A Special Journey to Ambon 2025
Introducing Simon Farrelly, nephew of William Dixon, known as Little Will.
Starting today, 21 August 2025, we will be following Simon as he travels the journey that Will took, which in large sections will be identical to the journey of many of our Suez Maru relatives who were first at Liang Camp, and were known as the Liang Marchers, from the UK to Java and then to Ambon, where the Suez Maru departed in November 1943.
Simon will send updates as often as he can, hopefully daily, as he flies to Jakarta, then travels by boat to Ambon, and then (incredibly) he will walk the two-day journey from the port to the site of Liang camp. The men slept on the beach near Natsepa, and Simon is staying nearby. It is an incredible and emotional journey to undertake, and as he follows in the footsteps of his uncle Will and many of our brave Suez Maru relatives, I feel he will be accompanied by all of us in our thoughts, as well as an unseen 550 men who he honours by remembering them in this way. I, for one, am very touched by his journey.
Please follow along, and ask any questions in the comments on facebook, and I’ll make sure I get them to Simon. Let’s encourage him in this incredible journey, for all the Suez Maru lads.
All words and pictures © Simon Farrelly/Farrelly Family
DAY 1: Aqueduct St, Preston
Simon started off from the site of 158 Aqueduct St, Preston, at 0900hrs this morning. (Little Will’s former home), he continues the story of his journey…
I then walked the 400 yards up to Eversleigh St. This is where Little Will called to see his grandmother at No. 13 and his Aunty Mary across the road at No. 12. He was almost certainly on his way to Preston Railway station to catch a train to either Glasgow or Liverpool to join up with the convoy. My Uncle Michael (now living in Emsworth, Hants) remembers Will calling in his RAF uniform.
After this, Will would have headed for the station. I followed in his footsteps and walked the mile or so to the station, and I am now on the train to Manchester Airport to catch a flight to Jakarta.
Preston Railway Station was famous for its free buffet for the Armed Forces personnel in uniform during the First and Second World Wars. The old waiting room commemorates this, and some of the words on the wall seemed quite appropriate as I waited for my train….
DAY 2: Java
Today was a day in Jakarta, called Batavia when the lads were there, and it was pretty moving. There were many moments to reflect on their journey, places that one couldn’t help but wonder, ‘did they pass this way, did they see this view’… and even if you’re not religious, a prayer here and there for the lads can’t do any harm.
With only one day in Jakarta, I decided to head on down to Batavia, which is the “old part” of town and pretty much the same as it was in 1943. That turned out to be a good choice. As I was wandering around the main square, I was approached by a group of local children who wanted to film and interview me for their English school project. They were so polite and their English was excellent. Afterwards, I was approached by the headteacher and members of staff, and we sat down for a bit of a chat. I was telling them about the Suez Maru, the lads and about Little Will [William Dixon], and they were so interested.
It turned out they were from a Catholic school, and the nun in the picture, Sister Susan, assured me that the school would be remembering the boys of the Suez Maru in their prayers. I have also been invited to the school on my return to Jakarta from Ambon to talk to the children about the Suez Maru, an offer which I will do my very best to take up.
Later on, I visited the railway station, and pictured is the station through which many POWs passed on their way to Surabaya. I wonder how many POWs glanced at that clock as they marched through the main square right next to the station? [I will add a picture of the station as it was during the war – Jacq]
Next, it is on to Ambon, and an early wake-up call is booked for 0530hrs.
DAY 3: Ambon Arrival
DAY 4: (Part one)
I’m not sure if the picture tells the story, but in Ambon, there’s torrential rain which is forecast to fall continually for the next three days!
A lifetime of travel has taught me to be flexible and be prepared to change the plan as required, and so I will postpone the walk to Liang. I’m absolutely gutted, but I know it would be foolhardy to attempt to walk in that, so I am revising the plan. I will book my Pelni ferry ticket today and try to get down to the war memorial, although that is in doubt as it is absolutely pelting it down.
The rain is forecast to subside by 28th August, so I will wait for the best day – I am absolutely determined to complete it.
It’s such a shame, but deep down I know it’s the correct choice. part two shortly …
DAY 4: (Part two)
I’m not sure if the picture tells the story, but in Ambon, there’s torrential rain which is forecast to fall continually for the next three days!
A lifetime of travel has taught me to be flexible and be prepared to change the plan as required, and so I will postpone the walk to Liang. I’m absolutely gutted, but I know it would be foolhardy to attempt to walk in that, so I am revising the plan. I will book my Pelni ferry ticket today and try to get down to the war memorial, although that is in doubt as it is absolutely pelting it down.
The rain is forecast to subside by 28th August, so I will wait for the best day – I am absolutely determined to complete it.
It’s such a shame, but deep down I know it’s the correct choice. part two shortly …
DAY 5: Natsepa
Morning all,
I’m now at the Natsepa Hotel, and the rain has just about finally stopped, I am glad to say.
From my hotel room, I have a lovely view across to the north-eastern part of the island, where the camp and airstrip were, near Liang. It is very peaceful here, and it’s hard to imagine the suffering that went on just 12 miles or so down the road in these luxurious conditions. I’m all set and ready for the walk to the site of Liang POW camp and the site of the airfield. On the map, this is from Natsepa and the beach they slept on, to the site of the camp.
I’m here for a week now, so I will also have lots of opportunities to explore and hopefully discover as much as possible about the sites and history.
Also, depending on conditions, I hope to try and get the drone up tomorrow, but if it is raining, I may have to leave it to a drier day, as they do not like rain… and there is plenty of that around at the moment. At the very least, I should have plenty of photographs to share with everyone.
Also, thank you for following me and ‘travelling with me’, I feel like I am with many mates on the journey – and it is for all our lads!
Speak soon.
DAY 6 Part 1: Liang March
Well, where to begin today? Firstly, the weather was much better this morning, so I set off at 8:30am to start the second day of The Liang March (Natsepa/Passo to Liang).
– The Liang lads would have slept on the beach here overnight (there were accounts of some men being put into tents, but the majority were on the beach), and lay out with a kit bag under their heads. They had sung songs under a large blue moon, prompting them to sing ‘Blue Moon’, and there had been a mug of slop rice very late in the evening (the first food of the day). During the night, the tide came in, and the lads, who were exhausted and flat out asleep, got pretty wet. Some of the japanese hearing shouts came to see and laughed as if it were hilarious. Then the lads tried to settle again for the remaining night…
On the walk today, what I had not been prepared for was the quite extreme undulations on the way. Carrying a tiny rucksack with no weight at all to it, I found the hills were very hard work, one can only imagine what it was like for the thousand men of Liang.
As I walked, I saw lots of local Ambonese, and they were incredibly friendly and curious.
“Hello, mister, where you from mister? ok for a photograph with you?”
This was the case all along the route. There were absolutely no safety issues whatsoever. They were all so friendly.
I had detailed research, brought from the UK, and recognised the site of the camp as I approached…. part two shortly…
DAY 6 Part 2: Liang Camp
On the walk as I approached the area where we thought the camp would have been, I immediately recognised it. The building turned out to be a school/establishment for Muslim boys. As I took a few pictures at the entrance, it looked as though this might be the site of the camp.
The boys were out playing, and as I took a couple of cautious steps through the main entrance, they spotted me. Within a few seconds, I was completely surrounded by boisterous but well-behaved children. Chaos ensued until a teacher/supervisor came over. He was extremely wary at first and did not speak any English, but after much careful conversation and sign language, he relaxed.
I showed him my picture of “Little Will” and told him “prisoner of the Japanese”, then he pointed at the logo of the “Liang Marchers” on my t-shirt picture of The Liang Marchers and said “Bandi Japanese” [you follow me]. He took me across the road and into the thick overgrowth on the other side of the road for about 500 metres and then pointed at a bunker, saying “Japanese”. See the pictures.
Beyond the bunker was the unmistakable incline of a hill which would have been Boot Hill, also known as Batoe Doeah, the site of the PoW cemetery, where some 133 of the Liang thousand were buried (and many more who were later transferred to Liang from Haruku and Ceram).
As I walked around and took photos, I realised that yes, this is the site Liang Prisoner of War Camp” – I don’t mind admitting I was a little overcome.
The locals were so friendly, but I didn’t want to over-intrude or use the drone, so I plan to come back and talk to them again and see what more I can find. I also wanted to find the airstrip and the beach today, where the men were sometimes permitted to wash, so I walked on… Part 3 soon.
DAY 6 Part 3: Liang Airstrip and Beach
After photographing as much as I could around the camp area, I shook hands with my impromptu guide, and the boys waved goodbye. I had decided not to push my luck by trying to gain admittance to more of the site. More staff had come over and were very friendly, but I believe a gentle approach is best for today; however, we now know for sure this is the site of Liang PoW camp, and the images of the bunker and area showed there was more to see. I certainly intend to go back, and there are lots of areas there and at the airstrip for drone flying, but I just ran out of time today. I hope there will be lots more to come over the next week I am here.
After this, I headed down to Liang Beach and the site of the runway. It measured exactly 3km, as stated by a Japanese officer who said the walk to and back would benefit the sick prisoners’ health (!) The position of the old runway is clearly still visible, with younger saplings and trees sprouting amongst the more open spaces.
It was getting late for today, so I only had a short time to explore the runway and beach. However, I was struck by seeing the small pieces of coral in the runway area as opposed to the larger pieces near the beach. The boys had obviously had to smash these smaller pieces with the poor tools (parangs, etc) they were given. I picked a few up from the runway and the beach area, and the difference in size is clear for us to see.
I had some time to sit at the beach and soak my “slightly sore” feet in the sea. The feeling was bliss as I looked across towards Ceram, thinking how the boys must have felt as they bathed in the sea after another day toiling on the runway. (They were only allowed fifteen minutes to wash the grime, sweat and effort of 12+ hours days hard labour from their bodies).
I do know (I can’t remember which book was the source) that as they were walking back to camp, they sang the old military song “I’ve got sixpence, jolly jolly sixpence”, and I just could not get it out of my head. It was quite a moment here at the beach, as you may see from the video.
I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the drive back to the Natsepa Hotel was a lot less demanding… It’s now time for a shower and a beer.
Postscript:
I have two events which, more than anything, will stay with me from today.
1. My first sighting of that bunker.
2. At the beach, I took off my trainers and socks to bathe my feet in the sea. As I turned towards the sea, I inadvertently stepped on a large piece of coral, cutting my foot slightly. The pain was significant, to say the least. After cursing to myself, I remembered that this would have been a frequent occurrence for the boys.
DAY 7: A rest day
DAY 8: Ambon Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and Part two of the Liang March.
Today I visited the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Ambon City.
I walked up towards the gates as the Liang Marchers would have done as they headed out of Ambon on their long march to Liang camp from the port. Some later memoirs of Liang chaps said they slowed down, thinking they’d arrived at their camp, but were hurried on. They said they exchanged banter with the Australians as they passed, who said their camp “wasn’t far”, probably to help morale, as they wouldn’t have known where the chaps were going. The line of one thousand men marched past this site, then known as Tan Toey.
The cemetery itself is immaculately maintained and a very peaceful place to sit and reflect. The graves are more or less grouped together by nationality, and there is also a memorial wall. One thing that struck me was the number of unnamed graves. There is a book available which locates each serviceman’s grave with a reference number, but I decided to walk up and down each line of headstones.
The nationalities buried here are Indian, Australian, Dutch and British. Last night I had wondered if there were any other servicemen from my and Little Will’s hometown of Preston, Lancashire. I discovered that there was one other from Preston: J L Holden, Aircraftman 2nd Class 106348. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He died on 22nd June 1943, just five months before the Suez Maru left Ambon. William Dixon’s service number was 1031192. I cannot say for sure, but William and JL Holden were probably pals through their association with Preston. Who knows, they may well have met up at Preston Railway Station on their way to join up with their ship? Being a Preston Lad myself, I could not leave without paying my respects to J L Holden. I will attempt to trace his relatives on my return home and forward the photographs I took of his grave.
[We have since researched that William Dixon and Joseph Ignatius Holden may well have known each other on sign up in Preston, journey to and in Java, but were certainly sent their separate ways to the Moluccas, as Joseph was sent to Haruku and died there not long after arrival, but was reburied by CWGC at Ambon in 1947].
I spent around two hours at the cemetery, and as I was leaving, I was approached by two local school children with their teacher, who asked for a photograph. It is nice to know that the local population have an interest in, and do visit the cemetery. They were very interested in William Dixon’s picture and the fact that he had been on Ambon as a PoW during the war.
After that, it was time for some unfinished business. I wanted to complete the Liang Marchers route, and finished the section of march back to the Natsepa Hotel. The weather was quite pleasant with the occasional bit of breeze and refreshing light rain. Once again, the road was undulating with steep climbs and descents. I thought how tough it must have been for the Liang Marchers, who first had to unload their ships by hand, wading up to neck deep in seawater as they carried the cargo ashore. Only when this unloading had been done over two days did they begin their long trek.
I passed by the beach where they lay and tried to sleep, and crossed a small stream leading into the sea. It was most likely here that some of the less experienced men quenched their thirst only to become seriously ill by the morning, making the match on to Liang even more torturous.
I’m back at Natsepa now, and considering my options for tomorrow. As Friday is a special day of prayer in Islam, I have decided not to visit the site of Liang Camp (which I discovered was now a Muslim Boys Boarding school).
I will have a moment of reflection (and a cold beer) and make a decision on what to do tomorrow. My plan is to spend the day at Liang Beach and visit the site of the camp again on Saturday.
Thanks to everyone for all your interest and support.
DAY 9: a day off...
Here is today’s update from Ambon. I decided to have a second easy day today after yesterday’s ‘Liang Marchers’ walk and before heading back down to the site of the PoW camp and the airfield tomorrow. So today, here are a few pictures of the hotel’s beautiful surroundings and views from the front terrace. On my way back from the pool, I heard singing coming from the restaurant and went over to find a group of Ambonese women and asked their permission to film. They quite happily agreed on the condition I join them for a dance afterwards.
So, I apologise in advance for the terrible “Dad dancing” in the accompanying clip. The two mistakes I made were to agree to dance and then to ask one of the women to film it for me! (for the video see the facebook group)
Once again, though, it shows the friendliness of the Ambonese people. My efforts caused them much mirth, as you will be able to hear, but they were great fun. Chatting later, it turned out they were a group of Indonesian Air Force wives who were at the hotel for the day to celebrate one of their party’s birthdays. All in all, it has been a nice day.
Tomorrow it is back down to business with a day at Liang beach with further visits to the site of the PoW camp and PoW-built airfield, and also another dip in the sea as a nod to the lads of Liang POW camp.
Thanks everyone.
DAY 10, Part 1: Return to Liang
Overnight (for me) and during the day (in the UK), Jacq checked some of the sites I’d been finding around Liang, in our search for the camp. Although we had found the rough position of the camp and the bunker, we were not convinced that the entrance to the Boys Boarding School had been the main entrance to the camp. We updated some maps, discussed it, and I went back armed with the edited information, and we were right!
I took a road off the main road near the Girls Boarding School little further down the road towards Liang. As I went down this road, I was approached by the usual throng of local children who were curious, polite and requesting numerous selfies. I asked a couple of local women if they knew of the site of the old Prisoner of War Camp, but they either did not understand or did not know. Then one older girl who spoke some English came over and knew straight away what I was looking for. She beckoned two young lads over, spoke to them and then told me, “You follow them”.
Off we went for another ‘jungle trek’ for a few hundred yards (and a short stop for a selfie) till we arrived at an iron gate. They pushed it open, and there was the unmistakable outline of Liang POW Camp, now occupied by the Muslim Girls Boarding School. This was literally the back door!
I entered gingerly and started to take a few photographs, but was soon spotted by the pupils who shouted and waved. I was just about to turn to leave when a teacher appeared from a nearby building. She was extremely friendly and listened as I explained why I was there, whilst showing her a picture of ‘Little Will’.
Straight away, she knew why I was there and quite obviously knew the site was an old POW Camp. She allowed me to take pictures of the site and very kindly allowed me to launch the drone to take a few aerial shots. The children absolutely loved this and gathered round to look at the controller screen to see the unfolding aerial shots of their school. We are now sorting through these shots and footage, and hopefully will be able to share them when we have pinned the whole area together.
I did not leave the drone in the air too long as the children were gathered around, and my instincts were right as shortly afterwards the Imaan came over and introduced himself. Initially wary, my picture of ‘Little Will’ again did the trick. Soon we were posing for selfies, firstly on his phone and then on mine. Having established friendly contact, I felt the time was right to leave via the back gate. I was waved off, and the children followed me to the iron gate, shouting, “Goodbye, mister.”
I feel a good first contact has been made with the modern-day occupiers of the Liang POW site. The owners are well aware of its history and hopefully, with forward communication from the UK, those who may wish to visit in the future will be welcomed.
DAY 10, Part 2: Return to Liang Airfield and Liang Beach.
After the great visit and recording of Liang PoW camp (see part one), it was a three-kilometre walk down to the site of Liang airfield and Liang beach.
On my way there, I came across a chicken pecking by the roadside and couldn’t help but think it would not have survived the march past of a starved and exhausted work party from the airstrip.
On arrival at the beach, I opted for a swim first. How those boys must have relished their fifteen minutes in the sea after a day labouring on the airstrip. I allowed myself fifteen minutes in the sea precisely. [How moving, Simon!]
Then it was over to the airstrip to take pictures and some drone footage before heading back up to the main road to catch the bus back to the hotel.
This is a great local system which works by the number of passengers on the bus. The more there are, the less you pay. I’m not sure how they calculate it, but it seems to work. The cost was the equivalent of £1 to travel the seven miles back to the Natsepa.
Its been a long day, but I am so pleased with all thats been found, we will now analyse all the data and pictures, but the big thing is we have found the site.
Thinking of them…
DAY 11: A bit of a rest day, … with addendum
DAY 12: part one, final return to Liang Airstrip.
DAY 12: part two, final return to Liang beach
DAY 13: Preparation and rest day,
