It is sad to learn that WW11 Z Force commando , Jack Sue, who died last year , aged 84, has been accused of fabricating parts of his book, Blood in Borneo, dealing with his part in the campaign against the Japanese forces. Military historian Lynette Silver has claimed there are factual errors and inconsistencies in the book. In particular, she said Sue’s claim to have been a witness to the Sandakan death marches did not accord with the records. Sandakan has been described as the single worst atrocity suffered by Australian servicemen during WW11. More than 3600 Indonesian slave labourers and some 2400 Allied prisoners died
While doing research on the wartime record of another Z Force commando , the late James Frederick Bowditch, MC, a former editor of the Northern Territory News , Cyclops had several telephone conversations with Sue in WA . Although he had not been on any operations with Bowditch, Sue, who received the DCM for his wartime exploits, was well aware of him.
He was able to supply the name ( which Bowditch had forgotten) and details of the unarmed combat instructor on Fraser Island , Queensland, a former Perth professional wrestler, who used to attack his men at any hour to see if they were alert and battle ready. Bowditch said you would be coming out of your tent first thing in the morning , hear a scream , and it was the instructor, a major, who weighed about 20 stone, flying at you feet first. He described the startling situation as being like a scene from the Pink Panther movie, Peter Sellers playing the crazy Inspector Clouseau , his oriental manservant trying to catch him off guard .
Sue’s cousin, Peter Wong, was on Fraser Island when he heard “mad screaming” within the instructor’s tent , from which he charged , wielding a rifle with bayonet attached , and hurled it at him. Much smaller, but versed in unarmed combat, Wong stepped aside and threw the rifle into a sandbagged sandpit in which much training took place.
The major and Wong then had a wild wrestle in the sandpit, Sue’s cousin becoming so furious after having his head rubbed into the sand, he hurled the major out of the ring three times. This response on behalf of Wong delighted the major.
The book responsible for the controversy was written after Sue suffered a stroke . Historian Lynette Silver came across the claimed inconsistencies in the book when asked to do research for a proposed documentary. As a result of research done by Silver , the former president of the Prisoner of War Association of Australia, Rex Crane, last year was charged with fraud as he had never been a POW .
The WA state president of the RSL , Bill Gaynor , has gone on record as saying Jack Sue had been a man of integrity who would not make any claims that were not true.
While doing research on the wartime record of another Z Force commando , the late James Frederick Bowditch, MC, a former editor of the Northern Territory News , Cyclops had several telephone conversations with Sue in WA . Although he had not been on any operations with Bowditch, Sue, who received the DCM for his wartime exploits, was well aware of him.
He was able to supply the name ( which Bowditch had forgotten) and details of the unarmed combat instructor on Fraser Island , Queensland, a former Perth professional wrestler, who used to attack his men at any hour to see if they were alert and battle ready. Bowditch said you would be coming out of your tent first thing in the morning , hear a scream , and it was the instructor, a major, who weighed about 20 stone, flying at you feet first. He described the startling situation as being like a scene from the Pink Panther movie, Peter Sellers playing the crazy Inspector Clouseau , his oriental manservant trying to catch him off guard .
Sue’s cousin, Peter Wong, was on Fraser Island when he heard “mad screaming” within the instructor’s tent , from which he charged , wielding a rifle with bayonet attached , and hurled it at him. Much smaller, but versed in unarmed combat, Wong stepped aside and threw the rifle into a sandbagged sandpit in which much training took place.
The major and Wong then had a wild wrestle in the sandpit, Sue’s cousin becoming so furious after having his head rubbed into the sand, he hurled the major out of the ring three times. This response on behalf of Wong delighted the major.
The book responsible for the controversy was written after Sue suffered a stroke . Historian Lynette Silver came across the claimed inconsistencies in the book when asked to do research for a proposed documentary. As a result of research done by Silver , the former president of the Prisoner of War Association of Australia, Rex Crane, last year was charged with fraud as he had never been a POW .
The WA state president of the RSL , Bill Gaynor , has gone on record as saying Jack Sue had been a man of integrity who would not make any claims that were not true.
