SANDAKAN: A book that relates the experiences of an Australian soldier who became a prisoner-of-war in Sandakan during the Second World War was launched here Tuesday night.
“The Boy from Bowen – Diary of Sandakan POW” was launched by the writer, Leslie Bunn Glover, himself in conjunction with a welcome dinner for Anzac Day guests at the official residence of Sandakan Municipal Council president Datuk James Wong.
Also present were the Australian High Commissioner to Malaysia Miles Kupa and Sabah Tourism Board chairman Datuk Tengku Zainal Adlin. Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand.
The book is a personal life story of Glover, who is from Queensland, Australia.
At the age of 16, he enlisted as an army cadet and joined the army militia. He graduated as a lieutenant prior to his deployment overseas to Singapore, where he was taken prisoner by the Japanese when he was 20.
He was sentenced to slave labour for the Imperial Japanese army in Sandakan and Kuching for nearly four years.
Glover, who is now 92, said he decided to launch the book in Sandakan because most of the stories are about his experiences while under detention in Sandakan.
He said he wrote the book initially for his five children to read, but they encouraged him to write more on his experiences.
Glover went on to print 1,000 copies of the book which is now on sale. “I wrote this book not to gain profit but to share with the people of the present time so that they appreciate world peace,” he said. — Bernama