Weary: the life of Sir Edward Dunlop. Sue Ebury. 1995.

A brilliant student and sportsman, qualifying as a pharmacist and surgeon and representing Australia at rugby, Weary turned his back on a surgical career and volunteered immediately war broke out in 1939. He the 2nd AIF and served in Palestine, Greece, Crete, Tobruk and Egypt before sailing to Java with his medical unit in 1942.

Captured by the Japanese, he spent more than three years as a prisoner of war in Java and on the notorious Burma Thailand ‘Death Railway’. His care for me under his command and his defiance of his captors in the face of brutality, starvation and death, made him a legend in his lifetime.

Returning to Australia in 1945, Weary dedicated his life to caring for former prisoners-of-war. A pioneering cancer surgeon, he built strong relationships between Australia and her Asian neighbours. His life-long commitment to community service fulfilled a vow made in captivity that he would never refuse any request his country made of him.