Odd man out: The story of the Singapore traitor

by Peter Elphick, Michael Smith

Two days after the start of the 1941 invasion of Malaya, Captain Patrick Stanley Vaughan Heenan, a New Zealander serving in the Indian Army, was caught sending secret codes to the Japanese. The authorities ordered an immediate blackout of all information on his arrest, and the secrets he betrayed were ordered to be suppressed for 100 years. This book looks at these secrets and how they enabled the Japanese to win the air war and then dominate the campaign. It also looks at the reasons behind his behaviour and what caused his guards to become his executioners.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1994

Reviews

[Cold War Conversations Podcast · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sadly out of print, but the fascinating story of Patrick Heenan, a British Captain in the British Indian Army who spied for Japan in Malaya in 1941.

He radioed information on aircraft movements. Unclear as to his motives, but he did spend 6 months in Japan in the late 30s as a "long leave" (an Indian Army tradition).

[Ian Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strange story of pro-Japanese espionage within the British Indian Army, probably only partially revealed here. Patrick Heenan was Indian Army boxing champion, not a small thing. The author seems to avoid the topic of Irish nationalism as a possible motive.