Gull Force Memorial, Ambon
Description
Brick and tile memorial with inscribed plaque within a chained off section.
History
The Battle of Ambon occurred on the island of Ambon in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), on 30 January – 3 February 1942, during World War II. A Japanese invasion was resisted by Dutch and Australian forces.
Allied casualties in the battle were relatively light. However, at intervals for a fortnight after the surrender, Imperial Japanese Navy personnel chose more than 300 Australian and Dutch prisoners of war at random and summarily executed them, at or near Laha airfield. This is reported to have been revenge for the sinking of a Japanese minesweeper. Those killed included W/Cdr Scott and Maj. Newbury. According to an Australian War Memorial principal historian, Dr Peter Stanley, over the following three and a half years, the surviving POWs: ...suffered an ordeal and a death rate second only to the horrors of Sandakan, first on Ambon and then after many were sent to the island of Hainan [China] late in 1942. Three-quarters of the Australians captured on Ambon died before the war's end. Of the 582 who remained on Ambon 405 died.
The Gull Force Association, in conjunction with the Australian Services, has laid wreaths at the memorial each year on or around Anzac Day between 1967 and 1998. In 1999 the fighting between religious groups on the island made it too dangerous to have pilgrimages so no wreaths or services were conducted there until they resumed visits in 2007. The Association now conducts a service there in September, which signifies the end of captivity for Gull Force.
Construction Information
The memorial was restored by Gull Force in 2007.
Location
Ambon, Indonesia.
The Memorial is located in a small village on the Eastern end of the Laha airport.
Ambon is located in the Maluku (Moluccas) Islands, just south of the much larger island of Seram (Ceram).
The key airport at Laha is on the west of the Hitu Peninsula, the northern part of the island, facing the Bay of Ambon. The town of Ambon is at the opposite side of the bay, on the southern part of the island, Laitimor Peninsula.
