In 1939, Ray Parkin was a petty officer on board the Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth. Despite his lack of formal education and his naval practicality and discipline, Ray had the soul of an artist and a philosopher's enquiring mind. As HMAS Perth became embroiled in war in the Mediterranean and South-East Asia, Ray chronicled the events through his meticulous diaries and his minutely observed paintings and sketches. When Perth was sunk off the coast of Java, Ray survived but soon became a prisoner of war, first on the Thai-Burma Railway and then as a labourer in a Japanese coalmine. The horrors and privations of those years saw some of his most memorable artwork, documenting both the beauty of the natural world and the savageries of the POW experience. He also developed lifelong friendships with fellow prisoners Weary Dunlop and Laurens van der Post, and later published the seminal books Out of the Smoke, Into the Smother and The Sword and the Blossom. Previous owner's bookplate has been removed from the first endpaper. Size: 180mm - 250mm. 654 pages. Dust Jacket has some shelf-wear as well as some bumping to corners and extremities. Covers have some shelf-wear as well as some bumping to corners and extremities. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: 1-2 kilos. Category: Biography & Autobiography; ISBN: 1405039973. ISBN/EAN: 9781405039970. Inventory No: 53620.
In 1939, Ray Parkin was a petty officer on board the Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth. Despite his lack of formal education and his naval practicality and discipline, Ray had the soul of an artist and a philosopher's enquiring mind. As HMAS Perth became embroiled in war in the Mediterranean and South-East Asia, Ray chronicled the events through his meticulous diaries and his minutely observed paintings and sketches. When Perth was sunk off the coast of Java, Ray survived but soon became a prisoner of war, first on the Thai-Burma Railway and then as a labourer in a Japanese coalmine. The horrors and privations of those years saw some of his most memorable artwork, documenting both the beauty of the natural world and the savageries of the POW experience. He also developed lifelong friendships with fellow prisoners Weary Dunlop and Laurens van der Post, and later published the seminal books Out of the Smoke, Into the Smother and The Sword and the Blossom. Previous owner's bookplate has been removed from the first endpaper. Size: 180mm - 250mm. 654 pages. Dust Jacket has some shelf-wear as well as some bumping to corners and extremities. Covers have some shelf-wear as well as some bumping to corners and extremities. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: 1-2 kilos. Category: Biography & Autobiography; ISBN: 1405039973. ISBN/EAN: 9781405039970. Inventory No: 53620.