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The Labuan Memorial was primarily intended to commemorate the officers and men of the Australian Army and Air Force who died while prisoners of war in Borneo and the Philippines from 1942 to 1945 and during the 1945 operations for the recovery of Borneo, and have no known grave. Subsequently it was found that a number of men belonging to the local forces of North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei who were killed on war service also have no known grave, and they too are honoured here. Men of the Royal Australian Navy who lost their lives in the south-western Pacific region, and have no grave but the sea, are commemorated on Plymouth Naval Memorial in England, along with many of their comrades of the Royal Navy and of other Commonwealth Naval Forces. This memorial consists of a colonnade forming a forecourt immediately inside the wrought iron gates of the main entrance to the cemetery. On the inner faces of the pillars are bronze panels on which are engraved the names of those whom it honours and the dedicatory inscription is on the frieze facing the entrance. Some of those whose names appear on the memorial are undoubtedly buried in unidentified graves in this cemetery.
The Labuan Memorial stands in Labuan War Cemetery which is on the small island of Labuan (part of Sabah, Malaysia) in Brunei Bay, off the coast of north-west Borneo. The island is best reached by air from Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital, from where there are daily flights. There are also flights from Singapore and Manila. The Cemetery lies on the right side of the Jalan Tanjong Batu road, which leads from the airport to the town. It is approximately 0.5 kilometres from the airport and about 3 kilometres from the island's town of Victoria. The Labuan Memorial was primarily intended to commemorate the officers and men of the Australian Army and Air Force who died while prisoners of war in Borneo and the Philippines from 1942 to 1945, and during the 1945 operations for the recovery of Borneo, and who have no known grave. Subsequently, it was found that a number of men belonging to the local forces of North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei who were killed on war service also have no known grave, and they, too, are honoured here. Men of the Royal Australian Navy who lost their lives in the south-western Pacific region, and have no grave but the sea, are commemorated on Plymouth Naval Memorial in England, along with many of their comrades of the Royal Navy and of other Commonwealth Naval Forces. The Memorial consists of a colonnade forming a forecourt immediately inside the wrought iron gates of the main entrance to the cemetery. On the inner faces of the pillars are bronze panels on which are engraved the names of those whom it honours, and the dedicatory inscription given below is on the frieze facing the entrance:
HEREON ARE RECORDED THE NAMES OF OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS WHO DIED WITHIN AND AROUND BORNEO DURING THE 1939-1945 WAR AND WHOSE GRAVES ARE KNOWN ONLY UNTO GOD.
Wheelchair access to the cemetery with some difficulty. For further information regarding wheelchair access, please contact our Enquiries Section on telephone number 01628 507200.
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