Sons of the Brave

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Full details for this title

ISBN-13	9780980767315
ISBN-10
Stock	Out of stock
Status	Out of print
Publisher	unlisted
Publication Date	8 September 2011
Publication Country	Australia
Format	Paperback
Edition	revised 2011st
Author(s)	By Burdett, Frank
Category	History War & Defence Operations Asia

Description of this Book

SONS OF THE BRAVE (Revised Edition) Reviewed by Brigadier (RTD) M. Dudman. LVO. OBE. "Sons of the Brave" is, first and foremost, a soldier's account of life during the Malayan emergency whilst serving in the 1st Battalion, NZ Regiment 1957-1959. Frank Burdett is at his best in describing the painstaking efforts required in getting to grips with an elusive enemy in the rugged jungle terrain of northern Malaya. He has a keen eye for detail and you are there with him sharing the sights, sounds and smells of insect, animal and plant life in primary and secondary jungle together with the daily physical toil and grind of an infantryman on patrol in a very enervating environment. As a signaler he had the added challenges of making the cumbersome and unreliable radios of the pre-digital era work back to higher HQ's. Communications in those days were dependent on the resourcefulness of the signalers. He describes the teamwork and coordination that was essential to success at section, platoon and company level alongside the Army and Police Intelligence agencies to bring about the elimination and surrender of communist terrorists. He also makes some interesting observations of the personalities in the Battalion. Frank's encounter with a tiger is vividly portrayed alongside his desperate personal efforts, despite being very badly injured, to call up HQ in order to be evacuated by helicopter to hospital. It is a remarkable story of survival in its own right. "Sons of the Brave" is a very good chronicle of life on operations with 1NZ Regt during the Malayan Emergency

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Author's Bio

Life has no particular ceremony for choosing people to be thrust into the public arena for open scrutiny, whether it be favourable or not. Many times this happens with or without any actual input by that unsuspecting human being. Frank Burdett is one such person. The majority of his life was spent in Auckland, New Zealand, where he worked for the Auckland Star as a linotype operator. He became a skilled craftsman and worked in a variety of commercial printing houses. In July 1957, aged 25, he volunteered his services and joined the NZ Army to fight the Communist Terrorists in the jungles of Malaya. This was the Malayan Emergency campaign. Frank served in the 1st Battalion New Zealand Regiment, from 1957-1959. In one single night, in 1959, his life changed forever when a man-eating tiger chose him as its next victim. The tiger had already claimed seven victims and Frank was attacked and dragged backwards along the rough and uneven jungle floor. During the attack Frank's scalp was torn from his head and his left hand was torn in half. This experience is related in his book, Sons of the Brave, which tells the full detailed story of Frank's time in Malaya. On returning to New Zealand Frank, married by now, initiated a publication department at the North Shore Teacher's College. He worked there for many years but finally retired to Australia hoping the climate would help his ailing wife's health. She eventually passed away after he had cared for her for five years. Frank has since remarried and he and Jeannie have lived on an island off the coast of Queensland for the last 10 years where they are both very involved with their personal pursuits: Jeanne with her artistic talents, while Frank decided to finish off his 270 verse rhyming poem about him being attacked by the man-eating tiger. It took him almost eleven years to relive and confront his fears so he could complete this task and he was then encouraged by members of the public to enlarge on this story and, thereby, Sons of the Brave came into being. Frank has since written a series of books covering ancient Indian culture, rituals and spiritual beliefs, mountain men, and the many military forts, such as Fort Laramie, all based on true facts. In 2009 he was diagnosed with terminal melanoma metastasized cancer and had several surgical operations. In July 2010 he was given up to 6 months to live but he undertook an alternative medical treatment and has been, to date, five months free of any cancer.

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