Operation Kingfisher

It is now twenty-eight years since the publication of Sandakan: A Conspiracy of Silence, my first book on the prisoners of war at Sandakan. It was followed in 2010 by Blood Brothers: Sabah and Australia 1942–1945, to recognise the courage, compassion and quiet heroism of the local people who risked their lives to help others during those dark years. This final volume, Operation Kingfisher: Unravelling Sandakan’s Darkest Secret, brings the story full circle, completing a trilogy devoted to one of the most haunting chapters of the Pacific War, by revealing the shocking details of a botched rescue mission that was secretly resurrected, only to tragically fail again, due to incompetence and human frailty. Over more than three decades I had the privilege of speaking with the men and women whose lives were touched by these events — Australian soldiers, local people in Sabah, and others who carried the memories of Sandakan long after the war had ended. With the death in September 2024 of former ABC broadcaster Tim Bowden, who interviewed many of the Australians who played key roles in the Sandakan story, I became the last surviving person who had also spoken directly with them. When I am gone, that final living link to those voices will disappear. The conversations, the memories, and the small but vital details gathered over thirty years will pass into history. But the story itself will not fade. Their voices endure in the pages of these books — witnesses across time — reminding us of suffering, courage and humanity in the face of unimaginable hardship. As long as their story is read, the men of Sandakan, and the people who stood beside them, will not be forgotten.