Records show nearly 1500 prisoners of B Force were taken from Changi in Singapore to Sandakan.

They arrived on the tramp ship Ubi Maru in Sandakan Harbour on July 18, 1942, to build an airstrip. 

The Australian War Memorial website records that the prisoners were initially treated reasonably well. 

"Gradually, however, rations were reduced and bashings increased,'' the website said.

As the war progressed, the Allies pushed towards Borneo and the Japanese decided in late 1944 that they would send 2000 Australian and British prisoners west to the island's rugged interior.

Their destination was to be the town of Ranau, 260 kilometres away along jungle tracks _ a murderous task for men weakened by disease and ill treatment.

A further tragedy of Sandakan was that the atrocities occurred when the end of World War II was in sight. 

``Many died on the way, their bodies never recovered,'' the war memorial site records.

``Those unable to continue were killed; those too weak to march had been left behind in Sandakan, where all died or were killed.

``Only six  Australians out of about 1000 sent to Ranau survived the war.

``The Sandakan death march remains the greatest single atrocity committed against Australians in war.''

August 15 was chosen as Sandakan Day because it was the date of the 1945 Japanese surrender.

 Some of the Tasmanians who paid the ultimate sacrifice:

1. Ayton, Arthur Clement John 

Service Number: TX5862

Died: February 15, 1945, PoW, Borneo.

Cause of death: Beri-beri and heart failure.

Private Ayton (unit 2/26th battalion)  was one of more than 2000 Allied prisoners of war held in Sandakan PoW Camp in north Borneo, having been transferred from Singapore as a part of B Force. The 1494 PoWs that made up B Force were transported from Changi on July 7, 1942,  aboard the ramp ship Ubi Maru, arriving in Sandakan harbour on July 18, 1942. Private Ayton, aged 24, died as a prisoner of the Japanese on February 15, 1945. He was the son of Herber George and Sarah Ann Ayton, of North Motton. He is commemorated in the Labuan Memorial Panel 16.

 2. Chapman, Walter Percy

Service Number: TX4471

Died: February 10, 1945, POW, Borneo.

Cause of death:  Malaria, beri-beri. 

 Driver Walter Percy Chapman was in the 2/3rd Motor Ambulance Company, Australian Army Service Corps.  He was also a member of B Force and arrived on July 18, 1942. Driver Chapman, aged 40, died as a prisoner of the Japanese on  February 10,  1945. He was the son of Walter Percy and Ella May Chapman, and the husband of Jean Viney Chapman, of Kingston Beach. He is commemorated on the Labuan Memorial Panel 21. 

3. Conley, Horace Sydney

Service Number: TX4960

Died: April  6, 1945, PoW Sandakan, Borneo.

Cause of death: Illness.

 Private Horace Sydney Conley was in the 2/3rd Ordnance Store Company, Australian Army Ordnance Corps.   He was also a member of B Force and arrived July 18,  1942. Private Conley, aged 39, died as a prisoner of the Japanese on April 6, 1945. He was the son of Edward and Ella Conley, and the husband of Marjorie Conley, of Hobart. He is commemorated on the Labuan Memorial Panel 27. 

4. Clear, Jack Allen

Service Number: TX5859

Died: May  24, 1945, PoW Sandakan, Borneo.

Cause of death:  Died while  PoW.

  Private Jack Allan Clear was in the 2/26th Infantry Battalion, Australian Infantry.   Private

Clear, aged 36, died as a prisoner of the Japanese on May 24, 1945. He was the son of William John and Lydia Clear, and the husband of Myra Florence Clear, of Launceston. He is commemorated on the Labuan Memorial Panel 16. 

5. Crawford, Valmont Oswald

Service Number: TX5206

Died: June 7, 1945, Sandakan, Borneo.

Cause of death: Illness.

  Private Valmont Oswald Crawford was in the 2/10th Field Ordnance Workshop, Australian Corps of Electrical & Mechanical Engineers.   Private Crawford, aged 32, died as a prisoner of the Japanese on  June 7, 1945. He was the son of Robert Ernest and Mabel Crawford, and the husband of Gladys May Crawford, of Invermay. He is commemorated on the Labuan Memorial Panel 29. 

6. Dobson, Trevor Raymond

Service Number: TX8299

Died: June 10, 1945, PoW, Sandakan, Borneo.

Cause of death: Illness.

  Private Trevor Raymond Dobson was in the 2/29th Battalion, Australian Infantry.   Private Dobson, aged 24, died as a prisoner of the Japanese on  June 10, 1945. He is commemorated on the Labuan Memorial Panel 16. 

7. Ferris, George Raymond

Service Number: TX4456

Died: March  22, 1945, PoW,  Sandakan, Borneo.

Cause of death: Illness.

 Driver George Raymond Ferris was in  the  2/3rd Motor Ambulance Convoy, Australian Army Service Corps.   Driver Ferris, aged 48, died as a prisoner of the Japanese on  March 22, 1945. He was the son of Charles Henry and Edith Percy Ferris, and the husband of Dorothy Vivienne Ferris, of Neutral Bay, NSW. He is commemorated on the Labuan Memorial Panel 22. 

8. Hardstaff, Roy Albert

Service Number: TX5821

Died: April 14, 1945,  PoW Borneo.

Private Hardstaff (unit  2/29th Battalion) died at the age of 22 and was the son of Albert Edggar and Dora Jeanette Hardstaff, of Burnie.

9. Hardy, Geoffrey Ronald

Service Number: TX5607

Died: May 31, 1945, PoW Ranau, Borneo.

Private Hardy (No. 2 Company, AASC) died at the age of 27. Son of Richard Victor and Susan Marion Hardy, of Penguin.  He is commemorated on the Labuan Memorial Panel 23. 

10. Horne,  Gratten Dennis

Service number: TX8103

Sapper Horne (2/10th Field Company) died  November 5, 1944, PoW Borneo.

Cause of death:  Malaria and meningitis.

Burial Sandakan War Cemetery. Died at the age of 22, son of Cyrill Dennis and Laurel Horne, of Echuca, Victoria. He is buried in the Labuan Cemetery Section N, Row A, plot 13.

 11. Jeffrey, Vincent Alexander 

Service Number: TX8114

Died: February 13, 1945, PoW, Sandakan, Borneo.

  Private Vincent Alexander Jeffrey was in the 2/3rd Ordnance Store Company, Australian Army Ordnance Corps.   Private Jeffrey, aged 25, died as a prisoner of the Japanese on 13 February 1945. He was the son of John Joseph James Jeffrey and Elsie Louisa Jeffrey, and the husband of Lillian Jeffrey, of Melbourne. He is commemorated on the Labuan Memorial Panel 28.

12. Ludbey, Ralph Burton

Service Number: TX4457

Died: November 5, 1943, PoW, Sandakan, Borneo.

Cause of death: Dysentery.

Lance Corporal Ludbey (unit 2/3rd Motor Ambulance Convoy) died at the aged of 48. Son of Domineque and Caroline Louisa Ludbey and the husband of Ethel Ellen Ludbey, of East Melbourne. He is buried in the Labuan Cemetery Section P, Row A, Plot 16.

13. Panton, Owen William

Service number: TX5183

Died: June 20, 1945, PoW, Sandakan, Borneo.

Cause of death: Illness.

Sapper Panton (2/10th Field Company)  died at the age of 24. He was the son of William George and Francis Victoria Panton, of Penguin.

14. Thompson, Albert Henry 

Service Number: TX6093

Died: June 19, 1945, PoW, Sandakan, Borneo.

Cause of death:  Ulcers.

Buried at Labuan War Cemetery.

The Reverend Albert Henry Thompson (2/13th Australian General Hospital,) was in the Australian Army Chaplains Department.    Chaplain Thompson, aged 42, died as a prisoner of the Japanese on June 19,  1945. He was the husband of Gladys Minnie Thompson, of Launceston. He is buried in the Labuan Cemetery Section 21, Row C, Plot 6.  

15. Webster, Alec George

Service number: TX2961

Private Webster (2/29th Battalion) died June 2, 1945, PoW march Sandakan to Ranau.

Cause of death:  Malaria.

Died at the age of 28. He was the son of George and Lily Webster, and the husband of Dorothy Kathleen Webster, of Hobart.

16. Whyman, Herbert Allan

Service number: TX4455

Died: March 24, 1945, PoW, Sandakan, Borneo.

Cause of death: Illness.

Sapper Whyman (2nd 10th Field Company) died at the age of 25. He was the son of Mr and Mrs H. T. Whyman, of Burnie.

He is commemorated on the Labuan Memorial Panel 5.