NUMURKAH MOB MEMORIAL
A memorial to the Numurkah Mob will be unveiled and dedicated in Memorial Park on September 7th.
The memorial conceived and designed by Rotarian Sieg Seiter is designed to replicate the Burma Railway, which the mob worked on during their time as POW's.
The memorial will stand two metres tall, with the names and photos of the mob fixed to the monument.
The memorial will be unveiled by the widows of the soldiers and dedicated by Major General David McLachlan, Victorian RSL State President.
Fourteen young men enlisted together, trained together, a further member transferred to be with the mob. Two were sent to Officer Training School, and a third transferred to the Field Ambulance Corps.
The mob fought on the Malay peninsula, retreating with the forces to Singapore prior to the surrender to Japan.
They became prisoners of war in Changi Prison and for three and a half years were forced to endure cruel brutality, near starvation, tropical diseases and horrendous conditions in Changi Prison, where their bond of mateship and resolve to survive was tested to the extreme.
The mob were sent to camps along the construction of the Thailand-Burma Railway and in the docks and coal mines of Japan.
Unfortunately three of the mob lost their lives.
When Japan officially surrendered the remaining members of the Numurkah Mob were able to return home to their families and loved ones.
To a man, all of these gallant soldiers went on to be outstanding community minded citizens, supporting each other and their fellow soldiers by holding annual POW reunions in the town for 50 year.