''The Heroes'' is a 1989 British/Australian mini-series on

Operation Jaywick Operation Jaywick was a special operation undertaken in World War II. In September 1943, 14 commandos and sailors from the Allied Z Special Unit raided Japanese shipping in Singapore Harbour, sinking six ships. Background Special Operations ...

, a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

special forces raid on Japanese shipping in Singapore harbour by the Australian

Z Special Unit Z Special Unit () was a joint Allied special forces unit formed during the Second World War to operate behind Japanese lines in South East Asia. Predominantly Australian, Z Special Unit was a specialist reconnaissance and sabotage unit that i ...

, based on

Ronald McKie Ronald Cecil Hamlyn McKie (11 December 1909 – 8 May 1991) was an Australian novelist. He was born on 11 May 1909 in Toowoomba, Queensland. After receiving his education at the Brisbane Grammar School and the University of Queensland, he ...

's 1960 book ''The Heroes''.

Plot

A British Army officer, Ivan Lyon, who is promoted to major and decorated for his bravery has the eccentric idea of commandeering a dilapidated old fishing boat and with a hand-picked team of commandos, sail it into Singapore and destroy the Japanese warships in the harbour. When Lyon receives the awful news that his wife and young son have been killed on board a ship bombed by the Japanese, his superiors feel that he is unhinged and refuse to consider his foolhardy plan. He eventually wins them over and the dangerous mission is put into action. "The Heroes" tells the absorbing true story of

Part One

When the Japanese invade

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, Captain

Ivan Lyon Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Lyon, (17 August 1915 – 16 October 1944) was a British soldier and military intelligence agent during the Second World War. As a member of Z Special Unit Lyon took part in a number of commando operations against the J ...

formerly of the

Gordon Highlanders Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gord ...

and currently working for the SOE flees to Sumatra with civilian evacuees. On the way Lyon meets with Bill Reynolds, the captain of the battered old Japanese fishing boat the Kofuku Maru and they sail to Ceylon. Returning to Australia, Lyon wanting to come up with a way hit back at the Japanese who have captured his wife and son, concocts a plan to attack enemy shipping in Singapore harbour. Meanwhile, the newly formed

Z Special Force Z Special Unit () was a joint Allied special forces unit formed during the Second World War to operate behind Japanese lines in South East Asia. Predominantly Australian, Z Special Unit was a specialist reconnaissance and sabotage unit that i ...

conducts a special operation to test techniques that could be utilised against Japanese shipping. Led by Captain

Sam Carey "Laughing" Sam Carey, possibly also Laughing Dick Carey, was one of the least known American Old West outlaws who was a member of the loosely knit Hole in the Wall Gang during the latter part of the 19th century. Both of the above names are list ...

and Lieutenant Ted Carse the commandos paddle in canoes into

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

harbour, planting explosives on the docked vessels. Lyon now with proof of the effectiveness of this method meets with Colonel Mott of the SRD to help promote his plan codenamed

. Initially Lyon and Mott receive resistance from their superior officers but eventually are given the greenlight to launch the attack using the Kofuku Maru, now renamed the MV Krait. Lyon enlists Carse and two other officers, Donald Davidison and Bob Page to lead the mission. Along with the fishing boats crew, Lyon's batman, a cook and a radio operator, Davidson also selects five navy commandos to conduct the actual canoe operations. The Krait leaves

Exmouth Gulf Exmouth Gulf is a gulf in the north-west of Western Australia. It lies between North West Cape and the main coastline of Western Australia. It is considered to be part of the Pilbara Coast and Northwest Shelf, and the Carnarvon Basin geolog ...

on its long journey to Singapore when it immediately broke down, after returning to Exmouth Gulf and a patch up repair Lyon's force eventually begins its long and hazardous journey.

Part Two

With the commandos disguised as native fishermen, the Krait sails northwards towards

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

. The trip is far from uneventful as the Krait struggles against strong tides in the

Lombok Straight Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east. It is rou ...

and Carse is sick. Reaching within striking distance Lyon leads the canoeists and they destroy many Japanese merchant vessels docked at Singapore before making their escape by canoe. After initially missing their rendezvous, Lyon's party are finally picked up by the Krait. On the journey back the men on the Krait must endure nerve-wracking run in with a Japanese destroyer, again in the Lombok Straight, before finally entering Exmouth Gulf to a heroic welcome.

Cast

Paul Rhys Paul Rhys (born 19 December 1963) is a Welsh theatre, television and film actor. Early life Rhys was born in Neath to working class Catholic parents, Kathryn Ivory and her husband Richard Charles Rhys, a labourer. At fourteen, he bred and train ...

- Mission Commander *

John Bach John Bach (born 5 June 1946) is a British-born New Zealand actor who has acted on stage, television and film over a period of more than four decades. Though born in the United Kingdom, he has spent most of his career living and working in New Z ...

as Donald Davidson - Raid Commander * John Hargreaves as Ted Carse - Ship's Navigator & Captain *

Bill Kerr William Henry Kerr (10 June 1922 – 28 August 2014) was a British and Australian actor, comedian, and vaudevillian. Born in South Africa, he started his career as a child actor in Australia, before emigrating to Britain after the Second Wor ...

as Paddy McDowell - Ship's Engineer * Jason Donovan as 'Happy' Houston - Navy Commando *

Cameron Daddo Cameron Peter Daddo (born 7 March 1965) is an Australian actor, musician and presenter. From 1987 to 1988, he hosted dating game show '' Perfect Match Australia''. He won two Logie Awards for his performances in '' Golden Fiddles'' and ''Track ...

as Joey Jones - Navy Commando * Christopher Morsley as Robert Page - Medical Officer *

Timothy Lyn Timothy is a masculine name. It comes from the Greek name ( Timόtheos) meaning "honouring God", "in God's honour", or "honoured by God". Timothy (and its variations) is a common name in several countries. People Given name * Timothy (given name) ...

as 'Taffy' Morris - Medical Orderly * Gerry Skilton as Corporal Andy Crilley - Ship's Cook *

David Wenham David Wenham (born 21 September 1965) is an Australian actor who has appeared in film, television and theatre. He is known for his roles as Faramir in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, Friar Carl in '' Van Helsing'', Dilios in '' 300'' ...

as 'Horrie' Young - Radio Operator * Jeff Truman as 'Cobber' Cain - Ship's Gunner *

Tim Robertson Tim Robertson is an Australian actor and writer. He is a graduate of the University of Western Australia] (1965) and taught at Flinders University in Adelaide, where he began adapting and directing plays. He joined the Australian Performing Gro ...

as Colonel Mott *

John Ewart Jon Ewart (06th May 1996) is a British television and film actor. Ewart attended the prestigious National Youth Theatre, Identity School of Acting and has appeared in many successful Television shows. Biography Career Ewart, who was born in M ...

as Bill Reynolds *John Bonney as Rear Admiral *

Lorna Lesley Lorna Lesley (born 1959, in Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison wit ...

as Pat Carse * Briony Behets as Alice

Production

The mini series was developed for Channel Ten by Glenn Darlington, writer and producer and principal of Menwood Television Pty Ltd. Darlington acquired the television rights to the book 'The Heroes' by Ronald McKie with his permission that the story remain an authentic account of events of the Operation Jaywick raid. Darlington developed the synopsis interviewing key survivors of Operation Jaywick. He sold the rights to Network Ten Australia and Television South of the UK. An early draft of the script included a fictitious love story included at the insistence of British investors but this was later cut. George Whaley was originally attached to direct but pulled out in order to do a proposed mini series of '' My Brother Jack''.Buckley, Anthony, ''Behind a Velvet Light Trap'', Hardie Grant, 2009, p 290-297 Filming was done at Homebush, Sydney, in and around Cairns, and at Mission Beach. The shoot took eleven weeks with two weeks rehearsal.

Reception

The mini-series was enormously successful in the UK and Australia. In the UK it was seen by over 15 million people with an average audience share of 61% and was the highest rating mini-series on ITV at that time. It rated well in Australia despite the rival Channel Seven screening ''

The Highest Honor ''The Highest Honour'' is a 1982 Australian/Japanese co-production about Operation Jaywick and Operation Rimau by Z Special Unit during World War II. The same story inspired the TV mini-series '' Heroes'' (1988) and '' Heroes II: The Return'' (1 ...

'' (1982), which dealt with the same story, beforehand as a spoiler. Channel Seven funded the sequel, '' Heroes II: The Return'', which dealt with

Operation Rimau Operation Rimau was an attack on Japanese shipping in Singapore Harbour, carried out by an Allied commando unit Z Special Unit, during World War II using Australian built Hoehn military MKIII folboats. It was a follow-up to the successful ''Ope ...

. In 1991 the mini-series was cut down to 90 minute TV movie.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p79

References

External links

''The Heroes''
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heroes 1989 British television series debuts 1989 British television series endings 1980s British drama television series 1989 Australian television series debuts 1989 Australian television series endings 1980s Australian television miniseries Australian drama television series Films directed by Donald Crombie ITV television dramas 1980s British television miniseries World War II television series English-language television shows Television shows produced by Television South (TVS)