We have been viewing the pictures online of the FEPOW Bamboo Garden for a long time and today we were able to visit this special location. It is free of charge to view the garden which is tucked away in the conservatory, away from the outdoor, Botanic gardens of Ness. It is an ideal place both for the climate, environment and peaceful location, enabling the tropical plants to grow and for visitors to reflect and pay respect.
At the entrance to the garden is a map of the Far East and information sheets with 'FEPOW Facts'. These double-sided sheets are excellent educational material for everyone.
When we entered the garden we were greeted with the impenetrable force of bamboo which hid a bamboo hut. Everywhere are little, significant thoughts subtly yet effectively guiding you round and making you look and think. The ingenuity in the garden reflects the same inspiration our FEPOW used to survive.
Around the edges of the garden are some vegetable plants, flowers and tropical foliage. The whole area is productive and shows the way everything could be used, not least the multi-purposeful bamboo itself. There are large banana plants, ferns and some dedicated benches to 'Edward & Maisie Boxer' and 'Douglas Philip Boxer'. There is even an item of clothing with a prisoner number attached hidden by the hut.
The bamboo hut houses a replica of the salt water drip apparatus which was used to clean leg ulcers. There are cloth pictures forming screens and an information board about FEPOW facts and experiences entitled 'Long Term Work with Ex-prisoners of War'.
It is thanks to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine that this garden exists. They have treated more than 3000 FEPOW since they returned home, due to ongoing health problems from their captivity. Common problems include poor eyesight, leg pain from lack of vitamins and post traumatic stress disorder (which wasn't recognised on their return). A parasitic worm 'Strongyloid' which burrowed into the body through the feet in the jungle was commonly found many years later, having caused many health problems.
Another information board details the different aspects of the FEPOW Bamboo Garden. It includes the inspiration behind the garden and the way that the four corners represent Food & Flowers, Indigenous Plants, Medicine & Health and Lest We Forget.
Part of the living history of the garden are the leaves created by Pensby High School for Girls with quotations from their creative writing projects based on the interviews of 63 FEPOW.
There is an Audio Trail available in the garden and we have included the following articles to collate the information together here; this details the link where FEPOW interviews can be listened to online:visit link
'FEPOW Bamboo Garden launched at Ness
A tribute to ex-Far East Prisoners of War (FEPOW) has opened at Ness Botanical Gardens, South Wirral, England. The FEPOW Bamboo Garden recreates part of a jungle encampment on the Thai Burma Railway. Originally created for the Royal Horticultural Society show at Tatton Park in July 2010, the garden has been expanded and now includes an audio trail which helps visitors understand the garden and the artefacts on display and is free to visit.
LSTM’s involvement with treating ex-FEPOW dates back to 1946 and continues today with research conducted by Professor Geoff Gill and Meg Parkes. “This garden literally brings to life for the public a still little-known aspect of WWII history. It has been created in order to link Ness's unique collection of bamboo to cross-curricular work done by pupils at Pensby High School for Girls in Wirral,” said Meg, who has led a two-year, Heritage Lottery (HLF) funded project at Pensby.
The HLF project is centred on the oral history archive recorded by LSTM. A website www.captivememories.org.uk has also been developed explaining the history and sharing downloadable resources and audio clips from the interviews with FEPOW, designed for education groups and the public.'
Teaching resources are available here: visit link
The Liverpool Echo included the following article: visit link
'Ness Gardens bamboo garden tribute to Far East prisoners of war
Merle Hesp, widow of POW Harry Hesp, with Pensby Secondary School Pupils Elizabeth Ball and Zoe Fawcett in the bamboo garden.
SPECTACULAR gardens recreating part of a jungle encampment on the Thai Burma Railway were unveiled.
Ness Botanical Gardens, in Neston, created the tribute to Far East Prisoners of War to highlight how they stayed alive during their capture.
The Bamboo Garden also includes an audio trail which helps visitors understand the artefacts on display.
The project was commissioned by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, after several decades of treating tropical diseases former prisoners contracted during their captivity.'
Another great article can be read here:visit link
'Ness Botanic Gardens: Bringing history to life in a feature garden
The feature garden tells the story of prisoners of war in the Far East during World War II and how bamboo played a major role in their captive lives. Originally created for the RHS Show Tatton Park in 2010, where it won a Silver Gilt award, the garden is a collaboration between Ness, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Pensby High School for Girls.
Easy to work with and quick to regenerate, bamboo was used in dozens of practical ways in prisoner of war camps in the Far East: to make huts, utensils, drainage systems and even medical equipment such as intravenous needles. And of course as food, bamboo shoots are both edible and nutritious.
Bringing history to life
The garden incorporates art and creative writing produced by Pensby students based on oral history interviews of Far East prisoners of war from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine’s archive. “In creating the garden we set out to bring a little-known aspect of WWII history to life,” says Paul Cook, Curator of Ness Botanic Gardens. “The students’ work forges a connection between the past and the present, and encourages visitors to reflect on what they’re seeing.”
The real-life experiences of prisoners of war are also used in an audio trail created for the bamboo garden. The audio trail features horticultural information about the planting scheme, extracts from oral history interviews with a dentist, an artist and an injured soldier who were held captive in the Far East, and contributions from students at Pensby.'
Enjoy your visit and take some time to appreciate the work involved in this project, as we did.