Ringer Edwards Ringer Edwards died in 2000-06. 1 person found this useful. How did Edward die? Edward Cullen died from the sickness of the spanish influeza. Share to: How did Edward I die? Edward I . King Edward I of England died in 1307 while travelling to Scotland for a military campaign.. He had been ill for some time and was probably unfit to travel - his â¦cause of death was most likely dysentery. Where did Edward I die? Answer . Ringer Edwards enlisted at Cairns, Queensland on January 21 1941 and was posted to the 2/26th Infantry Battalion. The battalion became part of the 27th Brigade, which was assigned to the 8th Division. Experiences as a POW. 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. In 1943, he and two other prisoners killed cattle to provide food for themselves and comrades. Herbert James "Ringer" Edwards was an Australian soldier during World War II. As a prisoner of war , he survived being crucified for 63 hours by Japanese soldiers on the Burma Railway. Edwards was the basis for the character "Joe Harman" in Nevil Shute's novel A Town Like Alice . The book was the basis for a film and a television miniseries . The story behind Edwards's crucifixion began when he and two of his fellow POWs were caught killing cattle for their meat in order to feed themselves and their comrades. The three of them were sentenced to death by crucifixion. They were bound at the wrists with fencing wire, suspended from a tree, and beaten relentlessly with a baseball bat. At one point, Edwards managed to free his right hand, at which point his captors drove the fencing wire through the palm of his hand to restrain it. Herbert James "Ringer" Edwards (26 July 1913 â“ 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. Edwards was the basis for the character "Joe Harman" in Nevil Shute's novel A Town Like Alice (1950; also known as The Legacy). The book was the basis for a film (1956; also known as The Rape of Malaya) and a television miniseries (1981). Ringer Edwards: Herbert James "Ringer" Edwards was an Australian soldier during World War II. As a prisoner of war, he survived being crucified for 63 hours by Japanese soldiers on the Burma Railway. Edwards was the basis for the character "Joe Harman" in Nevil Shute's novel A Town Like Alice. The book was the basis for a film and a television miniseries..