Education

Roland Perry: Books; Journalism; HMAS Perth’s Cat

Posted on: Mon 15 May 2023

We delve into the background of Roland Perry OAM, one of Australia’s best known Authors. He has a diverse stack of subjects lined up on bookshelves around the world on topics that range from Australian wartime history, to espionage, fiction, more than 20 documentary films, and biographies on sporting greats such as Sir Donald Bradman, Steve Waugh, Keith Miller and Shane Warne,

…and we discuss Perry’s book about the beloved black cat who lived through the WW11 sinking of HMAS Perth, along with 328 of the 681 man crew. Surviving shellfire, torpedoes and the fierce currents of the Sunda Strait was only the beginning of the terrible trials Red Lead and the surviving crew were to face over the next 3½ years. From Java to Changi and then on the Thai-Burma Railway, Red Lead was to act as a companion, mascot and occasional protector for a small group of sailors who made it their mission to keep her alive in some of the most hellish prison camps on earth. Roland Perry –  Red Lead,  The Naval Cat With Nine Lives.

Roland Perry OAM. Interviewer Helen Meyer

Image: HMAS Perth (1) AWM Copyright expired. Red Lead by Roland Perry Publisher Allen & Unwin

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