Pattie Wright

Ray Parkin was 95 years old when he died in 2005, but during WWII he was serving in the Australian Navy on HMAS Perth when it was sunk in battle in the Java Sea. Against the odds he and a handful of others attempted unsuccessfully to sail to Australia in a life boat, but were captured by the Japanese and after a short stay in Changi, were sent to work on the Thai-Burma railway, and later to Japan to work in the coal mines,a short distance form Hiroshima. We are fortunate that during all this time Ray secretly documented his story. He also made many excellent drawings and watercolours of everything around him and managed to get many of them safely back to Australia.
Pattie Wright has provided a excellent biography, portraying a determined man with honest values who cherishes mateship and a fair go.
A book I would highly recommend.… (lisätietoja)

In 1942 22,000 Australians in South-East Asia became prisoners of war to the Imperial Japanese Army. Approximately 7500 of these men died through maltreatment, overwork, disease or starvation. (Compare this with the 7116 who became POWs in Germany where 242 died in captivity). A similar fate befell their British, American, Malay volunteer and Dutch co-prisoners, as well as thousands of Asian "coolie" workers, while they performed gruelling work constructing the Thai-Burma railway under appauling conditions, overseen by cruel captors.
In 2007 Pattie Wright obtained the stories of 55 men who worked on the Line. Some have lived a very long life, others had their stories told by family or mates. Many had not spoken of the horrors of this time before.
Their stories, while just a snapshot of each life, are accompanied by photos, maps and drawings, and pay tribute to the sacrifice of so many.
An appreciative read.… (lisätietoja)