The Witness: The Fighting Had Ended but for Sandakan’s Most Notorious Prisoner the War Was Not Over

Tom Gilling

Dec 2022 · Bolinda · Narrated by James Saunders

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9 hr 19 min

Unabridged

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About this audiobook

That b*st*rd's still alive? I'm going to kill him with my bare hands.' POW Bill Moxham At the Australian war crimes trials that followed World War II, one prosecution witness stood out: Warrant Officer Bill Sticpewich. During his three years in the infamous Sandakan POW camp, Sticpewich had seen hundreds of fellow prisoners die of starvation, sickness and overwork. Others were shot or bayoneted to death by Japanese guards on forced marches through the Borneo jungle. Of more than 2400 Allied prisoners at Sandakan at the start of 1945, only six survived. It was Sticpewich's meticulous evidence that sent Sandakan's commandant and his murderous henchmen to the gallows. But to his fellow prisoners Sticpewich was not a war hero, he was a collaborator who avoided heavy labour and obtained extra rations by ingratiating himself with the Japanese. Was Sticpewich a traitor or a man who did what he needed to stay alive? Drawing on wartime records, original interviews and the recollections of other survivors, The Witness reveals the compelling story of Australia's most notorious POW.

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About the author

Tom Gilling is an acclaimed novelist and non-fiction author who was born in England, but has lived in Australia since 1983. His first two novels, The Sooterkin and Miles McGinty, were New York Times notable books of the year. His non-fiction works include Bastard behind the Lines, The Lost Battalions and The Witness. He is also co-author with Clive Small of the bestselling true crime books Smack Express, Blood Money, Evil Life and Milat.

James is an award-winning actor who has performed on stages and screens throughout Australia, Europe and the Americas. His work in film and TV includes Animal Kingdom, The Turning, Offspring, Winners and Losers, The Doctor Blake Mysteries and Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. James has also worked across radio, documentary and drama, spanning 17 years and counting.

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