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War Memorials - Honouring The Fallen Medical Personnel In Perak
The two plaques were erected to honour the medical personnel who fell while serving during the war. The first one was placed at the Ipoh Hospital while the second plaque was affixed to the wall of the old Batu Gajah Hospital.
The first plaque includes those in Perak who died while serving as medical personnel while the second plaque only lists that of Batu Gajah. Both plaques include the wife of Eric Willbourn, Jessie Willbourn (nee Cooper) who served as an ambulance driver for the Batu Gajah hospital during the time of war. Jessie was evacuated from Singapore on the 'Giang Bee' an Auxiliary Anti-Submarine Vessel which was intercepted and sunk by a Japanese destroyer on the 13th February 1942. She was not among the survivors and was presumed drowned.
For a time the plaque placed affixed to the wall of the old Batu Gajah Hospital was presumed lost as they moved to the new complex. A new plaque was made in 2019 (third photograph from left) to replace the missing plaque but the staff of the hospital eventually found it in the store of the supervisor of the hospital.
As the original plaque was found by the hospital supervisor, we were advised by Roger Willbourn to keep the plaque with us in Ipoh.