100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

🐉 🔥 Happy Threshing Day! Pre-order the Deluxe Edition of Rebecca Yarros' newest release today! 🔥 🐉

Red Lead

The legendary Australian ship's cat who survived the sinking of HMAS Perth and the Thai-Burma Railway
4.15 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 189 ratings, 41 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Red Lead by Roland Perry dives into the gripping true story of the HMAS Perth during World War II. The narrative focuses on the vessel's crew as they face incredible challenges in the brutal Pacific theatre. This historical account highlights courage, camaraderie, and the harsh realities of naval warfare, offering a vivid exploration of human spirit amidst devastating circumstances.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3999
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you're intrigued by intense historical narratives woven with military strategy and personal heroism. Set during World War II, it provides an engaging exploration of naval battles and the tenacity of those at the heart of conflict. Its meticulously researched detail offers a vivid glimpse into the past for history enthusiasts.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

The legendary Australian ship's cat who survived the sinking of HMAS Perth and the Thai-Burma Railway

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Just after midnight on 1 March 1942, Australia's most renowned cruiser, HMAS Perth, was sunk by Japanese naval forces in the Sunda Strait off the coast of Java. Of the 681 men aboard, 328 survived the sinking and made it to shore—and one cat. Her name was Red Lead, and she was the ship's cat, beloved by the crew and by the Perth's legendary captain Hector Waller.

But 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 three-and-a-half 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.

Red Lead's extraordinary story, of courage, loyalty, and love amidst battle, imprisonment, and death, is brought vividly to life by bestselling author Roland Perry.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781760297145

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 29 September 2020

Country: Australia

Imprint: Allen & Unwin

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 452g

Pages: 344

About the Author

Roland Perry is one of Australia's best known authors. He has written 35 books, many of them going on to become bestsellers, including The Queen, Her Lover and the Most Notorious Spy in History, Horrie the War Dog, Bill the Bastard, Bradman's Invincibles, The Changi Brownlow, The Australian Light Horse and Monash: The Outsider Who Won a War.

Also by Roland Perry

View all
  • Bill the Bastard
    Bill was massive. He had power, intelligence, and unmatched courage. In performance and character, he stood above all the other 200,000 Australian horses sent to the Middle East in the Great War. But as war horses go, he had one serious problem. No one could ride him but one man - Major Michael Shanahan. Some even thought Bill took a...
    Paperback
    $3799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Anzac Sniper
    The extraordinary story of Stan Savige - from Gallipoli marksman to WWII General and the founder of Legacy Stan Savige had been on Gallipoli for just two weeks, in the trenches firing at Turks less than 20 metres away. But Sniper's Ridge was a different proposition. Killing took on another dimension. In the flurry of trench warfare, a soldier would...
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $3500
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Monash
    Compelling and wholly absorbing... among the most remarkable Australians of his time, Bob Carr, Australian General Sir John Monash changed the way wars were fought and won. When the British and German High Commands of the First World War failed to gain ascendancy after four years of unprecedented human slaughter, Monash used innovative techniques and modern technology to plan and...
    Paperback
    $3600
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Bradman vs Bodyline
    Roland Perry is gloriously readable, always thoughtful. Wisden The 1932-33 Ashes was the most notorious and polarising series in the history of cricket. The events of that turbulent summer centred around Don Bradman, the greatest batsman ever to play the game. With him in their side, Australia appeared unbeatable. And yet England alleged they had found the one shortcoming in...
    Paperback
    $3999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Oliphant
    'Genius, complex, authentic - Roland Perry captures all the essential characteristics of this globally recognised Australian who was influenced by the giants of science and then became one himself.' Dr Matt Agnew 6 August 1945: the United States launches the world's first nuclear attack on Japan. J. Robert Oppenheimer will be remembered as the father of the bomb, but it...
    Paperback
    $3799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Tea and Scotch with Bradman
    Discovering the man behind the legend 'Conversations with Bradman were, like his batting, never dull and often unpredictable.' -- From the Introduction In 1995, journalist and author Roland Perry wrote to Sir Donald Bradman requesting a face-to-face interview for a biography he was planning of the great cricketer. Surprisingly, the Don agreed. For Perry, those days spent speaking with Bradman...
    Paperback
    $2899
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Monash and Chauvel
    Monash and Chauvel follows the extraordinary campaigns of the two most outstanding battlefield commanders of the First World War across all the Allied armies: John Monash and Harry Chauvel. John Monash commanded the Australian forces on the Western Front at the most critical time of the war, 1918. With his German Jewish heritage, Monash was an outsider who had risen...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Bill and Horrie
    Bill the Bastard is a remarkable tale of the bond between a determined trooper and his stoic but cantankerous mount during the Light Horse campaigns against the Ottoman Empire in the Great War. They fought together. They depended on each other for survival. And when the chips were down, Bill's heroic efforts and exceptional instincts in battle saved the lives...
    Paperback
    $3799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Battle of the Generals
    'Roland Perry shows the true picture . . . enjoyable, clearly argued, comprehensive, and highly readable.' - Michael McKernan, Australian Book Review 11 March 1942: The Japanese have stormed the Philippines, forcing US General Douglas MacArthur to flee with his family, escaping by the skin of their teeth to the nearest safe country - Australia. Meanwhile, Australia's foremost general, Thomas...
    Paperback
    $3999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Bradman vs Bodyline
    Roland Perry is gloriously readable, always thoughtful. Wisden The 1932-33 Ashes was the most notorious and polarising series in the history of cricket. The events of that turbulent summer centred around Don Bradman, the greatest batsman ever to play the game. With him in their side, Australia appeared unbeatable. And yet England alleged they had found the one shortcoming in...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Great Achievers and Characters in Australian Cricket
    From the turbulent life of the late Shane Warne to the skill, mentality and character behind Pat Cummins' new-look captaincy, and through the decades to the wit, wisdom and genius of Sir Donald Bradman, Great Achievers and Characters in Australian Cricket examines the career highs and lows of many of the game's big names through the ages. The chapters cover...
    Paperback
    $4000
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Horrie the War Dog
    Horrie the War Dog by Roland Perry tells the remarkable story of Horrie, the Egyptian Terrier, found as a starving pup in the harsh Libyan Desert. He became the much-loved mascot of the First Australian Machine Gun Battalion in World War II. Yet he was no ordinary symbol, and the Gunners' love for him was not mere affection for a...
    Paperback
    $3799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

More from History & Military

View all
  • Saving Elli
    One child. Two years in hiding. Three lives in mortal danger. In Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, near Anne Frank's house, another Jewish girl is hidden. Her name is Elli. Her father has been executed at Mauthausen concentration camp. Her mother is fleeing for her life. Elli is next. To save her, resistance couple Frits and Jo Hakkens must risk everything, concealing her...
    Paperback
    $3299
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Spy and the Traitor
    The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre is a spellbinding Cold War thriller that unravels the true story of Oleg Gordievsky, a KGB double agent who risked everything to aid the British in the battle against Soviet oppression. In meticulously researched detail, Macintyre paints a vivid portrait of espionage, double-crossing, and unparalleled bravery, giving readers a riveting glimpse into...
    Paperback
    $2100
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Suicidal Empathy
    The bestselling author of The Parasitic Mind shows why empathy in politics leads to civilizational collapse. What happens when a society elevates victimhood to a virtue and decides that punishment is cruel? You get the disease Dr. Gad Saad calls suicidal empathy. And the West may be terminally infected. In his new book, Suicidal Empathy, Saad unleashes a blistering critique...
    Paperback
    $3099
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Man's Search For Meaning
    Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl is a profound, thought-provoking memoir and psychological exploration that delves into the harrowing experiences of life in Nazi concentration camps, intertwined with the author’s groundbreaking theories on existential psychology. The book is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, offering a beacon of hope and a roadmap for finding purpose...
    Paperback
    $1800
    Elsewhere:
    $2100
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Betrayal
    ‘Tom Bower is the Inspector Morse of investigative biographers, a fluent, phlegmatic storyteller and a master of intricacies.’ Sunday Times The British Crown is in crisis, with constitutional threats at home and abroad. At a landmark moment in royal history, can King Charles overcome the scandals that blight the Royal family? Can the broken bonds between the Houses of Sussex...
    Paperback
    $3499
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Signed
    New Release
    The Chief and the Empire
    The Chief and the Empire uncovers the extraordinary true tale of Te Tai Tokerau rangatira Te Pahi - the first influential Māori leader to cross the Tasman - whose curiosity about the Pākehā world forged alliances, saved lives, and ultimately cost him his own. On a visit to Sydney in 1805, Te Pahi was feted as a celebrity, building close...
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Discipline
    Silence is complicity, but how do we confront the cost of speaking up? Sydney, May 2021. Ashraf is an academic whose career and personal life are in freefall. Hannah is a young journalist struggling to honour the voices of her community. When a Year 12 Al-Bayinnah College student is arrested for protesting a university's ties to an Israeli weapons manufacturer,...
    Paperback
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Shattered Lands
    'A sparkling debut by an outstanding young historian' – PETER FRANKOPAN 'This book is a revelation … both original and important' – MISHAL HUSAIN A history of modern South Asia told through five partitions that reshaped it. As recently as 1928, a vast swathe of Asia – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan, Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and...
    Paperback
    $3699
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Matariki: The Star of the Year
    In mid-winter, Matariki rises in the pre-dawn sky, and its observation is celebrated with incantations on hilltops at dawn, balls, exhibitions, dinners, and a vast number of events. The Matariki tradition has been re-established, and its regeneration coincides with a growing interest in Māori astronomy. Still, there remain some unanswered questions about how Matariki was traditionally observed. These include: What...
    Paperback
    $3399
    Elsewhere:
    $3500
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Goliath’s Curse
    Goliath’s Curse by Luke Kemp offers a radical retelling of human history through the lens of collapse, delving into what this means for our uncertain future. This narrative spans from the dawn of our species to the urgent existential threats of the twenty-first century and beyond. It's grounded in the latest research and a comprehensive database of more than 440...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    The Good Settler
    ‘Where once I saw a view as I drove around the Taranaki coast along State Highway 45, I now see confiscated land from an invasion road. The creation story I used to subscribe to, the one in which hard-working people came here and settled the land, now jars. Weirdly, even the lawn looks different. The form of things just won’t...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Banjara
    A powerful literary debut from an astonishing new Kiwi voice, focusing on the Indo-Fijian indenture system and how it affected generations across the Pacific.Rajasthan 1888: Avani Rathod, a nomad of the Banjara community, is summoned to teach a blue-eyed colonial officer the trees of her region, but instead is misled into indenture to the sugarcane plantations of Fiji. While on...
    Paperback
    $3099
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 80,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.