Taiping War Cemetery 1 Jun 2016

The Taiping War Cemetery is actually on the way we went to the Taiping Zoo and Night Safari and the Bukit Larut.

We can see clearly see two lush fields lined with neatly-organized grave align themselves at opposite sides of the road.

It did give a feeling or sense of serene and peaceful here to whom ever is passing by this area.

This Taiping War Cemetery, was erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission sometime after the War.

During the Japanese Invasion, many soldiers from British and Gurkha regiments perished during a short but intense battle, culminating in a hasty retreat to Singapore.

When the war was over, a British major and his team were tasked with collecting the various dead buried across the country in forests and villages.

With the help of Aborigines (Orang Asli), about 900 soldiers were located and exhumed from their burial plots to be interred here.

Among the dead were soldiers of British, Australian, Scottish, Chinese, Malay and Gurkha origins. The graveyard is only one of two such memorial graves in Malaysia, the other being in Labuan (Borneo).

There are separate entrances to the two parts, the plots of Christian graves lying on the south-eastern side of the road and the Muslim and Gurkha graves on the opposite side.

In the Muslim and Gurkha section the Stone of Remembrance stands in front of a high bank which forms the north-western boundary.

The two small shelters in the cemetery have been constructed of local stone, and a low stone wall flanks the road on each side.

There are now 864, 1939-1945 war Commonwealth casualties and 1 Dutch casualty commemorated in this site, more than 500 of whom are unidentified.

We walked into the Christian graves and snap a few photos.

I can not imagine the family behind those soldiers whom were sacrificed in this cruel war back their homeland and waiting for their sons to return home. It must be heartbreaking. I did notice from the date stated on the tombstones, most of them were young, really young at their early 20s.

This was our last destinations of the day, which after this we went to town again to hunt for our dinner.