Kokoda Legend

Captain Sam Templeton

A Shot of History edition

By David Howell

Published by Big Sky Publishing; Dist. by Simon & Schuster

RRP $29.99 in paperback | ISBN 9781923004986

 

If you have trekked Kokoda, then the campsite of Templeton’s Crossing will be familiar to you. This is the story of the man for whom it was named, Captain Sam Templeton. He was the first Australian Officer to be captured by the Japanese in the Kokoda Campaign.

After being interrogated by his captors he was executed on the battlefield.

Templeton had predicted his fate, telling a platoon commander, if ‘he went into action, he wouldn’t come back’. Having resigned himself to his destiny, Templeton misled his captors on the numerical strength of the Australian forces waiting in Kokoda and Port Moresby.

Did Templeton’s misinformation slow the initial push by the Yokoyama Advance Force into the Owen Stanley Range, allowing the Australian Imperial Force to join the fight earlier? Did Templeton create doubt in the mind of the commander of the South Seas Force, influencing an operational change for the attack on Port Moresby?

Originally from Belfast, Templeton had already seen significant action in other theatres, including the Irish rebellion. He served in submarines with the Royal Navy during the First World War and is thought to have fought with the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War.

Author David Howell has pieced together the history of a remarkable soldier. In doing so, he has honoured the memory of a remarkable man and kept the Kokoda legend alive.

About the author:

David Howell is a Kokoda tour guide and historian specialising in the history of wartime New Guinea. David served for 15 years as an infantry soldier in the Australian Army Reserve. He is currently the history chair and a Life Member of the 39th Battalion Association and the Secretary of the Mornington RSL.

You will find a Youtube clip at this link that may be of interest.