Herbert James "Ringer" Edwards (26 July 1913[2] – June 2000) was an Australian soldier during World War II.
As a prisoner of war (POW), he survived being crucified for 63 hours by Japanese soldiers on the Burma Railway.
As the possibility of war with the Empire of Japan increased, the main body of the division was sent to garrison the British colony of Singapore, later in 1941.
Along with many other Allied prisoners, Edwards was sent to work as forced labour on the railway being built by the Japanese army from Thailand to Burma.
Edwards and the others were initially bound at the wrists with fencing wire, suspended from a tree and beaten with a baseball bat.
The other main character, Jean Paget, was based on the separate experiences of a Dutchwoman whom Edwards never met.