Page 57 - Australian Defence Magazine March-April 2022

MARCH-APRIL 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
BOOKS OF INTEREST 57
COMPILED BY PETER MASTERS | BRISBANE
MILITARYBOOKSAUSTRALIA.COM
THE INCREDIBLE LIFE OF HUBERT WILKINS: AUSTRALIA'S GREATEST EXPLORER
By Peter FitzSimons
Published by Hachette
RRP $49.99 in hardback
ISBN 9780733641367
In his introduction, Peter FitzSimons admits he had never heard of Hubert Wilkins until 2009 when his name kept cropping up in the research he was doing for other books. There was Wilkins as the polar explorer (with Ernest Shackleton),
as war photographer (with
1942: THE YEAR THE WAR CAME TO AUSTRALIA
THE BOMBING OF DARWIN AND THE ATTACK ON SYDNEY BY THE JAPANESE
By Peter Grose
Published by Allen & Unwin RRP $32.99 in paperback ISBN 9781761066641
Nearly eighty years on, two momentous events of 1942 continue to echo down the years: the bombing of Darwin in February 1942 and the Japanese midget submarine attack on Sydney Harbour in May 1942.
Charles Bean), as navigator
and aviator (with Sir Charles Kingsford Smith) and again as photographer (with General
Sir John Monash in his first battle in command of all Australian troops). As a WW1 photographer Wilkins was twice awarded the Military Cross
for bravery under fire, the only Australian photographer in any war to be decorated. Such an adventurous life was sure to attract the interest of Australia’s great storyteller. FitzSimons begins with Wilkins’ early
tough life with his parents on a marginal farm in South Australia until 1905 when drought consumes the dream. The move to Adelaide opens up new horizons for a youngster with boundless intellectual curiosity. What follows is an extraordinary life of adventure fuelled by Wilkins' quest for knowledge and adventure. With his usual storytelling flair, FitzSimons illuminates the incredible life and achievements of Hubert Wilkins.
Peter Grose’s two memorable books on these subjects - A Very Rude Awakening (2007) and An Awkward Truth (2009) - have now been brought together in one volume. In the first book, Grose questions many of the myths surrounding the night
of 31 May 1942 when three Japanese midget submarines crept into the harbour past Australian defences, exposing intelligence blunders that allowed the subs to pass through unnoticed. It was a thought- provoking study of that fateful night. Similarly, in An Awkward Truth, he exploded some of
the myths surrounding the bombing raids on Darwin. The town sustained heavy damage with an estimated loss of 300 lives. Despite the chaos that followed, Grose believed that the Australian and American servicemen performed heroically in difficult circumstances. The re-release of the books is timely and welcome.
COURAGE AND COMPASSION
A STRETCHER-BEARER’S JOURNEY FROM NO-MAN’S LAND AND BEYOND
By Don Farrands
Published by Big Sky Publishing RRP $29.99 in paperback
ISBN 9781922488305
Barrister Don Farrands became interested in the story of his grandfather Nelson Ferguson when his mother shared some old long-forgotten diaries
her father had kept in which he described the daily life of
a stretcher-bearer. Nelson Ferguson, from Ballarat, was a
NO ONE LEFT BEHIND
By Keith Payne VC Published by Macmillan RRP $49.99 in hardback ISBN 9781760984700
Keith Payne, VC, AM was born in Ingham in north Queensland in 1933. He grew up in the shadow of the Great Depression and the Second World War. Enlisting first in the CMF, he later joined the regular army. He was sent to fight in Korea
at just 18 years old, thus beginning decades of military
stretcher-bearer on the Western Front in France in World War
I. He survived the dangers of stretcher-bearing in some of Australia’s most horrific battles: the Somme, Bullecourt, Ypres and Villers-Bretonneux. In April 1918, at Villers-Bretonneux, he was severely gassed. His eyes were traumatised, his lungs damaged. Sadly, the effects
of mustard gas claimed his eyesight, bringing a premature end to the art teaching career he had resumed post war. Courageously enduring this terrible consequence of war, he was able to assist his son and son-in-law in their stained-glass window business. Advances
in medicine finally restored his sight in 1968, allowing him yet again to appreciate the beauty around him, before his death in 1976. This book, an updated version of The Glass Soldier (2017), tells the extraordinary story of an ordinary man.
service, which included most notably Vietnam. Payne’s life was defined by one night in 1969. In the dense jungle of Vietnam, under heavy enemy fire, Keith returned to a fled battlefield to rescue forty of his soldiers. For this extreme act of bravery in leading his men to safety, Payne became one of only four Australians in Vietnam to earn the Victoria Cross. While much of this book focuses on his military career, it is also the story of his continued fight
to help veterans suffering from PTSD. He remains critical of the failure to learn the lessons of Vietnam, especially concerning the welfare of former ADF personnel who continue
to suffer the same mental health issues. A compelling story of a man whose voice commands respect.