The Fitzsimmons Party was augmented by a group of British POWs who had escaped from Singapore but were captured in the island of Sumatra and eventually to Tavoy and then Thanbyuzayat. They became known as the British Sumatra Battalion. This group may have included up to 4600 Sumatran natives. Their story is told here:
https://www.cofepow.org.uk/armed-forces-stories-list/the-british-battalion
























The four large bridges in Burma were frequent targets for the Allied bombers attempted to interdict the flow of supplies to the Burma Front.
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A tour of the war-related museum near the Thanbyuzayat Cemetery: