Characters
Bryan Rofe
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Outstanding athlete and academically gifted, Bryan was one of the top students in the RAAF’s first weather officers’ course. In October 1941, he was posted to the Penfui aerodrome in Dutch Timor as senior meteorological officer. On the eve of the Japanese invasion of Timor in February 1942, Bryan took command of a group of 29 airmen left behind to keep Penfui operational until aircraft were sent from Darwin to evacuate the rear party.
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With the evacuation delayed, Darwin mysteriously off air and the Japanese invasion of Timor underway, Bryan was forced to lead his men into the Timor jungle and evade enemy patrols until an alternative means of escape could be planned. And so began an event that many thought defined Bryan's life.
Hiram Cassedy
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Hiram Cassedy’s leadership abilities were proven on his first war patrol while serving as executive officer aboard the USS Sailfish. When Sailfish’s captain fell apart during a depth charge attack, Cassedy assumed command and led the crew to safety.
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Cassedy was given command of the USS Searaven and sent to patrol the Savu Sea, waters choked with Japanese warships. When Searaven was diverted to Timor to rescue a party of stranded Australian airmen, Cassedy embarked on a mission that would test his seamanship, his leadership and his courage.
Arthur Cole
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At 35 years of age, Arthur Cole was one of the oldest and most respected members of the RAAF rear party. An immensely fit man seemingly impervious to malaria and other tropical maladies, Arthur lead by example and was Bryan’s second-in-command. Headstrong and unyielding, it was only a matter of time before Cole and Rofe clashed.
Harold Cook
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At 40 years of age, Cookie was one of the older pilots in the RAAF and also one of the finest. A known rascal with a devil-may-care approach to flying, Cookie was posted to RAAF Station Pearce in Western Australia with 14 Squadron where he met a young meteorological officer named Bryan Rofe. It was the beginning of a friendship that would last a lifetime.
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A year after their first encounter, Cookie’s Hudson was brought down just off the coast of Dutch Timor. With no food or supplies, Cookie's only chance of survival was tracking down Bryan in a jungle crawling with Japanese patrols.
Stranded Airmen
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The members of the RAAF rear party were different ages and came from different parts of Australia. They were selected according to fitness, mustering and character. But they all had one thing in common: none were married nor had dependants. Everyone knew that when men without dependants were selected for a mission, not everyone was expected to return.
Masao Yamabe
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Resourceful, intelligent and utterly ruthless, Masao Yamabe was a company commander in one of Japan’s most elite infantry units – the naval paratroopers. After the fall of Timor, Yamabe was placed in charge of security in the western half of the island. When loyal natives alerted the Japanese to a party of enemy soldiers hiding along the north-west coast, Yamabe dispatched a patrol of 300 soldiers to hunt them down. Whether they surrendered or not, Yamabe would ensure that they did not live.
Patricia Whitford
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Bryan knew he would marry Patricia the moment he laid eyes on her. Intelligent, funny, stylish and beautiful, Patricia did not immediately reciprocate Bryan’s feelings. But romance inevitably blossomed while they served together on the executive of the Adelaide Teachers' College. When war broke, Patricia and Bryan forged a pact to write a letter to each other every day that they were apart. They sent more than 2000.
​RESCUE AT 2100 HOURS​
TOM TRUMBLE