Laurens van der Post (1963) and "The Night of the New Moon" (1970). Japanese film director Nagisa Oshima based his film "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" (1982) on the last two of these books. Following the surrender of Japan, while his fellow POWs were repatriated, van der Post chose to remain in Java, and on 15 September 1945, he joined Admiral Wilfrid Patterson on HMS "Cumberland" for the official surrender of the Japanese in Java to British forces representing the Allies. Van der Post then spent two years helping to mediate between Indonesian nationalists and members of the Dutch Colonial Government. He had gained trust
Laurens van der Post 1998. Ingaret died five months after him on 5 May 1997. After his death a number of writers questioned the accuracy of van der Post's claims about his life. His reputation as a "modern sage" and "guru" was questioned, and journalists published examples of van der Post's embellishing the truth in his memoirs and travel books. A rebuttal was published by Christopher Booker (van der Post's "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" biographer and friend). For a complete list see External links. Film adaptations of his books. Laurens van der Post Sir Laurens Jan van der Post, CBE (13 December 1906