[4] An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 civilians also died in the course of the project, chiefly forced labour brought from Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, or conscripted in Siam (Thailand) and Burma (Myanmar).

The camp was close to a railway marshalling yard and workshops, and heavy casualties were sustained among the prisoners during Allied bombing raids in March and June 1943.

For some time, however, Thanbyuzayat continued to be used as a reception centre for the groups of prisoners arriving at frequent intervals to reinforce the parties working on the line up to the Burma-Siam border.

Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery was designed by Colin St Clair Oakes and created by the Army Graves Service who transferred to it all burials along the northern section of the railway, between Moulmein and Nieke.

The burials in Thanbyuzayat War Cemetery also includes Allied POWs who died of sickness or were executed by the Japanese at Victoria Point Myeiki, Dawei and Mawlamyine, between June and September 1942.