ABSTRACT
Gunner Alex Barnett, born in 1920, abandoned a science course at Melbourne University to serve overseas in the 2nd Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF). When his unit, the 2/3rd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, got together to write a history, Barnett publicly recounted something of what had happened to him as a prisoner, but it was not until 1994, after he had retired from his pharmacy, that he felt able to attempt to write a complete reminiscence.1 He published his account of his time as a prisoner of war in 2001.2 He wrote of arriving at a new camp and being greeted by the commander, known to the prisoners as ‘The Frog’:
What he lacked in height he proceeded to make up for with noise and bluster. To emphasise his authority, he stood on a round, three legged stool, carried and placed for his requirements by a subservient underling. From the moment he entered the parade ground until he mounted his stool, he did not cease his tirade. . . . It was some time before we could decipher his raving monologue . . .
