This is the second book of Cameron’s that i have read and it was up to the same excellent standard of the previous one.

“On 21 July 1942, a large Japanese reconnaissance mission landed along the north-eastern coastline of Papua, it would soon turn into an all-out attempt to capture Port Morseby. This is the powerful story of the three weeks of battle by a small Australian militia force, the 39th Battalion, supported by the 1st Papua Infantry Battalion and the Royal Papuan Constabulary, to keep the Japanese at bay. Outnumbered by at least three to one, they fought courageously to hold the Kokoda Plateau – the gateway to the Owen Stanleys. Critically short of ammunition and food and stranded in the fetid swamps and lowland jungles, they did everything they could to keep the Kokoda airstrip out of Japanese hands.

The “Fuzzy Wuzzy” angels that provided the long tenuous life line for the Australian Militia.

Not far away, and desperately trying to reach the Australians, were two groups of Anglican missionaries trapped behind enemy lines. With each passing day the parties grew, joined by lost Australian soldiers and downed American airmen. Theirs is a story of tragedy and betrayal.

This is the powerful story of the three weeks of battle by a small Australian militia force, the 39th Battalion, supported by the 1st Papua Infantry Battalion and the Royal Papuan Constabulary, to keep the Japanese at bay. Outnumbered by at least three to one, they fought courageously to hold the Kokoda Plateau – the gateway to the Owen Stanleys. Critically short of ammunition and food and stranded in the fetid swamps and lowland jungles, they did everything they could to keep the Kokoda airstrip out of Japanese hands.

Using letters, diaries and other first-hand accounts, from friend and foe alike, leading military historian David W Cameron, has for the first time written a detailed, compelling and provocative account of what occurred at the northern foot of the Owen Stanleys in late July and early August 1942. These are stories that deserve to be firmly embedded into the Kokoda legend.” From the Publisher.

For me there were several highlights in the book. The first was the excellent information it provided about the Papuan North Coast around Buna and Gona, both immediately before and after the Japanese landing.

The detail of the initial skirmish between the Papuan Constabulary and a Japanese Sea plane and the logistical difficulties the Japanese had are insightful.

The really gripping story, however, is the pathos, heroism and tragedy of the Australian missionaries caught behind the Japanese lines and in effect following the Japanese advance along the Kokoda track to try and get to safety. Their story is portrayed in this stain glass window found in St John`s Cathedral, Brisbane.

The window commemorates the four women missionaries who were killed in Papua in 1942 by the Japanese. The inclusion of their names in the Cathedral window is a reminder of the sacrifice and devotion to duty that these Australian missionary workers displayed when the Japanese invaded.

New Guinea Martyrs Sister May Hayman, Sister Margery Brenchley, The Rev’d Vivian Redlich and Miss Mavis Parkinson (Image courtesy of the Anglican Church Records and Archives Centre)

Over three hundred Christians lost their lives in New Guinea during the invasion and occupation of the island by the Japanese forces during Word War Two. The four women depicted in the stained glass window are representative of those who remained at their posts, refusing to desert the people they cared for.

New Guinea Martyrs John Stanley Duffill, Lilla Lashmar and The Rev’d Bernard Moore (Image again courtesy of the Anglican Church Records and Archives Centre

One of the martyrs, The Rev’d Vivian Redlich, was engaged to another, Mavis Parkinson’s friend and missionary nurse Sister May Hayman. Redlich and Hayman were separated at the time of the invasion. Both Parkinson and Hayman were killed at Popondetta after being imprisoned in a small coffee hut for days. A New Guinea local had tried to help them escape, but they had waived him away fearing he would get into trouble.

Originally it was believed that May Hayman’s fiancé, The Rev’d Redlich, was among the martyrs beheaded on Buna Beach. But following 70 years of secrecy and shame among the local villagers, it was officially revealed in 2009 that he was speared to death by an Orokaivan tribesman while on his way to reunite with nurse Hayman weeks after the Japanese invasion.

The Reverend James Benson was the only missionary to survive. Previously before his stint in New Guinea he lost his wife and two children in a tragic car accident.

In January 1942 the Anglican bishop, Philip Strong, had broadcast an appeal to them to stay at their work, come what may. Many of the missionaries themselves wished to stay and had already resisted calls to turn to safety. On 21 July 1942 the Japanese invaded the island near the mission station at Gona where Mavis Parkinson, a teacher, and May Hayman, a nurse, were based.

Eventually they were caught and murdered by the Japanese at Popondetta in August 1942. Their bodies were later recovered and buried at Sangara Mission Station. Mavis Parkinson came from Ipswich and May Hayman from Fortitude Valley. Lilla Lashmar, a teacher, and Margery Brenchley, a nurse, who had been working at Sangara Mission Station were beheaded on the beach at Buna. Their bodies were never recovered, as it was believed that they were thrown into the sea.

The story of Mavis Parkinson and May Hayman were told through lengthy letters to their family that were written daily on their quest for freedom, and were found in their grave at Popondetta by Doc Vernon.

Stories like these are terrible and serve to remind us that WAR IS TERRIBLE!

Their sacrifice is remembered on New Guinea Martyr day on the 2 September each year.