Sir Adrian Herbert Curlewis, CVO, CBE (13 January 1901 – 16 June 1985)[1] was an Australian barrister, captain in WW2, a Changi and Thai-Burma Railway POW and later District Court judge.
[4] Curlewis had wanted to enlist in World War I but his parents would not permit this until he was 18 years old, by which time to armistice was signed.
He was commissioned in the Militia on 6 June 1939 one week before the start of the war and transferred to the AIF, in September 1940, in February 1941 he was a Captain,[5] General Staff Officer, in Headquarters 8th Division AIF, in Malaya and Singapore, he was taken prisoner by the Japanese with the surrender of Singapore on 15 February 1942.
The objective of the Changi University was to address the boredom of being a prisoner of war, provide education to the men some who had missed a lot of school due to the depression and enlisting in the army.
Judge Adrian Curlewis by Henry Aloysius Hanke was a finalist in the Art Gallery of NSW, 1962 Archibald Prize.
He was a founding member of the Palm Beach Surf Life Saving Club and was involved in the sport, locally, nationally and internationally for over 50 years.
In 1960 Curlewis chaired the International Convention on Lifesaving Techniques that recommended and led to general adoption of the 'kiss of life' for resuscitation drowning victims.