A powerful account of one of the youngest-ever prisoners of war, by award-winning author Anthony Hill.
Billy Young was a boy of fifteen when he joined the AIF in 1941. He was an orphan - hungry, broke, with nowhere to sleep - and the army offered him a feed, a blanket and five shillings a day.
Then the army sent him to Malaya where he became a POW when Singapore fell to the Japanese. 'Billy the Kid' spent his remaining teenage years in Japanese prisons- he escaped from the notorious Sandakan and spent time in solitary in the barbaric Outram.
Billy survived by a combination of luck, larrikin humour and cunning, learned as a market boy growing up in Sydney during the Depression. He has lasted into old age by virtue of his extraordinary spirit.
A powerful account of one of the youngest-ever prisoners of war, by award-winning author Anthony Hill.
Praise for The Story of Billy Young
'Hill writes beautifully . . . and the story, brutal in parts as it is, should never be lost.' Daily Telegraph
'A fascinating and historically significant read - one that deserves widespread acclaim.' Burnie Advocate
'The Story of Billy Young will bring tears to the eyes of many readers . . . an important first-hand account of a painful chapter in Australian history.' Ballarat Courier
Billy Young was a boy of fifteen when he joined the AIF in 1941. He was an orphan - hungry, broke, with nowhere to sleep - and the army offered him a feed, a blanket and five shillings a day.
Then the army sent him to Malaya where he became a POW when Singapore fell to the Japanese. 'Billy the Kid' spent his remaining teenage years in Japanese prisons- he escaped from the notorious Sandakan and spent time in solitary in the barbaric Outram.
Billy survived by a combination of luck, larrikin humour and cunning, learned as a market boy growing up in Sydney during the Depression. He has lasted into old age by virtue of his extraordinary spirit.
A powerful account of one of the youngest-ever prisoners of war, by award-winning author Anthony Hill.
Praise for The Story of Billy Young
'Hill writes beautifully . . . and the story, brutal in parts as it is, should never be lost.' Daily Telegraph
'A fascinating and historically significant read - one that deserves widespread acclaim.' Burnie Advocate
'The Story of Billy Young will bring tears to the eyes of many readers . . . an important first-hand account of a painful chapter in Australian history.' Ballarat Courier
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