of the memorial

In 2005, the Australian historian Lynette Silver, together with local trekking expert Tham Yau Kong, tracked down the original route of the Sandakan Death Marches. In doing so, they discovered that part of the old route led through the area that is now cultivated by the Sabah Tea Plantation . Using World War II documents, they were able to identify the place where the soldier Allan Quailey was murdered in February 1945 and suggested that the place be renamed "Quailey's Hill" in his memory. The management of the tea plantation agreed to the proposal and also agreed to erect a granite-topped memorial to explain the circumstances surrounding Quailey's death.

On July 14, 2007, the memorial was inaugurated in a ceremony by Datuk Masidi Manjun (Minister for Tourism, Culture and Environment), Senator Anne McEwen (Senator for South Australia), Lynette Silver and Goh Mung Chwee (Executive Director of Sabah Tea).

POW route

The Quailey's Hill Memorial is a station on the "POW Route", on which the prisoners of war marched in the area during the three death marches. The route begins in Sandakan and ends at the "Last Camp" near Ranau. The stations of the route are marked with a sign.

literature

Lynette Ramsay Silver: Sandakan - A Conspiracy of Silence . 4th edition, Sally Milner Publishing Pty, 2011, ISBN 978-1-86351-424-8 .

Web links

Commons : Quailey's Hill Memorial - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c Lynette Silver: Annihilate Them All ; Information sheet on the memorial; 2007
^ ^A ^b Lynette Silver: Private Allan Quailey ; Accessed October 11, 2012

Remarks

↑ Translation: Quailey's Hill - An Australian prisoner of war, soldier Allan Quailey, 2/30 Battalion of the Australian Armed Forces, was killed near this place on February 16, 1945 during the first death march from Sandakan to Ranau. Unable to march further, he was murdered by the Japanese guards. He was one of the 2,428 Australian and British prisoners of war who died in Sandakan, Ranau or during one of the three death marches 1942–1945. He was 24 years old. Six Australians who escaped and who were helped by the locals were the only survivors. May we never forget

5.945479 116.780971Coordinates: 5 ° 56 ′ 43.7 " N , 116 ° 46 ′ 51.5" E

[ATA-2] Lynette Silver: Annihilate Them All ; Information sheet on the memorial; 2007

[PAQ-3] A ^b Lynette Silver: Private Allan Quailey ; Accessed October 11, 2012

[1] Translation: Quailey's Hill - An Australian prisoner of war, soldier Allan Quailey, 2/30 Battalion of the Australian Armed Forces, was killed near this place on February 16, 1945 during the first death march from Sandakan to Ranau. Unable to march further, he was murdered by the Japanese guards. He was one of the 2,428 Australian and British prisoners of war who died in Sandakan, Ranau or during one of the three death marches 1942–1945. He was 24 years old. Six Australians who escaped and who were helped by the locals were the only survivors. May we never forget