Dickie Manson was an 11-year-old Australian boy convicted of espionage by the Imperial Japanese Navy and executed in 1942. Dickie’s stepfather Ted Harvey owned a plantation near Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, which was under Australian governance at the time.
After the surprise attacks at Pearl Harbor and elsewhere in December 1941, the Australian government evacuated all women and children back home in anticipation of an invasion, while the men stayed to fight. Ted was a member of the Coastwatchers, an organization which observed and reported on Japanese activities. Dickie’s mother Marjorie decided to stay there with her children, against evacuation orders.
In January 1942 the anticipated invasion began. Australian troops initially pushed back the invaders but were soon overrun. Ted had stockpiled food at his plantation in anticipation of the occupation and possessed a two-way transmitter for communicating Japanese activity back to the military.
A local resident reported Ted’s activities to the Japanese, and troops arrived to search the plantation. The transmitter was located, along with a revolver in Marjorie’s purse. A Japanese soldier slapped her across the face upon discovery of the weapon, and 11-year-old Dickie punched the soldier in the head in defense of his mother.
The entire family was arrested and were put on trial on charges of espionage by the Japanese. The trial lasted three days and a guilty verdict was rendered. The sentence was death.
Ted, Marjorie, Dickie, and two others were all led away to be killed by firing squad. Before the sentence was carried out, Marjorie wrapped a red cloth around Dickie’s eyes so he wouldn’t have to see what was coming. Then, as Dickie held his mother and stepfather’s hands, they were shot and buried at the base of the Tavurvur volcano near Rabaul.
For episode #38 of the Spycraft 101 podcast, I discussed the tragic story of Dickie and his family with Ian Townsend, author of Line of Fire. Their fate was almost completely unknown even to the remaining members of their family until Ian put it all together for his 2017 book.
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