Rowley Richards

Charles Rowland Bromley "Rowley" Richards (8 June 1916 – 26 February 2015) was an Australian Army medical officer who, as a prisoner of war during the Second World War, is credited with saving countless lives on the notorious Burma Railway where prisoners suffered and died under inhumane conditions. Journalist Andrew Denton described him as "as good a man as this country has produced".

Richards was educated at Summer Hill Intermediate High School and Fort Street Boys High School. In 1933 he entered the University of Sydney, where he studied medicine, graduating in 1939. He became a prisoner of war of the Japanese when Singapore fell on 15 February 1942. He was awarded the Efficiency Decoration on 17 June 1948. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to the city to Surf in the Queen's Birthday Honours on 13 June 1993, and the Centenary Medal for his service to the St John Ambulance Association on 1 January 2001. For many years, he served as the president of 2/15 Field Regiment Association and the 8th Australian Division Association. He wrote about his wartime experiences in The Survival Factor (1989) and A Doctor's War (2005). In the foreword to the latter, journalist Andrew Denton wrote: "Rowley was as good a man as this country has produced". His papers, including the wartime diaries, are in the Australian War Memorial.