Dr Ian Howie-Willis is an independent professional historian. The author of 20 books, he is the Historical Adviser to St John Ambulance Australia. His previous book was An Unending War: The Australian Army’s struggle against malaria, 1885–2015 (Big Sky Publishing, Sydney, 2016). He grew up in Melbourne and lived for ten years in Papua New Guinea and England before settling in Canberra in 1975. He completed his university training with a PhD in history from the Australian National University. He has been married to Margaret Willis (née Vale), a retired school principal, for 58 years. They have three married children and seven grandchildren.
Japanese troops seized and brutally occupied New Guinea’s capital, Lae, for 18 months – until 16 September 1943. That day Australian soldiers retook the town against fierce resistance. Defeated, and after suffering huge losses, 8000 Japanese soldiers fled across the formidable 4000-metre...
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