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This poem was written by Mrs Margaret Puffett after visiting the Tamarkan Bridge:
"The memory of that trip will stay with me always. The Bridge, the River and the Railway - so peaceful now, it's hard to believe what went on there. But to be able to lay flowers at the Railway and at Kranji cemetery, I felt Dad knew we still loved him and had never forgotten him.
When I returned from Thailand, I was inspired to put my thoughts to paper in a short poem, which you may like to read"
Visit to Tarmakan Bridge
by
Margaret Puffett
I stood upon the famous bridge that spans the River Kwai,
I stood beside the railway tracks where so many had to die.
Beaten, starved, their spirits unbroken they worked from morn to night,
To build the Burma railway stretching on and out of sight.
The River Kwai flows silent now, its waters still and deep,
It saw it all but never tells the secrets that it keeps.
Across the Bridge beneath a tree I laid a tiny cross,
A small but loving token to commemorate my loss.
And in silence and serenity, I said my Prayer to God,
Was I standing on the spot where my father once had trod?
The men long gone, the railway tracks and bridge in memory stand,
A memorial to those who died in protection of our land.
They died to give us freedom, through the trouble, war and strife,
And paid the greatest price of all, the Sacrifice of Life!
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