Ill, maps, index, p.654.non-fictionIn 1939, Ray Parkin was serving on the Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth. At first glance he looked every inch the archetypal petty officer that he was - tough, practical and a model of naval discipline. Yet Ray was no ordinary sailor. Despite a lack of formal education, he had the soul of an artist and a philosopher's enquiring mind. As HMAS Perth was embroiled in war - in the Mediterranean and then in South-East Asia - Ray became both a witness and a chronicler of the conflict through his meticulous diaries and his minutely observed watercolours and sketches. When Perth was sunk off the coast of Java, Ray was one of the survivors. After a valiant attempt to sail back to Australia in a lifeboat, he surrendered and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of the Japanese, first building the Thai-Burma Railway and then working as a slave labourer in a Japanese coalmine. The horrors and privations of those years saw some of his most memorable artwork - documenting both the beauty of the natural world and the savageries and humiliations of the POW ordealprisoners of war - japan - death railway, ex prisoners of war - biography

Ill, p.108non-fictionA look at the role of these Australian - built and Australian - manned ships in WW II. australia - royal australian navy - history, world war 1939-1945 - naval operations - australia

Index, p.388.non-fictionThe ignominious fall of Singapore to the Japanese in February 1942 marked the climax of the greatese crisis in Anglo-Australian relations - Britain's inexcusable betrayal of Australia in time of war. Until World War II, Australia had always rushed to the Imperial colours, confident that just as Australian blood was shed for the Mother Country, so too would British Blood be in the defence of Australia. But in 1939 Australia lay wide open to attack, her defences practically non-existent, and she was reluctant to commit her meagre forces overseas. Her objections were overcome, however, by an unequivocal British promise to protect her from a Japanese attack, so she sent troops and ships to the northern hemisphere, leaving Singapore naval base as the cornerstone of her own defence policy. Britain's promise to defend Australia was made with little concern for the possibility of its ever being implemented and, certainly, in 1939 a direct threat to Australia looked unlikely. During 1940 and 1941, however, the threat from Japan increased, while Britain's ability to counter it weakened. Yet the British government resisted calls to strengthen the Far Eastern Defence, continually reassuring Australia that the Japanese threat would not materialize and that, even if it did, Britain could still contain it. Then the inconceivable happened: in December 1941 the Japanese decimated the US fleet at Pearl Harbour and in early 1942 took Singapore, leaving Australia suddenly in immediate peril. But the oft-repeated promise to defend the Dominion came to nought. And, at the most crucial time in Australia's history, Churchill tried to prevent substantial American forces from being sent to the pacific, and even attempted to delay the repatriation of Australian troops needed for defence. Thus Britain deliberately left Australia at the mercy of Japan, using her to divert and delay the Japanese thrust westwards towards India and the Middle East...[inside front and back cover]. This compelling and controversial book reveals how in 1942 Churchill, in an attempt to delay an attack on India, left Australia at the mercy of the Japanese by trying to prevent American forces being sent to the Pacific. Drawing on a wealth of sources, including many previously unavailable to historians, David Day exposes a saga of empty promises and asks serious questions about the past and future relationship between Britain and Australia. Collapse summary worls war 1939-1945 - diplomatic history, australia - foreign relations - britain

Index, ill, maps, p.706.non-fictionOf all the Australians who fought in the Second World War, none saw more action nor endured so much of its hardship and horror as the crew of the cruiser HMAS Perth. Most were young - many were still teenagers - from cities and towns, villages and farms across the nation. In three tumultuous years they did battle with the forces of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, the Vichy French and, finally, the Imperial Japanese Navy. Off the coast of Java in March 1942 she met an overwhelming enemy naval force. Firing until her ammunition literally ran out, she was sunk with the loss of 353 of her crew, including her much-loved captain. Another 328 men were taken into Japanese captivity, most to become slave labourers in the infinite hell of the Burma-Thai railway. Many died there. Only 218 men, less than a third of her crew, survived to return home at war's end. This is their story. royal australia navy - history, hmss perth

map, p.232.non-fictionTells the story of the operations of the German armed merchant raiders in the Second World Warworld war 1939 – 1945 –naval operations - germany, q-ships - germany

Ill, map, p.192.non-fictionRecounts the exploits of midget sub, suicide torpedo pilots and of Japanese submariners in World War Twoworld war 1939-1945 - naval operations - japan, submarines- japan

Ill, maps, index, p.642.non-fictionIn 1928 the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) acquired the fast and heavy cruiser HMAS Australia, the second RAN ship to bear this name. After being virtually mothballed in the Depression years she would come in to her own as the flagship of the Australian fleet when the world awoke to the menace of Hitler's Germany.royal australia navy - history, history - military - naval - australia

Index, ill, maps, p.305.non-fictionA history of naval uniforms from the late 19th century to post WWIImilitary uniforms, royal australian navy - history