Will Davies shares with us his knowledge and understanding of Z Special Unit and how he came to write it's extraordinary story.

In the week prior to ANZAC Day discover a part of our history and remember the sacrifices and bravery of so many.

About the Book

The untold Z Special Unit and Operations, the precursor to the elite SAS, and the extraordinary feats they undertook in the Pacific during the Second World War.

Soon after the declaration of war on Japan, a secret military reconnaissance unit was established, based on the British Special Operations Executive (known as SOE) and called the Inter-allied Services Department. The unit was tasked with the role to "obtain and report information of the enemy ... weaken the enemy by sabotage and destruction of morale and to lend aid and assistance to local efforts to the same end in enemy occupied territories."

The first operation was 'Jaywick' in September 1943. Led by a 28 year old officer from the Gordon Highlanders, Captain Ivan Lyon, this successful operation involved kayaks, a Japanese fishing boat and the sinking of several Japanese ships.

This was followed by 'Operation Rimau' again led by Lyon but this time things went very wrong very early.

During the course of the war, Z Special Unit carried out 81 covert operations in the Southwest Pacific theatre. While the unit was disbanded after the end of the war, many of its techniques would be modified and used by Australian Special Forces to this day.

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About the author

Will Davies spent 37 years working as an independent producer of mainly historical documentaries and series for the ABC and SBS. He retired in 2010. He began writing books with the first published in 2012 and to date has had ten books published. Somme Mud: The war experiences of an Australian infantryman in France 1916-1919, which he edited, has become a bestseller in Australia, the UK and The Netherlands. In The Footsteps of Private Lynch has also been published to acclaim in Australia and the UK. Beneath Hill 60 tells the true story of the Australian miners and soldiers who tunnelled under Hill 60 near Ypres and eventually broke through to create a new frontline.

He was a member of the NSW Anzac Council, leads battlefield tours to the Western Front and has served on a number of boards. In 2018 he was awarded a Ph.D from the ANU and among other projects, is working to build a war memorial school in the French village of Pozieres.

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