Ringer Edwards

Infobox Military Person
name= Herbert James Edwards
born= birth date|1925|06|20
died= June 2000
placeofbirth= Fremantle, Western Australia flagicon|Australia
placeofdeath= Gingin


caption= Herbert James "Ringer" Edwards, Photographed in civilian clothes during training with the Australian Army, in 1941.
nickname= "Ringer" Edwards
allegiance= Australia
branch = Australian Army
serviceyears= 1941-1945
rank=
commands=
unit=2/26th Infantry Battalion
battles= World War II
*Malayan campaign
awards=
laterwork=

Herbert James "Ringer" Edwards (July 26 1913–June 2000), was an Australian soldier during World War II. As a prisoner of war (POW), he survived being crucified for 63 hours by Japanese soldiers on the Burma Railway. Edwards was the basis for the character of "Joe Harman" in the 1950 Neville Shute novel "A Town Like Alice" (also known as "The Legacy"). The book was the basis for a 1956 film (also known as "The Rape of Malaya") and a 1981 television miniseries.

Edwards was born in Fremantle, Western Australia. [ [http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/script/veteran.asp?ServiceID=A&VeteranID=14626 WW2 Nominal Roll, 2002, "EDWARDS, HERBERT JAMES"] Access date: 6 June 2007. ] He spent much of his adult life working on stations (ranches) in outback Australia. The nickname "Ringer", by which he was usually known, is possibly related to a term used in shearing teams, in which "the ringer" is the member who shears the most sheep in a given day.

Ringer Edwards enlisted at Cairns, Queensland on January 21 1941 and was posted to the 2/26th Infantry Battalion. The battalion became part of the 27th Brigade, which was assigned to the 8th Division. As the possibility of war with the Empire of Japan increased, the main body of the division was sent to garrison the British colony of Singapore, later in 1941. The 2/26th fought the Japanese in the Malayan campaign and the Battle of Singapore. Edwards, along with the rest of the 8th Division, became a POW when the Allied forces at Singapore surrendered on February 15, 1942.

Experiences as a POW

Along with many other Allied prisoners, Edwards was sent to work as forced labour on the railway being built by the Japanese army from Thailand to Burma. In 1943, he and two other prisoners killed cattle to provide food for themselves and comrades. They were caught by the Japanese and sentenced to death. [http://www.quarto.iinet.net.au/QUARTO-DEPTHCHARGES.pdf Roger Bourke, 2001–2002, "‘Cultural depth-charges’: Traditional meaning and prisoner-of-war fiction"] Access date: 6 June 2007. ] Crucifixion ( _ja. haritsuke) was a form of punishment, torture and/or execution that the Japanese military sometimes used against prisoners during the war. Edwards and the others were initially bound at the wrists with fencing wire, suspended from a tree and beaten with a baseball bat. When Edwards managed to free his right hand, the wire was driven through the palms of his hands. His comrades managed to smuggle food to him and he survived his ordeal. The other two men crucified at the same time did not survive.

He later escaped execution a second time, reportedly because his requested "last meal" of chicken and beer could not be obtained.

Post war

After the Surrender of Japan, Edwards was released and was discharged from the army on December 4, 1945.

British novelist Nevil Shute met Ringer Edwards in 1948 at a station in Queensland. [ [http://www.nevilshute.org/PhotoLine/PLD-1941-1950/pl-1941-1950-07.php Neville Shute Norway Foundation, "1948"] Access date: 6 June 2007. ] Some of Edwards' experiences, including the crucifixion, became the basis for the character of "Joe Harman" in "A Town Like Alice". Unlike Edwards' experiences, the entire story takes place in Malaya. The other main character, "Jean Paget" was based on the separate experiences of a Dutch woman whom Edwards never met. The novel was the basis for subsequent adaptations, including a 1956 film and a 1981 television miniseries. In the former, the Harman character was played by Peter Finch, and in the latter by Bryan Brown.

Edwards later returned to Western Australia and settled at Gingin, where he died in 2000.

Footnotes