1. Australian pow hero

2.  Dr Bruce Hunt was born on 23 February 1899 in Glebe, Sydney.  He was the eldest of three children of parents Atlee Hunt and Lilian Hunt  He went to school at Melbourne Church of England Grammar School where he was the head of the school.

3.  On the 24 th February 1917 Bruce Hunt joined the Australian Imperial Force.  He fought on the Western Front in 1918 with the 8 th Field Artillery Brigade.  In 1919 he moved to England to study medicine at Kings College before moving back to Australia to attend the University of Melbourne.  He got a degree in medicine specializing in surgery.

4.  On the 18 th August 1926 he married Theodora Harper.  In 1930 Dr Bruce Hunt started a diabetes clinic in Perth.  In 1939 Dr Bruce Hunt joined the R.A.A.F then switched to the Australian Imperial Force in 1941.  He was sent to Singapore and watched helpless as the Japanese overran the island.

5.  He was captured by the Japs and was sent to work with F force on the Siam-Burma railway.  F force included 3,666 Aussies and 3,334 British.  They were forced to march 186 carrying their own packs and the packs of the Japanese guards.  F force was split up between 5 sections of railway  When their senior doctor died Dr Bruce Hunt was made Head Doctor.

6.  Every day the sick, wounded, dying men were forced to work along side their “healthy” mates.  This was were Bruce started to truly save lives. Every day rain, hail, sun he stood up for the patients arguing with the guards.  This had various effects. Some days the sick were forced to work and some days they were let off.  For resisting Bruce often got beaten up. At one time Bruce had all his fingers in his hand crushed.

7.  The Japanese guards gave him no medical equipment to work with so he made his own. Petrol cans and fuel lines stolen from lorries became saline holders. Bamboo was used for everything from needles for injections to bedpans (toilets) A bicycle was used for blood transfusion. Lifesaving amputations were made with a hacksaw.

8. “He stood up to the Japanese on our behalf time and again, knowing be punished for it.” “He stood like an avenging angel between us and the Nips when we were sick.”

9. In F force 45% died – 1,060 Australians and 2,036 British I think Bruce is a real hero because he stood up in the face of death and said no thanks. He saved untold hundreds of lives.

10. Sources: http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hunt- bruce-atlee-10573 http://www.pows-of- japan.net/articles/100.html http://www.bobkelsey.net/hunt.html