The Life of Harry Peter Buxton

Harry Peter Buxton built his life in Sarawak, Borneo, under the Brooke Raj — the extraordinary dynasty of White Rajahs who governed Sarawak as a personal fiefdom. He became a trader and a trusted figure in the Iban community, eventually becoming godfather to the son of an Iban chief. When the Japanese occupied Sarawak in 1941–42, Harry's store was destroyed by fire. After the war, the Iban chief presented him with the skull of a Japanese soldier — a head taken in vengeance for Harry's murdered godchild. Harry kept it, wrapped in parachute cloth, for years.