Story of Billy Young The

Product Description

A powerful account of one of the youngest-ever prisoners of war. Award-winning author Anthony Hill takes us into the hearts and minds of the POWs, who refused to ever wholly submit to their captors.

Billy Young was a boy of 15 when he joined the AIF in 1941. He was an orphan - hungry, broke, with nowhere to sleep - and the army offered him a feed, a blanket and five shillings a day in his pocket.

The trouble was, the army sent him off to Malaya where he became a POW when Singapore fell to the Japanese. From Changi, 'Billy the Kid' went on to spend the rest of his teenage years in some of the most barbaric Japanese prisons: the notorious labour camp at Sandakan (from which he escaped), and solitary confinement in the horrific Outram Road prison.

Billy survived by a combination of luck, larrikin humour and native cunning, learned as a market boy growing up in Sydney during the Depression. He has lasted into old age by virtue of his extraordinary spirit.

REVIEWS FOR THE STORY OF BILLY YOUNG

'A harrowing recall of an under-age soldier's hell on earth . . . Hill writes beautifully . . . and the story, brutal in parts as it is, should never be lost.' Daily Telegraph

'A vital read . . . Compelling . . . A timely and necessary book.' Hobart Mercury

'It is a compelling read; a story of fierce mateship and survival in a first-hand account as told by Billy Young . . . The authenticity of the book is brilliant. A fascinating and historically significant read - one that deserves widespread acclaim.' The Burnie Advocate

'The Story of Billy Young will bring tears to the eyes of many readers, but it is an important first-hand account of a painful chapter in Australian history.' Ballarat Courier

'[A] powerful account of one of the youngest prisoners of war.' Sunraysia Daily