The Witness: The fighting had ended but for Sandakan's most notorious prisoner the war was not over

by Tom Gilling

The fighting had ended but for Sandakan's most notorious prisoner the war was not over.

"That bastard's still alive? I'm going to kill him with my bare hands." — POW Bill Moxham

At the Australian war crimes trials that followed World War II, one prosecution witness stood Warrant Officer Bill Sticpewich.

During his three years in the infamous Sandakan POW camp, Sticpewich had seen hundreds of fellow prisoners die of starvation, sickness and overwork. Others were shot or bayoneted to death by Japanese guards on forced marches through the Borneo jungle. Of more than 2400 Allied prisoners at Sandakan at the start of 1945, only six survived. It was Sticpewich's meticulous evidence that sent Sandakan's commandant and his murderous henchmen to the gallows.

But to his fellow prisoners Sticpewich was not a war hero, he was a collaborator who avoided heavy labor and obtained extra rations by ingratiating himself with the Japanese.

Was Sticpewich a traitor or a man who did what he needed to stay alive? Drawing on wartime records, original interviews and the recollections of other survivors, The Witness reveals the compelling story of Australia's most notorious POW.

320 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2023

Reviews

[Andrew Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m reminded of the statement attributed to Mountbatten to troops in the Japanese campaign (IF I recall correctly) along lines of: “They call you ‘The forgotten army. You’re not forgotten, no one’s ever heard of you!”
This account grips as it tells of the tragedies of abuse & murder plus the holding to account (of some) and the apparent ducking of responsibility by others.

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing amount of research has gone into this book. A difficult topic with perspectives of prisoners of war and survival in a brutal situation.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

The lack of maps detracted slightly from an otherwise fascinating book.