Dimensions
154 x 234 x 20mm
This is the first full-length account of the experiences of a unique group of 145 Australian officers who were held prisoner by the Japanese at Sandakan, and later at Kuching, from 1942 to 1945. These officers were separated from their men in October 1943 in order to lessen their influence over them, after a radio and intelligence network was uncovered in the camp.
This is not a story of atrocities, although torture, beatings and abuse did occur. It is a story of the struggle to survive with ever diminishing resources, and the determination to maintain morale by reading, studying and the unearthing of musical and acting talents. An extensive educational program was organised by the officers that, along with the entertainment, helped to inspire the will to live. Their educational activities were far more comprehensive than those of any other group of PoWs.
After the war these former PoWs held frequent reunions where, despite the brutality, starvation and trauma they had suffered at the hands of the Japanese, the predominant note was laughter. They relived the jokes they shared, the times they fooled the guards, the songs they sang, the plays they staged, and the many amusing incidents that occurred in the camps. These good times were recorded in a book called 'Borneo Burlesque', a limited publication reproducing the posters that had been drawn to advertise the plays and musicals produced in the camps, along with cast lists and plot synopses.
