Friday, August 15, 2025
11:00 am
...by kind permission of the Dean -
the Very Reverend Dr. Andrew Braddock.
The National FEPOW Fellowship Welfare/Remembrance
Association (NFFWRA) invites you to attend.
This event is being supported by the Royal Norfolks, Suffolks, Cambs, Beds and Herts regiments, now part of the Royal Anglian Regiment. These infantry battalions were part of the 18th Division, sent to the Far-East in 1942.
Norwich was central and at the very heart of these regiments, and is therefore very proud to host this event taking place at Norwich Cathedral in 2025.
The nearest accommodation to the cathedral is the Premier Inn (0333 321) in Duke Street,
Norwich, Norfolk NR3 3AP (Satnav directions NR3 3AT), and at The Maids Head Hotel, (01603 209955) Tombland NR3 1LB.
Commemorative items are available in a presentation box as follows:
A NFFWRA VJ80 pin badge @ £5.00.
A NFFWRA necklace @ £7.50.
Both items bought together @ £10.00.
All prices include postage and packing. Please contact Pauline - Chaplain to all FEPOW related organisations and Secretary/Welfare Officer for NFFWRA, for further information regarding the event, or to order memorabilia, at: pauline761@btinternet.com
The 80th anniversary of VJ Day is now on the horizon and the hub of commemoration in Norfolk is set to be at Norwich Cathedral. It is appropriate, therefore to focus on an often overlooked part of Second World War history that left an indelible mark on the collective East Anglian memory, even though the atrocities occured halfway across the world.
The ill-fated 18th Infantry Division was a territorial formation of East Anglian battalions, including the 4th, 5th and 6th Royal Norfolks. Whilst originally heading for the Middle-East, Japan’s
declaration of war and subsequent rapid advance down the Malayan peninsula meant the above battalions were diverted to the island ‘fortress’ of Singapore. The battle there was intense, but despite a fierce rearguard action, the British Army was forced to surrender.
Surviving the Railway: Memories of Far-East
Prisoners of War Exhibition - 22nd March to 21st September 2025
Stories of Lynn Museum, King’s Lynn Town Hall, Norfolk.
As we know, the men captured in Singapore would go on to suffer three and a half years of brutal treatment, with many being sent to build the Thai/Burma railway. Their stories stand as testament to the enduring nature of the human spirit in the face of seemingly hopeless circumstances.
Surviving the Railway: Memories of Far East Prisoners of War looks to tell these stories through the objects and accounts held by the Royal Norfolk Regimental Museum, alongside an archival film exploring the realities of internment, rarely made available to the public.
NFFWRA hopes to strengthen East Anglia’s ties to these events by creating a roll of honour, commemorating all who served in the 4th, 5th and 6th battalions of the Royal Norfolks, which will be available to view alongside a community folder of FEPOW stories shared with us during the exhibition.
If you would like to submit information about your FEPOW relatives, please email:
