After being abandoned by his mother at a young age, Ted Sweetman lived a tough life on the land of rural North-West Tasmania, Australia, with his World War 1 veteran father and older sister. After leaving school early to work in a West Coast mine and then the bush it wasn't long before World War 2 broke out and against his father's wishes he enlisted in the army. But after a posting to Timor with the 2nd/40th battalion he was taken prisoner and endured the horrors of the Burma Railway and mines in Japan. But through all his hardships two things have remained constant - a strong love of his family and a sharp sense of humour.