Memorial Stone Plaque

Erected：November 1984 (Unveiling ceremony on Nov. 20)
Location：Northern side of Oeyama recreation park grounds
Dimensions：Width = 80cm (31 in.)/Height = 58cm (23 in.)/Depth = 15cm (6 in.)

■About the Stone Plaque
During the Second World War, about 700 prisoners of war from the allied forces (America, Canada, Britain), 200 Chinese and 150 Korean forced labourers were forcefully working at the Oeyama Nickel Mine. In the Spring of 1945, the number of workers pushing production at the mine peaked at 3,400.

Frank Evans was captured by the Japanese army in Hong Kong, and brought to Japan as a P.O.W. to be put to work at the Oeyama mine. After returning to Wales, he couldn't remember whereabouts in Japan the mine was located. He could only recall that it was many hours by train from Kyushu, and that the mine was in a relatively small mountain. In 1981, after 40 years had passed, he revisited Hong Kong. While he was on the plane, a conversation with a Japanese couple triggered his memories of Japan, and he recalled that the mine was in the Oeyama mountain range of Kyoto. He then decided to revisit Japan as well. A few years later, when he found his way to back to Kaya, the home of the mine, the locals welcomed him warmly, making him feel like a king. On that visit, with support from the town of Kaya, Frank Evans planted a Cherry tree and erected a small memorial stone monument. Hence began the exchange between the town of Kaya and Aberstwyth, Wales.

From the publication: English Now

■The Stone Inscription
●Front
IN　MEMORY　OF　MY　COMRADES
EX．P．O．W．　F．EVANS
ABERYSTWYTH　NOV．1984

●Back (in Japanese)
「In memory of my comrades」
Former prisoner of war, Frank Evans
Resident of Aberstwyth, United Kingdom
This plaque was erected with prayers for peace and an end to war, with the approval and cooperation of the Town of Kaya and the Nippon Yakin Kogyo Company. It is a monument in remembrance of Frank Evan's comrades who died working at the Oeyama mine between 1942 and 1945, during the Second World War.

November, 1984
Town of Kaya Mayor, Takuichi Hosoi