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Cowra Breakout Site Memorial Cairn Print Page 
On 5 August 1944 Japanese Prisoners of War (POWs) housed in the detention camp in Cowra, New South Wales staged an outbreak. Armed with improvised weapons including baseball bats and sharpened mess knives, they stormed the perimeter fences and overcame the machine gun posts. Never likely to be successful, the outbreak resulted in the death of 231 Japanese prisoners with a further 108 wounded.
All survivors were recaptured in the surrounding countryside in the days that followed. Four Australians were killed. Privates Benjamin Gower Hardy, Ralph Jones and Charles Henry Shepherd were killed in the breakout. Lieutenant Harry Doncaster was killed when ambushed during the recapture of the prisoners. Hardy and Jones were posthumously awarded the George Cross.
Location
| Address: | Sakura Avenue & Evans Street, P.O.W, Campsite, Cowra, 2794 |
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| State: | NSW |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -33.811491 Long: 148.704178 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
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| Monument Theme: | Conflict |
| Sub-Theme: | WW2 |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 05-June-1944 |
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| Link: | http://www.warmemorialsregister.nsw… |
Dedication
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