Published in 2014, this volume is dedicated to Ted Egan's mother Grace and to her brothers Martin, Bob and Jack Brennan who fought in WW1. They'd grown up on a Wimmera farm, fit and healthy and with the bush skills that should have stood them in good stead. Jack died of wounds received on Gallipoli. His brothers returned, although not unscathed - Bob was gassed three times and Martin suffered from shell-shock.
Edward Joseph (Ted) Egan was born in Coburg in 1932 but left when he was 16 and has been identified for many years with Australia's 'Top End'. He has written and sung about Australia and this book includes a CD of songs (with words and music in the text itself). There is so much more that could be said about his contribution, but for now I'll concentrate on this book.
This is an interesting read, not the least because it includes New Zealand ANZACs as well as Australian.
Egan, who is anti-war, poses some questions for us to think about:
Why, to the present day, are ex-soldiers so reluctant to talk about the war? and Why don't we stop it before it starts?
He also believes that women are the ones we should ask about the war, in particular the nurses who served and refers glowingly to Peter Rees' book The other Anzacs: The Extraordinary Story of our World War 1 Nurses. I haven't read it yet, but it's definitely on my reading list.
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