A Boy

• Jasper Niedra, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2013

First of November 1939 a baby was born. Not an ordinary baby, a very enthusiastic baby, enthusiastic about everything, including adventure.

It was on this particular day his dad received a telegram saying that all men seventeen and up had to go to the war. He was to leave the next day. This saddened the Father, as it was his son’s day of birth.

Three years went by and the boy’s father came back. You see, the parents never got to name this fellow, so when his father came back for a visit from war they named him Oliver. Another three years went by and the war was over. All the fathers came back but not Oliver’s. This was a very sad day for Oliver and his mum, but a start to a great adventure.


Oliver wanted to know how his father died. So he went to the Corporal of the Australian army and asked how his father died. The Corporal said that they were fighting the Japanese and he just went missing.

Oliver started to walk home when an idea struck to his head. The Japanese took him to a prisoner of war camp. There was a lot of camps so it would take some time. But he did it. He snuck into the next boat to Asia and headed off to all the different camps. He went through about twenty camps until he came to the right one. He snuck behind a bush. There were guards guarding the camp so he had to be careful. Then he heard his dads voice and it was coming from tent twenty-one. So he snuck over to the tent and went inside. They were so happy to see each other that they gave each other a big hug. Then they relised that they had to get out of there quickly. So they snuck out and caught the first boat home. Oliver never forgot that day. The day that he saved his father from prison.