Minister Swire attends memorial service for British servicemen
UK State Minister Hugo Swire attended a memorial service at the Bomana War Cemetery in Port Moresby where 440 British Servicemen are buried.
Minister Hugo Swire lays a wreath during his visit to the Bomana war cemetery
Visiting Minister of State for the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office, The Right Honourable Hugo Swire MP attended a memorial service at Bomana War Cemetery on Wednesday 17 April. The service was to commemorate the fallen, and specifically the 440 British soldiers buried there.
The Minister also acknowledged that in London on Wednesday, another solemn occasion was taking place, the funeral of Lady Thatcher. He quoted British Prime Minister David Cameron, ‘Today is a truly sad day for our country. We’ve lost a great Prime Minister, a great leader and a great Briton.’
440 British Servicemen are buried at Bomana war cemetery, of which only two have been identified. The 338 unidentified are from the Royal Artillery and were captured by the Japanese at the fall of Singapore: they were originally buried on the island of Bailale in Solomon Islands. They were later re-buried in a temporary war cemetery at Torokina on Bougainville Island before being transferred to their permanent resting place in Bomana. The two identified British Servicemen are Lieutenant Colonel C.V. Ferrey, Royal Army Service Corps and Wing Officer K.C. Bevan, Royal Air Force. 351 Australian, 40 Papuan and 6 New Zealand Servicemen are also buried at Bomana.
The British High Commissioner Jackie Barson and British Defence Attaché Brigadier Will Taylor will also attend the ANZAC day ceremony and lay wreaths at Bomana next week.
Further Information
For further information, please contact Kila Kome at the British High Commission on:
Telephone: 325 1677 (extension: 2210)
Fax: 325 3547
Email: Kila.Kome@fco.gov.uk
Follow Hugo Swire on Twitter @HugoSwire
Follow Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire’s visit to the South Pacific on Storify