Leslie Audus

Leslie John Audus (9 December 1911 – 5 May 2011) was a British botanist and an international authority on the hormones that control plant growth. During World War II, while being held in a Japanese internment camp, he cultured yeast to feed and save the lives of his fellow POW's.

Early life and education Downing College. The Quad in Downing College, Cambridge looking east towards Regent Street. In the centre of the picture is the portico of the college chapel. Audus was born in Isleham in The Fens of Cambridgeshire. He was educated at Soham Grammar School and in 1929 was awarded a scholarship to Downing College, Cambridge. After receiving his degree, he stayed in Cambridge to pursue postgraduate work. In 1935, he went to University College, Cardiff, where he continued to research plant physiology and taught plant science. While being held at the Jaarmarkt prisoner of war camp at Surabaya on Java, he used makeshift equipment and maize grain to produce yeast to supplement the diet of himself and his fellow POWs.

He was later transferred to a POW camp on Haruku Island, where he and other prisoners were regularly beaten and compelled to perform hard labor. Malnutrition among the POWs was such a serious problem that some of them suffered from impaired vision. Accordingly, senior officers among the POWs asked Audus to produce yeast, as he had at Jaarmarkt, to provide the men with needed vitamins to survive. In a 2008 interview, Audus said that his Japanese captors knew that he was producing vitamin-rich yeast and actually promoted his work, and used it to supplement Japanese soldiers' diets.

Fellow Far East Prisoners of War (FEPOW) expressed gratitude to Audus for bringing public attention to their experiences, which are often overlooked in accounts of World War II. First, Audus published a paper entitled "Biology Behind Barbed Wire" in the scientific journal Discovery in 1946, in which he recounted his POW experiences. In 1996, Audus published the book "Spice Island Slaves", Audus himself translated the Dutch texts into English. Audus was an active member of both the Java FEPOW 1942 Club and the London FEPOW Club, and in 2006 he contributed the foreword to the Java club's book Prisoner in Java, a collection of articles from its quarterly newsletter, The Java Journals.

Publications

Audus published his first paper entitled "Biology Behind Barbed Wire" in the scientific journal Discovery in 1946, in which he recounted his POW experiences.

His book "Plant Growth Substances", published in 1953 and expanded in 1959 and again in 1972, was for many years the standard text on that topic. His 1964 book, "The Biochemistry and Physiology of Herbicides", was likewise the standard text on that subject.

In 1996, Audus published the book "Spice Island Slaves," Audus himself translated the Dutch texts into English.

In 2006, he contributed the foreword to the Java club's book Prisoner in Java, a collection of articles from its quarterly newsletter, The Java Journals.

Organizations

Audus was an active member of both the Java FEPOW 1942 Club and the London FEPOW Club. In 1953, he was named a life member of the New York Academy of Sciences. He was vice-president of the Linnean Society of London from 1959 to 1960 and Recorder, 1961–1965, and President, 1967–1968, of Section K of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.