Reg-Related Reading
Listed below are some books relevant to both the story of the remarkable ‘Roaring Reggie’ Newton and the broader Japanese POW experience. There is an extraordinary body of literature available and this is but a small selection with comments which may be of interest to those wishing to read further. Remember, there is an Australian focus here but there is some great stuff from other sources as well. Perhaps these comments may save others time, provide a pointer of where to head and generate some interest. Finally, if you are of a like mind to myself, the time spent investigating these stories will be time richly rewarded. Although there are glimpses into the very darkest forces affecting the human condition, there are many moments of transcendental beauty and kindness where the courage of individuals, the benefits of teamwork and the resilience of the spirit of man shine forth as timeless beacons of hope demanding remembrance and deserving celebration through the years.
2/19th Battalion Association. ‘The Grim Glory of the 2/19th Battalion.’
Russell Braddon. ‘The Naked Island.’
Peter Brune. ‘Descent Into Hell.’
R.W. ‘Bob’ Christie. ‘A History of the 2/29th Battalion.’
John Coast. ‘Railroad of Death’
Edward E. Dunlop. ‘The War Diaries of Weary Dunlop.’
Sue Ebury. ‘Weary: The Life of Sir Edward Dunlop.’
Peter Elphick. ‘The Pregnable Fortress.’
Arch and Martin Flanagan. ‘The Line.’
Bill Griffiths. ‘Blind to Misfortune.’
Kenneth Harrison. ‘The Brave Japanese.’
Rosalind Hearder. ‘Keep the Men Alive.’
Agnes Keith. ‘Three Came Home.’
Frank, Legg. ‘The Gordon Bennett Story.’
Gilbert Mant. ‘The Massacre at Parit Sulong.’
Hank Nelson. ‘P.O.W.: Australians Under Nippon.’
Chaim Nussbaum. ‘Chaplain on the River Kwai.’
Ian Denys Peek. ‘One Fourteenth of an Elephant.’
Rowley Richards. ‘A Doctor’s War.’
Hal Richardson. ‘One-Man War.’
Rohan D. Rivett. ‘Behind Bamboo.’
Lord Russell. ‘The Knights of Bushido.’
Lynette Ramsay Silver. ‘The Bridge at Parit Sulong.’
Julie Summers. ‘The Colonel of Tamarkan.’
Colonel Masanobu Tsuji. ‘Singapore Japanese Version.’
Reg Twigg. ‘Survivor on the River Kwai.’
Don Wall. ‘Singapore and Beyond.’
Don Wall. ‘The Heroes of F Force.’
Lionel Wigmore. ‘The Japanese Thrust.’
Pattie Wright. ‘The Men of the Line.’
2/19th Battalion Assoc. 'The Grim Glory of the 2/19th.'
I simply have to include this in the list although I understand it will not be everybody’s cup of tea. It is quite the door-stopper but is the definitive reference for anyone wanting to investigate the story of this battalion and, of course, one of its most illustrious sons, Reg Newton. He edited the book and I would say wrote a fair bit of it also. Former 2/19th Bn soldier then war correspondent, Gilbert Mant, lent the title he coined for his 1942 book to this one and assisted with the writing and polishing of the work. In all honesty, it is still a bit rough since it attempts a lot, detailing so many different experiences of the unit’s members. It covers the unit’s establishment, training and battle record as well as telling the stories of members who escaped after the capitulation, of those sent to Borneo, to Java, to all the different Forces on the Railway and of those sent to Japan, Taiwan and Manchuria. The edition I have is from 2006 and its re-issuing was a massive undertaking by Lt-Col. Peter ‘Pem’ McGuiness. Unfortunately, the quality of its photos leaves a lot to be desired but the original edition from 1975 is now a rare book and hideously expensive.
Russell Braddon. 'The Naked Island.'
This book sold over two million copies and is a great read. It is also very relevant to the story of ‘Roaring Reggie’ Newton since Braddon, who was a gunner in the 2/15th Field Regiment, was at the Battle of Muar and then imprisoned at Pudu Jail, Kuala Lumpur, where Reg Newton was the senior Australian officer. After Pudu and a short time in Changi, Braddon went to the Railway as a member of the ill-fated ‘H’ Force. He can certainly tell a story and there are some great episodes here. His account of the killing of a simple-minded old Chinese farmer in Johore who had his hair doused in petrol then set alight is one of the best-written and most confronting examples of Japanese brutality I have ever read. However, the comment by Reg Newton made in his 1982 interview with Tim Bowden that this book was ‘a pack of lies’ must be noted. Newton puffs his moustache at the mere mention of Braddon’s name and says the writer frequently put himself in places where he wasn’t. He was one of the men at Pudu who refused to contribute a portion of his pay to the sick and Reg only extracted his dues through physical menace. ‘The Naked Island’, Reg says, was a very good story but a story nonetheless and should not be taken as history. As with the comments below on Rohan Rivett’s account, it seems these views were widely-held amongst former POWs and Reg says this is why Braddon stayed away from all POW functions and reunions. The Wikipedia page on Braddon states that, in 1949, he “moved to England after suffering a mental breakdown followed by a suicide attempt attributed to the effects of captivity. An obituary of the man appeared in the UK’s ‘Independent’. ‘The Naked Island’ is available as a free PDF. So, like many things in life, as opposed to stories about life emanating from places like Hollywood, Braddon’s legacy is a grab-bag of successes and shortcomings. But, with these reservations, I still recommend this book to anyone interested in this subject.
Peter Brune. 'Descent Into Hell.'
For me, this is where my interest in Reg Newton’s record began. I borrowed this from my local library and was so intrigued I made notes on his chapter about ‘Roaring Reggie’, a bloke I was amazed to have had no recollection of hearing about before despite what I reckoned was a fair amount of reading on the subject. After several years with this germ percolating, I was inspired to read it again but my local library had by then thrown it out—such are the cut-throat requirements of suburban bibliotheques whose target demographics do not prioritise people like me. However, this was a win because it prompted me to buy a copy which I should have done before since it is a great resource. I dip my hat to Brune who covers a lot more than just Reg Newton’s story in this substantial tome. Coupled with his impressive scholarship is his ability to spin a ripping yarn. This text covers the Malayan campaign and the broader sweep of the Australian Pacific POW experience in a way few other texts have attempted. So, as will be readily understood, if I did not recommend it highly, I would rightly be subjected to serious interrogation.
R.W. 'Bob' Christie. 'A History of the 2/29th Battalion.'
Originally published in 1983, this was another unit history a long time in the pipeline but it is a concise and highly readable collection of stories. It does not seek to be the definitive reference that Reg Newton wanted his history of the 2/19th to be, but it is a valuable addition to the record. The book’s editor, VX48633 Cpl Robert William Christie, HQ Coy, 2/29th Bn, of Malvern Victoria, was a member of ‘F’ Force and had the notable distinction of contracting and surviving cholera while on the Railway. He described the compilation of this volume forty years after the events as “a difficult and exacting task.” Of course, the 2/29th Battalion fought hand in glove with the 2/19th in the Battle of Muar and many of its members, including Lt Ben Hackney, were interned at Pudu Prison with Newton between the months of February and October 1942. As a source of the gritty eye-witness accounts, told mainly by the ORs rather than the officers, it is an invaluable reference.
John Coast. 'Railroad of Death.'
Lt John Coast’s memoir ‘Railroad of Death’ was published in 1946 which means it was one of the first but it also remains one of the best. I read it only after reading quite a few others, largely because, here in Australia, it is not now that easy to find. Coast was a lieutenant with the Royal Norfolk Regiment of the unfortunate 18th Division which arrived in Singapore on January 29th 1942, only 17 days before the capitulation, “as a sacrifice on the altar of public opinion.” Coast makes the interesting comment in his Introduction that his account is “very nearly completely true”. He admits not every small detail will be correct but affirms the accuracy of the general tenor of every story he tells. He uses pseudonyms for all Allied POWs but the actual names (as far as he knew them) of all Japanese personnel to whom he refers. While that is a kind of house-keeping detail which will probably bore most readers, it is important in terms of establishing the reliability of Coast’s account and it is my assessment (for what it’s worth) that he sticks very well to his stated objective of seeking to remain “as objective as possible”. And while that is a noble virtue, I feel sure most of us (had we gone through half of what Coast experienced) would not be able to deliver in the admirable fashion he achieves. Coast was sent to the Railway in October 1942 so his was one of the earliest groups there and he was still there at the end. As an officer, he freely acknowledges that his experience was not anywhere near as awful as that of the enlisted men. Yet, as a junior officer Coast was put to work as a railroad navvy for quite some time. Things I like about Coast’s account other than those things I have mentioned (and I mean his honesty, his objectivity and his integrity) include his fulsome praise and acknowledgement of the wonderful work done by the Thai trader, Boon Pong, on behalf of the POWs and his willingness to acknowledge that not every Japanese guard was bad. I think this is a detail those latterday prophets who seek to revisit the War Crimes Trials process need to note: sensible survivors even then were able to discriminate between those Japanese and Koreans who sought to do the right thing within the constraints of their system and those who went far beyond the strictures required by “following orders” and extemporised in violent, brutal and draconian ways. So, in sum, if you can find a copy of this British memoir, read it. I feel sure that like me you will find it highly engaging and informative.
Edward E. Dunlop. 'The War Diaries of Weary Dunlop.'
No study of this subject would be complete without examination of the role played by ‘Weary’ Dunlop. There is an odd section at the end of Rosalind Hearder’s book, ‘Keep the Men Alive’, which has the heading ‘Why Weary?’ and which argues that the spotlight fell on this man somewhat to the exclusion of many of the other great medical officers who worked on the Railway. If that were the case, it is probably due to the frequent divide between the popular perception of reality and reality and certainly not the fault of the man himself—despite Hearder’s implication that he was a self-promoter. This record written at the time gives the lie to that suggestion. Moreover, the sheer driving energy of the bloke is obvious here and the way he energised the large hospitals to which he was assigned is clear. These included Tarsau, Chungkai and Nong Pladuk, base hospitals with thousands of patients. ‘Weary’ makes a passing reference to the way he was received by the rank and file when he returned to Chungkai in October 1943 but Ray Parkin talks more about it in that Channel 10 interview referred to below. Ian Denys Peek also speaks of the energising effect of ‘Weary’s’ presence and which was clearly felt by the men at the time. That great writer, Martin Flanagan, has provided the best pen portraits of him that I have read. There is no question that ‘Weary’ was a great Australian and anyone wanting to know the man more would do well to start here.
Sue Ebury. 'Weary: The Life of Sir Edward Dunlop.'
Sue Ebury edited and transcribed ‘Weary’s War Diairies’ and that no doubt formed the basis of a close friendship. This very readable biography was published only a year after ‘Weary’s’ death in 1993 just short of his 86th birthday. For a man born in the humble surrounds of rural Victoria, educated at Benalla High School, what he went on to achieve was truly remarkable. While his pre-war record as a boxer and a rugby international will be well-known and his efforts during the war even better known, what is most interesting in this book is the description of his ongoing efforts after the war to ensure the welfare of former POWs. He had his own struggles adjusting to the settled life of suburban Melbourne but he never forgot his men. He also was a man big enough to forgive and that, in itself, says a great deal about this remarkable and inspiring individual. So, this biography of him is well worth a read.
Peter Elphick. 'The Pregnable Fortress.'
I am genuinely embarrassed to give this work the dignity of an airing but my purpose is to advise visitors to this page to avoid it. I first read Elphick’s questionable work at the time of its publication and became aware of the controversy it caused around then. However, revisiting it 25 years later did not make its outrageous claims sit any better with me. It is cast in the mode of being well-researched but chooses selectively from sources, most with axes to grind, and allows the most ill-considered and spiteful opinion to pass as respectable historical commentary. Elphick has a purpose which seems to be the product of some long-buried hurt or resentment and that is to blame Australians for the fall of Singapore, a proposition which is as outrageous as it is offensive. I could talk about the failed strategy of the old Empire but won’t. All I will say is that the almost 1800 Australians who died in the fighting on Malaya and Singapore—two-thirds of all Allied deaths in that campaign—is evidence enough of their commitment to the fight and a lasting condemnation of a work as shameful as this one.
Arch and Martin Flanagan. 'The Line.'
The former Melbourne ‘Age’ journalist, Martin Flanagan, is a great writer but his father, TX3361 Sgt Archibald Henry Flanagan, 2/3rd Machine Gun Bn, is darned good as well. In fact, the family the school teacher, Arch, and his wife Helen raised upon his return from three and a half years in captivity is a great testament to the values they espoused – including as it does writers, Rhodes scholars, doctors and teachers. Arch went to the Railway as a member of Dunlop Force. The structure of this book is that both Martin and Arch write different sections. In one section written by Martin he tells the story of how ‘Weary’ met his batman and later life-long friend, ‘Blue’ Butterworth. During the disastrous Greek campaign, even though he was not a driver, ‘Blue’ was somehow assigned to pick up a Major Dunlop from an Athens hotel. A tall man and two Kiwis got in the car. They drove north towards the advancing Germans. ‘Weary’ was in and out of the car a number of times and once one of the Kiwis said, “Where’s that mad bastard now?” He had gone to convince two Greek train drivers to stay at their job and take a train load of wounded to Athens. More adventures followed until, on the retreat to Athens with no lights at night, ‘Blue’ drove into a bomb crater and bogged the car. ‘Weary’ got out, stripped off his shirt and started digging. Blue’s comment to Flanagan was that this recent rugby international looked like Hercules. Just then a cultured English voice was heard above them ordering the party to abandon their vehicle and rejoin the convoy. The shirtless Dunlop replied, “I don’t know who you are or what you are but could you please fuck off?” At that Butterworth thought, “You beauty! This is my man!” What a great story, so beautifully told, and just one of many reasons why this book is highly recommended.
Tom Gilling. 'The Witness.'
This book is not strictly relevant to the Reg Newton story since it is based on events in Borneo rather than the Railway or Japan but I am reviewing it here despite that because it is so interesting and because it touches on many issues relevant to all those who were prisoners of the Japanese in WW2. The book focuses on WO1 Bill Sticpewich of 8th Div. AASC. Sticpewich was one of six survivors of the Sandakan death marches in which 2,434 Allied POWs died. Tom Gilling is a good writer and Bill Sticpewich is a controversial character. He was not well-liked by his fellow survivors who saw him as a virtual collaborator. However, postwar Sticpewich did enormous work assisting the War Graves Commission recover bodies and testifying against Japanese accused of war crimes, including in trials held in Tokyo as illustrated by the cover photograph shown here. Unfortunately, in the last parts of the book, Gilling loses grip on the golden thread of careful analysis and balanced conclusions which had guided him to that point. He wanders into the area of scandalous speculation and on very shaky grounds suggests that Sticpewich may have murdered the comrade with whom he made his final escape near war’s end. The same accusation could be levelled against four of the others who escaped and survived but this passes with little comment by Gilling. Whatever the truth of these incidents may be, what they show me is that those of us who have never been in such dire life and death situations should be extremely reticent to pass judgement on those who have. The complexities are all too difficult to explain in the space available here but I suggest people who read this engaging account do so with an open mind—one perhaps significantly more open than its author appears to have been at the moments that mattered.
Bill Griffiths with Hugh Popham. 'Blind to Misfortune.'
The British public may be more aware of Bill Griffiths’ story than we are here in Australia but it is one of the most remarkable, life-affirming stories to come out of the terrible Pacific POW experience. In Java in early 1942, Griffiths was ordered by Japanese at the point of twenty bayonets to pull camouflage netting from the side of a road. He didn’t know what was under the netting but he knew from the way the Japanese were behaving that it wasn’t going to be good. With few options, he heaved at the material and set off a violent explosion that made him think his face had been blown off. He realised it was not because he heard himself say that out loud. Through this whole terrible ordeal, he remained conscious. His “bomb-shattered body” was brought to ‘Weary’ Dunlop who made “the rather illogical decision to allot him top priority, and to treat him myself.” Griffiths’ “eyes were shattered in the wreck of his face, his hands blown away, one leg with a severe compound fracture; he was peppered everywhere with imbedded fragments, and he was exsanguinated [suffering from blood loss] and shocked.” Despite everything, Griffiths survived that trauma, complete blindness, loss of both hands and three and a half years of captivity with keepers who saw him as a waste of rations and amused themselves by tormenting him. And that was only the start of it. What Billy Griffiths did after the war was even more impressive and it is hard to imagine a life-journey more memorable and more inspiring than his.
Kenneth Harrison. 'The Brave Japanese.'
I would rate this as one the best POW memoirs I have read. L/Sgt K.I. Harrison of the 4th Anti-Tank Regiment comes across as a really decent bloke who can also write. His son, Guy, has created a website connected to his father and made this book available for free as a PDF. If you don’t mind reading electronic copies of books, then it is hard to go past this one, especially at that price. Ken Harrison was involved in the Gemas ambush, then the Battle of Muar and spent time with Chinese guerillas in the Malayan state of Johore before being shot and captured. Like Braddon, he was sent to Pudu Prison, Kuala Lumpur, where Reg Newton was the senior Australian officer. From Pudu and Changi, Harrison was a member of ‘D’ Force’s ‘S’ Battalion under Major ‘Gray’ Schneider. From there he was sent to Japan with Newton Force on the notorious ‘Byoki Maru’ and saw out the last year of the war with ‘Roaring Reggie’ in Ohama #9-B. The title of the book proved rather too controversial for the general public when it was first published in 1966. In subsequent reprints it was re-branded, ‘The Road to Hiroshima’, but Guy Harrison had the good sense to revert to the original title in the PDF version. I am not sure I agree entirely with Ken Harrison’s thinking in so naming his story but one has to respect the authenticity of reverting to its original form—after all, Ken Harrison was there and, thankfully, I was not.
Rosalind Hearder. 'Keep the Men Alive.'
The key point to make about this book is that it is a work of great erudition dedicated to a very worthy subject. Like many non-fiction books, it started life as a doctoral thesis and, as such, is extremely well-researched. However, that genesis does not mean it is free from blemish and the main reason I have included it here is because of my earlier reference to an odd section near its end under the heading ‘Why Weary?’ Unfortunately, like many things, this is a case where one false step undoes a great deal of otherwise good work. I actually don’t know what the author was thinking including it and I have read quite a few books since and reviewed notes on others and cannot see any justification for her case. It is patently true that ‘Weary’ Dunlop was not the only medical officer on the Railway doing magnificent work. Every memoir and recollection of the former prisoners pays fulsome tribute to the efforts of their MOs whose Australian names include Albert Coates, Bruce Hunt, Kevin Fagan, A.A. Moon, Lloyd Cahill, Rowley Richards, Ewan Corlette and 36 more. If there were a conspiracy of some kind, it was imagined, not real, and most certainly not the result of anything ‘Weary’ said or did.
Agnes Keith. 'Three Came Home.'
This book is somewhat different from most that feature here but I recommend it highly. Before the outbreak of the Pacific War, the author was a journalist working for the ‘San Francisco Examiner’. During that time she was the victim of a random attack by a crazy man who fractured her skull in two places. Some time after her recovery she married Harry Keith who was a British civil servant in British North Borneo. In 1939, after five years living in Sandakan, Agnes published a book called ‘Land Below the Wind’ which was translated into a number of languages including Japanese. The copy I read was its thirty-first reprinting so it remained popular for many years. When the Japanese landed Keith, her husband and their two-year-old son became civilian internees. Agnes’s book about life in Borneo made her something of a celebrity amongst her Japanese captors and she was often trotted out as a trophy internee and given the task of writing about her experiences – in suitably glowing terms – by the senior Japanese officer, Col. Suga. As the title of the book implies, all three members of the Keith family survived three and a half years of Japanese captivity, mainly at Kuching. Keith is a consummate writer and a masterful story-teller. Her experience and perspective is rather different from that of most POWs but it is well worth considering. For instance, she tells one great story about the nuns who were interned with her at Kuching. They were outwardly deferential and polite to their Japanese captors and were treated relatively well as a result. However, in the background, they were amongst the biggest schemers and smugglers in camp. During one of the more scrupulous searches, nuns were examined carefully and it was found their voluminous habits and petticoats hid a veritable cornucopia of contraband. That wonderful anecdote is typical of the best this very rewarding book offers.
Frank Legg. 'The Gordon Bennett Story.'
Maj-Gen Henry Gordon Bennett, the GOC of the AIF’s 8th Division was a remarkable man. His record in the First World War was exemplary. He landed at Gallipoli on the first day and by 1000hrs that morning was amazing witnesses watching him move about on the ridge top; they believed he had “a charmed life”. Within two weeks he was the only officer of his battalion not killed or evacuated with wounds. He was himself wounded at Gallipoli and at Krithia and, when he was promoted brigadier, he was the youngest holder of that office in the entire British Commonwealth. In Malaya and Singapore his forthright and abrasive personality, which had already made him implacable enemies amongst the senior staff of the Australian army – most notably Blamey – irritated the hell out of the British – most notably Percival. His decision to escape from Singapore at the time of the surrender resulted in a court martial and a Royal Commission in 1945. I will leave the legal intricacies of that debate to others better qualified than me but whatever they may be, they are really beside the point as I see it and that is that he ordered his men to stay and then left them. Strangely enough, the men he left behind, the veterans of the 8th Division, didn’t see it that way. There is a famous photo of their return home which shows that. The legacy of this controversial leader is discussed by every commentator on the campaign and I think Legg’s readable and well-written contribution is the best available.
Gilbert Mant. 'Grim Glory.'
Gilbert Mant was a member of Reg Newton’s 2/19th Battalion until he was ‘manpowered’ back into his pre-war role as a correspondent for Reuters. He was on the ground during the Battle of Muar and amongst the fortunate to have been evacuated safely from Singapore before the capitulation. This short book was written with a fair bit of haste upon his return to Australia and, while it is imperfect, it is still pretty good. It is available through the Victorian State Library as a free PDF but just be aware that if you click on that link the PDF downloads straight away. While its wartime publication came with certain limitations, Mant is still a very good writer who paints vivid pictures. There was a lot he didn’t know when he was writing this and a lot he couldn’t say but what he does say is still well worth a look. Moreover, he maintained his links with his old battalion throughout his life and did a power of work for them editing and polishing their unit history which was published in 1975
Gilbert Mant. 'Massacre at Parit Sulong.'
This is a really interesting book, written late in Gilbert Mant’s life and clearly the result of some demons he needed to work out of his system. Much of it is based on survivor Lt Ben Hackney’s typescript, ‘Dark Evening’. Mant describes in forthright and candid terms an interview of Hackney in 1950. In it, he asked Hackney to remove his shirt and reveal the scars on his back—Hackney had shrapnel wounds in four places, had a broken leg, was beaten so that his eyebrow hung as a flap over his eye and was bayoneted three times—for a photo which was used in an article headed ‘The Man They Couldn’t Kill’. Little wonder this was “a difficult and awkward interview”. In 1975 Hackney approached Mant and asked him to help put his 115 page typescript into book form. Mant said no and the message conveying that was the last contact Mant had with Hackney until the death of the latter in 1984. There are things Hackney did not reveal to Mant such as his relationship with Reg Wharton in Pudu Jail; Mant acknowledges both were there but makes the improbable claim that neither was aware of the other. Since there were only about 175 Australians in that place and all were housed together, that raises eyebrows in itself. Perhaps the claim was made out of respect for what Mant presumed to be Hackney’s wishes. Sadly, Wharton died at the age of 64 in 1987—three years after his wartime and postwar protector, Lt Ben Hackney. Wharton never spoke of his experiences to his two children but wrote a short account of his war service which began, “This is a story of a young Australian who enlisted in the Army to fight for his country and …[who would] find untold happiness despite his broken body and blackened mind.” Need I say more other than to include here a link to an image of the unbelievably resolute and dignified, Lt Ben Hackney.
Roger Maynard. 'Ambon.'
There is a link to the Gull Force Association on the Links page and I have put more information there. However, this book tells the whole gripping but totally horrifying story of the Australian soldiers sent to defend Ambon as the seemingly unstoppable Imperial Japanese Army was rolling south from Singapore to what seemed at that stage inevitably Australia’s northern shores. The AIF commanders who sent them there held out little hope for their survival and the question of whether their sacrifice made any appreciable difference is still being debated. Of the 1,131 men who were dispatched from this country, the losses were staggering. By the time of their liberation in September 1945, the death toll they paid was exceeded in Australian terms only by the tragic events played out on Borneo in the Sandakan Death Marches. The CO of the 2/21st Battalion, Lt-Col. W.J.R. Scott, was a controversial figure before the war and proved to be an unpopular and highly ineffective leader of men in captivity. His story is an object lesson in how not to command through such difficult circumstances so, in some ways, we could say he was the Yin to Reg Newton’s Yang.
Hank Nelson. 'P.O.W. Prisoners of War: Australians Under Nippon.'
In my comments on Peter Brune’s ‘Descent Into Hell’, I said this is where it all began for me and that is true with regard to the Reg Newton story but it is far from true in regard to my interest in this subject overall. And, yes, like most people my age, I can remember standing at primary school assemblies listening over the PA to ABC Radio Anzac Day broadcasts about such remarkable Australians as Simpson at Gallipoli and ‘Weary’ on the Railway. But it was the 16-part 1984 ABC radio series put together by Tim Bowden and his good mate, Hank Nelson, entitled ‘Australians Under Nippon’, which really piqued my interest. This is the companion book to that series and it is good. The original and unedited recordings of interviews with figures such as Reg Newton can be listened to through the AWM site. But Hank Nelson, ‘the boy from Boort’, despite his impressive academic credentials, comes across as a down-to-earth and very genuine bloke who, like his good mate L/Cpl T. Bowden, was able to engage with aging diggers and had the good sense to initiate this project which recorded for posterity conversations with traumatised survivors who, 40 years on, were at last ready to speak publicly of their experiences. We cannot thank them enough for their foresight and for the ABC’s willingness to give Bowden two and a half years to work on the reading, research and travel required to do justice to interviews with such extraordinary men. While we will never see their like again, we can thankfully read of their recollections in this very accessible book and listen to them anywhere at any time online. How awesome is that?
Chaim Nussbaum. 'Chaplain on the River Kwai.'
This book was published in 1988. Coming as it does from a padre who ministered to those of the Jewish faith in the Dutch army, it provides an unusual but valuable perspective on the Pacific POW experience and the Burma-Thailand Railway. Nussbaum was originally from a small town near Auschwitz. When he was 5 y.o. his family moved to a suburb of the Hague. In about 1940 by a circuitous route, he ended up in Java with his wife and two children. While in the East Indies, he joined the Dutch armed forces but after captivity served in an unofficial capacity as chaplain since, although a qualified physicist, he was also a rabbi. The diary on which this book is based was written during his captivity as a long letter to his wife. Putting the material into publishable form was a task that had to wait until Nussbaum’s retirement at which time he was living in Toronto. Nussbaum writes well and comes across as a calm, sensible person who saw the world with all its ugly realities but loved it and people and life all the same. Nussbaum tells many good stories one of the most powerful of which involved an Australian black marketeer who had been involved with the extraction of gold teeth from dead Chinese businessmen massacred by the Japanese on Java. This individual also profited in a variety of ways which were highly questionable. The passage about him raises a great many questions—probably similar to those amongst survivors of Nazi concentration camps: What did survivors have to do to preserve their lives? Was everything they did beyond reproach? How would any of us conduct ourselves in similar situations? And how could we possibly know the answer to those questions unless we had experienced somewhat similar conditions? Surely these are questions which echo through the annals of all POW memoirs: British and Australian soldiers having to chase cholera-infested romusha from under their huts on Japanese orders; having to bury cholera-suffering Tamils alive; maybe sneaking a bit of extra food or a few delicacies for themselves rather than sharing with their mates; being selfish or allowing greed to over-ride normal decency; perhaps sometimes they were so low and dispirited that they were right bastards to comrades working around them. I feel sure relations between POWs were not all sunshine and light but what I find so great about Nussbaum’s account is that he can recognise all that, all man’s manifest imperfections, and yet love man all the same. Surely that is a wonderful, life-affirming message coming as it does out of one of the previous century’s darkest chapters. Surely that gives cause for all of us to have faith in the future, faith in humanity and not dwell obsessively in our own, others’ and the world’s faults and imperfections. Overall, we have things pretty good and we have to remember to thank those of our preceding generation who put in the hard yards to ensure it would be that way.
Ray Parkin. Wartime Trilogy.
No review of reading regarding the Australian POW experience in the Pacific would be complete without giving pride of place to Ray Parkin’s landmark trilogy. The first book, ‘Into the Smother’, deals with his time serving on HMAS Perth, its sinking in the Sunda Strait and ends with his going into captivity in Java. ‘Out of the Smoke’ is based on the diary Parkin kept while in Java and then on the Railway as part of Dunlop Force. ‘The Sword and the Blossom’ deals with the Byoki Maru’s extraordinary 70-day voyage to Japan and then the last year of the war spent in Ohama #9-B with Reg Newton. Reggie’s simple comment about him was, “Ray Parkin was a fantastically good bloke.” In these books Parkin uses pseudonyms and a protagonist who is an alter-ego—though curiously not the same throughout—but events are not far removed from reality and, anyone who is interested can trace back through records to find to whom he was referring in almost any particular instance. Parkin himself was a remarkable man. He was a career petty officer in the RAN when the war began and served under the redoubtable Hec Waller on the Perth. After the war he built the house he had dreamed of during captivity on Melbourne’s Yarra River in Ivanhoe. Thereafter he did casual night-work as a tally clerk on the docks while raising a family and, in quiet isolation, producing one of the landmark literary works to come out of the Second World War. Anyone interested in exploring more of his story should read Pattie’s Wright’s biography, ‘Ray Parkin’s Odyssey.’
Ian Denys Peek. 'One Fourteenth of an Elephant.'
I am going to sound frivolous if I say again that this is another of my favourite POW memoirs, but it is. Briton, Denys Peek and his brother, Ron, were members of the Straits Settlement Volunteers when the Japanese invaded Malaya. After the Allied surrender, Peek was sent to the Railway in October 1942 and spent time at Tonchan South prior to Reg Newton’s ‘U’ Battalion arriving there in June 1943. His description of the senior British officer at that camp and the notorious Japanese guard, ‘the Tiger’ are both relevant to and revealing about Reg Newton’s story. In his opening comments, Peek says he avoided reading other accounts of the Burma-Thailand Railway project and it took him sixty years to put his own views on paper. By that time he was living in Perth and was at peace with the world—mostly. There were some he would never forget and others he struggled to forgive. But his writing is vivid, moving and evocative. There are two beautiful reviews of this book available online for anyone interested in exploring the subject further: one is by Sibylla Jane Flower and the other is by Jonathan Mirsky.
Rowley Richards. 'A Doctor’s War.'
This is another of those personal memoirs that was a long time in the pipeline. NX70273 Captain Charles Rowland Bromley ‘Rowley’ Richards was the medical officer of the 2/15th Field Regiment. He was only 26 when sent with Varley’s ‘A’ Force to work at the Burmese end of the Line. Richards kept a diary and records at the time but did not publish this account of his experiences until he was in his eightieth year. There are great stories within. Richards describes himself as a man “more comfortable with facts than feelings” and that comes across in his account. At the same time, that is no doubt a quality which made him a good doctor – especially in the conditions he encountered in Burma. He was committed to the care of his men and took on a great deal for a man of such a young age. It is interesting that he is one of the few who would admit to clashing with Lt-Col. Charles Anderson, VC. That in itself is endlessly intriguing and speaks to the dark forest through which the path of human relations winds. Rowley Richards was clearly a great bloke, much loved by so many of the men who owed their lives to him or who had mates who did. Well worth a read.
Hal Richardson. 'One-Man War.'
It is February 2025 and I have just finished reading Hal Richardson’s biography of Capt. R.K. ‘Jock’ McLaren, MC and Bar, MID. McLaren’s unit is listed on the DVA site as ‘Z’ Special Unit and his rank is shown as captain but, at the time of the Singapore capitulation, he was a private in the 2/10th Field Workshops which was part of the ill-fated 8th Div. Prior to getting my hands on a copy of Richardson’s 1957 biography of McLaren, I had seen numerous references to him. He was remarkable because he escaped from Japanese captivity twice and lived to tell the tale. Not only that but he was a WWI veteran who had fought with the British 51st Highland Bn in that conflict and was 42 y.o. at the time of the Singapore capitulation. McLaren’s first escape was from Changi with two mates from the 2/10th Fd Wkshps on 19 February 1942. In that effort, he managed to get to Johore where he and his comrades joined a band of Chinese communist guerillas located between Yong Peng and Kluang. After some time with the guerillas, McLaren’s party was permitted to make their way north but they were recaptured near a small town named Rompin (no date for that is given in the Richardson account). Remarkably, McLaren and his two mates, Wilkie and Burnett, were not executed. They were sent to Pudu where they remained until October 1942 before being sent to Changi and, from there, late in March 1943, McLaren was sent to Borneo as part of ‘E’ Force. Initially, he was at a camp at Kuching where he met Agnes Keith, author of the famous memoir, ‘Three Came Home’. From Kuching, he was shortly afterwards transferred to Berhala Island. On 4 June 1943 McLaren and six others escaped from there in two separate parties and made their way to Tawi Tawi Island. The second party, led by Capt. Ray Steele, collected WO Walter Wallace who had escaped from the Sandakan camp a couple of weeks earlier. All eight of these escapees then made it to Mindanao in the Philippines where they joined US-led guerillas fighting the Japanese. McLaren’s mate, Rex Butler, and another escapee, Lt Charles A. Wagner, were subsequently killed in skirmishes with Japanese forces on Mindanao. The six who survived were the first to tell Australian authorities of conditions for POWs on Borneo and elsewhere, including Pudu in Kuala Lumpur. Along with the other famous six who escaped the death marches in the last weeks of the war, they are the only escapees from Borneo to have survived. But that is not the end of McLaren’s story. In his time as a guerilla fighter, Pte ‘Jock’ McLaren was promoted to captain, awarded two MCs, mentioned in dispatches, recruited to the mysterious SRD branch of ‘Z’ Special Force, parachuted back into Borneo on two separate occasions and, while in the Philippines, removed his own appendix without anaesthetic. If that seems incredible, I can offer no defence. And this is where I find myself in a quandary over Richardson’s account. It exhibits the annoying tendency to tell every story with McLaren as the all-seeing, all-knowing hero of every episode and I’m not sure if that is due to McLaren or Richardson, the latter of whom was a journalist working for the Melbourne ‘Argus’. My favourite incident in that category is an alleged conversation between McLaren and Blamey on Morotai in April 1945 where the former is improbably credited with suggesting a paratroop operation to free the Sandakan POWs. (That operation had been in the planning stages long before April 1945 and the Australian 1st Paratroop Bn had been training for it on the Atherton Tablelands for some time.) That being said, McLaren’s record speaks for itself and a photograph of him available at the AWM at the end of the war shows him as a very lean and hard man. Sadly, after all his remarkable adventures and experiences, McLaren was killed in March 1956 when “rotted timber fell on him near his home at Wau, New Guinea.”
Rohan D. Rivett. 'Behind Bamboo.'
This book was originally published in 1946. Rohan Rivett was a Melbourne journalist working for the Malayan Broadcasting Corporation at the time of the Singapore surrender. After a determined escape attempt, he was captured in Java early in March 1942. Despite his civilian status, he was sent to the Burmese end of the Railway with Brig. Varley’s ‘A’ Force. He was accorded officer status but seems to have suffered from many of the diseases and ailments that afflicted the men. As he reports, the POWs told him repeatedly that he would have to write their story and this book was the fulfilment of his promise to them at that time. Much of it was drafted during captivity where its discovery could have had serious consequences. It reads well and is a comprehensive account which has been reprinted eight times and sold over 100,000 copies. I was impressed. However, a note of caution must be added insofar as the 1982 comment by Reg Newton was that, like Braddon’s ‘The Naked Island’, this account was “a pack of lies”. Evidently, this was a view held widely amongst former POWs.
Lord Russell. ‘The Knights of Bushido.'
This is a classic reference. It hardly makes for pleasant reading and is the companion volume to his earlier work, ‘The Scourge of the Swastika.’ Russell was one of the chief legal advisers at the Nuremburg trials. Amongst other things, this volume deals well with the so-called ‘China Incident’, a terrible chapter in the history of the Pacific region which features far too little in the Western consciousness. It is uncompromising in its examination of the calumnies of Dai Nippon and their imperial ambitions. Most former POWs devoted a lot of time and thought to the question of what motivated the Japanese and, as one former digger put it, why they were such bastards. I don’t know that anyone will ever find an answer to that extremely troubling question other than to suggest that the combination of racial indoctrination, hubris and unfettered power provided a catalyst to an orgy of cruelty and brutality the likes of which one hopes will never be seen again. So, for those wishing to investigate that unsavoury subject, this is a good place to start.
Lynette Ramsay Silver. 'The Bridge at Parit Sulong.'
Lynette Ramsay Silver rose to prominence with her comprehensive account of the Sandakan death marches. She has since been appointed the official historian of the 8th Division. In this book she uses her well-recognised forensic attention to detail to examine the massacre of 110 Australians and 35 Indians; they had been wounded in the fighting in the Battle of Muar and on January 22nd 1942 were left to the gentle ministrations of the Japanese 5th Imperial Guards Division. The two survivors of this massacre were Lt Ben Hackney and Pte Reg Wharton, both of whom were imprisoned at Pudu Jail with Reg Newton where the merest whisper of their ordeal and what they saw would have resulted in their instant deaths. The other notable account for those interested is by Gilbert Mant but there is also the report written by Ben Hackney after the war and available through the AWM’s website; it makes for confronting but compelling reading. For those interested in this battle, the conduct of the Japanese and the fractured process of bringing the guilty to some form of justice at the conclusion of hostilities, this book is essential reading.
Julie Summers. 'The Colonel of Tamarkan: Philip Toosey and the Bridge on the River Kwai.'
Lt-Col. Philip Toosey, RA, was the Senior British Officer at Tamarkan, Nong Pladuk and Kanchanaburi from October 1942 until the end of the war. This biography is written by his grand-daughter and that comes with some risks but she writes well and has done a lot of research, including travelling to Thailand and getting to know the sister, daughter and grand-daughter of the legendary Thai trader, Boon Pong.
The starting premise for the book is that Toosey was the model for Alec Guinness’s character, Col. Nicholson, in the film ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’. Therefore, Summers seeks to debunk myths all of which suggests David Lean’s 1957 film had a far greater impact on the British public’s view of the Japanese POW experience than it did in Australia. Still, while treading at times into the realm of hagiography, this account makes it clear Toosey was a capable leader and he was described as such by Rohan Rivett who was in Nong Pladuk late in the war. The story is also very readable although Toosey’s experiences near the Thai rail-head were definitely not representative of what occurred “up-jungle” where, as one staff officer Summers quotes said, “nothing held the beast in check.” Still, the book is a commendable achievement and an engaging study in the challenges of command under some of the most testing circumstances imaginable.
Colonel Masanobu Tsuji. 'Singapore Japanese Version.'
This is another book which I include with serious misgivings but I do so in order to warn readers to approach with caution. Before the Pacific War and while fighting in China, Tsuji was involved in an ultra-rightist plot against his nation’s government. During the Malayan campaign, he was a senior staff officer to the ‘Tiger of Malaya’, General Yamashita. After the war, Tsuji was hidden from Allied war crimes prosecutors for three years and, upon returning to Japan, was elected to the Japanese Diet. My overall assessment of this contribution to the record is that it is a self-serving crock of nonsense yet it is a source frequently cited by researchers; this, despite its risible efforts to airbrush unconscionable atrocities from history. One of Tsuji’s most egregious lies is this: “Those Asian peoples who were emancipated by the fall of Singapore will eternally pronounce benedictions on their benefactors.” Ten million people in the Asia-Pacific region gave their lives to demonstrate the vainglorious folly of the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere. As writer Robert Holman says, “the IJA managed to pull off the Asian Holocaust, one of the great democides of modern history.” Coupled with that, there is an introduction written by the former AIF 8th Div. GOC, Lt-Gen. Henry Gordon Bennett, which alone would be enough to highlight starkly the lack of judgement that got him into trouble elsewhere. Serious students of the subject may wish to read it despite these warnings. Which is fine. I read it myself but I would advise it be done near a source of water because a bath will be required after immersion in its shameful cesspit of falsehoods, fabrications and lies.
Reg Twigg. 'Survivor on the River Kwai.'
I knew nothing about this when I bought it but would recommend it to anyone interested in the subject. I believe it was Reg’s son, Clive Medway, who wrote most of it and he has produced a very readable page-turner, despite the unfortunate title. Reg Twigg died in 2013, only a fortnight before the book was published. However, he made it to the grand old age of 99. Twigg, 4863477 Pte Reginald, was part of the Leicestershire Regiment and arrived in Singapore on Saturday May 17th 1941. “Some time in October” 1942 he was sent to the Railway and was thereafter in the thick of things at Konyu, Tonchan and Hintok. Throughout his ordeal, he demonstrated the kind of gritty good humour and vitality typical of a stumpy little Pom and I am sure that mindset helped him survive. If you are looking for one of those classic memoirs told in the inimitable style that only a British private soldier can, then it is hard to go past this gem.
Don Wall. 'Singapore and Beyond:
The Story of the Men of the 2/20 Battalion.'
The 2/20th Battalion was the sister battalion to the 2/19th but that didn’t mean they liked each other. Strangely enough, the two units which had so much in common spent a great deal of their time at loggerheads – go figure. For Reg Newton, this represented a real problem when he was put in charge of a combined party to go to the Railway in March 1943. The 2/20th men were not happy and, to calm the waters, Reg called them onto the parade square at Changi. He didn’t get far into his remarks before a digger at the back told him to ‘Get fucked!’ His response was indicative of how he earnt the title ‘Roaring Reggie’. He strode to the man and struck him a blow that laid him out then he returned to his box in front of the assembled troops. I am not sure if this move would have earned him a career in the diplomatic corps but it certainly got the attention of all concerned. Pte Don Wall, of Narrandera NSW, compiled this unit history forty years after the guns fell silent and the ‘Kurrahs!’ stopped. It is compelling reading and led me directly to his next self-published work, ‘Heroes of F Force’, which I think is even better.
Don Wall (ed.) ‘Heroes of F Force.’
As mentioned elsewhere and as anyone who has got this far with this page will know, ‘F’ Force had a very tough time of it on the Railway. They and ‘H’ Force had the lowest survival rates of any of the Railway parties involving Australians. There were four main reasons for that: they had too many officers or, as Newton called them, ‘drones’; they were sent to the furthest reaches of the Line; they were part of the IJA’s Malayan POW command despite being in Thailand and they were very badly led. In fact, their senior Australian officer, Lt-Col. C.H. Kappe, had the unenviable distinction of being just about the worst – and most despised – leader of men this country’s military has ever produced. And yet there are great stories here of giant figures like the amazing Dr Bruce Hunt. What a man! I would say purchasing this book would be difficult but it is held by regional libraries in this country and can be borrowed from them. I recommend it. It is told by the men who were there and the intervening years allowed them perspective, reflection and to polish stories of moments that changed their lives when they were young.
Lionel Wigmore. 'The Japanese Thrust.'
Official histories may not be to everybody’s taste but Wigmore’s account of Australia’s involvement in the Malayan campaign is the one from which many subsequent retellings are sourced. He deals with the broad sweep of events while still sustaining a gripping narrative. Peter Brune’s chapter in ‘Descent Into Hell’ examining the postwar manoeuvrings amongst key players to ensure the final version was sympathetic to their cause is most revealing. In the end, Wigmore manages these competing forces masterfully and still gets in a few insightful swipes along the way. His general restraint and reserve make these moments all the more telling. Perhaps I should include it as a separate entry but A.J. Sweeting is the author of Part III which is the history of the Australian Pacific POW experience. This is also very well-written and readable. One of the great things is that now both of these contributions to the official Australian record of the Second World War are available online and for free through the AWM. Anyone serious about either the Malayan campaign or the captivity which came as a consequence cannot pass up an opportunity to read these comprehensive accounts.
Pattie Wright. 'The Men of the Line
Stories of the Thai-Burma Railway Survivors.'
This is a sumptuous book on a difficult subject. It has many high quality images and maps and is a great reference for those seeking to understand some finer points of the Railway experience. Because it gives descriptions of the camps along the Line, it is not written in the narrative form that might have a broader appeal. Wright says putting this information together was a five-year project. She has recollections from POWs who were at all (or almost all) of the camps involved in the railroad project and that is an admirable achievement. Camps came and went with a fair degree of rapidity; they were known by different names and different spellings; many of the prisoners afterwards said they were in a stupefied daze for months and frequently had no idea where they were and nor did they care. That was yet another matter beyond their control, not worth the time and effort required to question. That being said, Wright’s book is invaluable insofar as it joins the dots. So, while I feel it targets the more specialised reader, it is a great reference, made all the more valuable since the numbers of survivors still living would now be close to single figures.
Pattie Wright. 'Ray Parkin's Odyssey.'
This is the Parkin biography referred to above. The author, Pattie Wright, was filming a documentary about the Railway when she interviewed Parkin in his Ivanhoe home. Her description of that first encounter is most interesting and underlines why Tim Bowden, who interviewed a lot of former POWs, said Parkin was probably the most remarkable individual he ever met. Wright tells the story of Parkin’s wartime service but also of his life after, of his extraordinary artwork and of the book he wrote about James Cook’s ship Endeavour, which started because he wanted to get the dimensions right for the lithograph he would use on his annual Christmas card. That two-volume work, finished in 1979, was championed by a number of editors but remained unpublished until comedian, the late John Clarke, took up the cause and Miegunyah Press published it in 1997. For a man without a lot of formal education, writing a work regarded now as an essential reference for those researching the voyages of Captain James Cook speaks volumes about its author. For anyone interested, there is vision from a 1987 Channel 10 interview with Parkin on the AWM’s website where he talks of his life-long friendship with ‘Weary’ Dunlop and why that surgeon and former rugby international was so loved by his men. Great Australian that he was, Parkin died in June 2005.
John Wyett. 'Staff Wallah at the Fall of Singapore.'
This is the most recent addition to this list and that update is October 2024. It reflects no great credit on me that it took this long to read this book which is cited in a number of other accounts of the Pacific POW experience. However, if you can find a copy, read it because Wyett tells ripping yarns and was a central figure in the main action of the Malayan Campaign. I judge him to be a very fair and reliable witness. As a result, his comments on Maj-Gen. Henry Gordon Bennett are of particular interest. In short, Wyett was no fan and his reasons for that opinion were not based on hearsay or supposition: Wyett saw Gordon Bennett in operation up close and personal and condemned him for his escape and for his order to those under him to stand fast and not do what he himself did. Others may feel differently about Wyett and his account but this is one I recommend highly. It should also be noted that during his captivity, Wyett spent nine months in the notorious Outram Road Gaol as a guest of the kempeitai who were far from hospitable hosts.