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From his cage in a putrid, overcrowded Indian gaol, Paul Jordan reflects on a life lived on the edge and…
curses the miscalculation that robbed him of his freedom. His childhood, marred by the loss of his father and brother, produce a young man hell bent on being the best of the best - an ambition he achieves by being selected to join the elite SAS. He survives the gut-wrenching training regime, deployment to the jungles of Asia and the horrors of genocide in Rwanda before leaving the army to embark on a career as a security adviser. His new life sees him pursuing criminals and gun-toting bandits in Papua New Guinea and the Solomons, protecting CNN newsmen as the US 7th Cavalry storms into Baghdad with the outbreak of the Iraq War, and facing death on a massive scale as he accompanies reporters into the devastated Indonesian town of Banda Aceh, flattened by the Boxing Day tsunami. During his 24 days in an Indian gaol, Paul Jordan discovers that friendship and human dignity somehow survive the filth and deprivation. This is a personal account of a tough, hardened fighter who suddenly finds himself totally dependent on others for his every need. The Easy Day was Yesterday is fast paced, brutally honest and raw, but laced with dark humour. The core of Paul Jordan's eventful life, however, is the strength of his bonds with family and friends and the ability of the human spirit to survive even the direst adversity.Aussie Soldier: Prisoners of War (Big Sky Publishing Ser.)
By Craig Smith, Denny Neave. 2009
The second book in the Aussie Soldier series, Aussie Soldier: Prisoners of War by Denny Neave and Craig Smith, details…
the lives of the men and women who found themselves on the wrong side of the wire. This collection of heartfelt stories and anecdotes from Australian POWs will take you on their very personal journeys. Surviving as a prisoner of war required as much strength of character as any hard fought battle. Some lived to tell their tales about extreme suffering, mateship and hardship and many would carry with them forever the memories of those who died. Almost 35,000 Australian service personnel were taken prisoner during the Boer War, World War 1, World War 2 and the Korean War. As POWs are relatively few in number, their stories often take a back seat when it comes to tales about battles and conflict situations. Like most soldiers, former prisoners do not like reliving the horrors of war and their time in captivity. This is a collection of the stories of our Australian POWs. Interviews, questionnaires, written records, images and letters provide an insight into captivity and the joy and fears that came with their release. These vivid and compelling stories highlight the contradictions of war: the compassion and generosity on the one hand and the cruelty, hate and indifference on the other.Diario de Anne Frank (Ave Fénix Ser. #Vol. 166)
By Anne Frank. 1998
Esta es la edición definitiva del célebre Diario de Anne Frank. Su texto amplía en una cuarta parte las ediciones…
anteriores y ofrece una visión completa y fidedigna de la terrible odisea vivida durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial por la familia Frank Un testimonio único sobre el horror y la barbarie nazi, y sobre los sentimientos y experiencias que vivió una niña judía recluida con su familia para huir del Holocausto Tras la invasión de Holanda, los Frank, comerciantes judíos alemanes emigrados a Amsterdam en 1933, se ocultaron de la Gestapo en una buhardilla anexa al edificio donde el padre de Anne tenía sus oficinas. Eran ocho personas y permanecieron recluidas desde junio de 1942 hasta agosto de 1944, fecha en que fueron detenidas y enviadas a campos de concentración. En ese lugar y en las más precarias condiciones, Anne, a la sazón una niña de trece años, escribió su estremecedor Diario: un testimonio único en su género sobre el horror y la barbarie nazi, y sobre los sentimientos y experiencias de la propia Anne y sus acompañantes. Anne murió en el campo de Bergen-Belsen en marzo de 1945. Su Diario nunca morirá. «De entre los muchos que, a lo largo de la historia, han hablado en nombre de la dignidad humana en tiempos de sufrimiento y muerte, no hay ninguna voz que tenga más peso que la de Anne Frank.» John F. KennedyTip of the Spear: The Incredible Story of an Injured Green Beret's Return to Battle
By Ryan Hendrickson. 2020
The inspiring true story of a US Special Forces soldier who was medically retired after stepping on an IED, and…
his incredible return to active duty.Sergeant First Class (SFC) Ryan Hendrickson is a brave, determined, and courageous soldier -- a Green Beret clearing the way for his twelve-man team while conducting combat operations against the Taliban. As the "tip of the spear," his role is to ensure the route taken by U.S. and Afghan troops are free of IEDs -- improvised explosive devices. Many soldiers do not survive their last step; those who do often lose at least one limb.While rescuing an Afghan soldier outside a mud-hut compound in 2010 -- knowing that he was in "uncleared" territory -- Ryan stepped on an IED with his right foot. The device exploded, leaving his foot dangling at the end of his leg.American soldiers losing a limb is an all-too-common occurrence. But what makes Ryan's story different is that after undergoing two dozen surgeries and a tortuous rehabilitation, he was medically retired but fought to return to active duty. Multiple skin grafts to his leg and right foot successfully reattached his lower leg, and he was aided in his recovery by wearing a new prosthetic device known as an IDEO (Intrepid Dynamic Exoskeletal Orthosis). Once he passed a series of crucial physical tests, Ryan was able to rejoin the Green Berets within a year and physically perform his duties, redeploying to Afghanistan in March 2012.In 2016, he volunteered to return to Afghanistan with Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group. During a firefight with the Taliban, he risked his life under heavy enemy fire to rescue three Afghan soldiers cut off from friendly forces and return the bodies of two dead Afghan soldiers under the ethos that "no one gets left behind." For his heroic efforts on the battlefield, SFC Ryan Hendrickson was awarded a Silver Star, the nation's third-highest award for valor.An engaging and harrowing account, Tip of the Spear tells the amazing story of one Green Beret's indomitable spirit.Blood, Guts, and Grease: George S. Patton in World War I (American Warriors Series)
By Jon B. Mikolashek. 2019
George S. Patton is one of the most controversial, celebrated, and popular military leaders in American history, and his accomplishments…
and victories have been greatly documented. Yet Patton spent years in the Army before garnering national attention and becoming a highly-regarded and respected military leader. This work explores Patton's beginnings as a driven and intrepid soldier and his battles leading up to the Great War -- military experiences which would be influential in his development as a commander.Drawing upon Patton's papers and archival documents in the National Archives, this is an early-career biography of the eminent military leader. It begins with his exploits as a relatively junior but ambitious Army officer who, due to his family's wealth and influence, was able to join General John J. Pershing's American Expeditionary Force (AEF). This assignment would ultimately change his life in two ways: it would make Pershing the mentor Patton would emulate for the rest of his life, and it would catapult his military career as the first tanker in the US Army.This study follows Patton's trajectory, from the creation of the Tank Corps and the Light Tank School, to Patton's eventual successes and injuries during the Battle of Saint Mihiel, the attack into Pannes, and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Revealed is that the experience Patton gained in World War I was seminal in his evolvement as a leader and laid the groundwork for not only his own personal future triumphs but also for the success of the entire United States Army armored forces in World War II.Vietnam and the Unravelling of Empire: General Gracey in Asia 1942-1951
By T. O. Smith. 2014
The Vietnam War and Indian independence devastated British policy towards Asia. The Labour Government failed to understand its commitments. Yet…
some senior British officers were prepared to work alongside Asian nationalism in order to secure British interests. This created a radical local fusion of imperial, diplomatic and humanitarian policies.The Perfect Fascist: A Story of Love, Power, and Morality in Mussolini’s Italy
By Victoria De Grazia. 2020
Through the story of one exemplary fascist—a war hero turned commander of Mussolini’s Black Shirts—the award-winning author of How Fascism…
Ruled Women reveals how the personal became political in the fascist quest for manhood and power. When Attilio Teruzzi, Mussolini’s handsome political enforcer, married a striking young American opera star, his good fortune seemed settled. The wedding was a carefully stage-managed affair, capped with a blessing by Mussolini himself. Yet only three years later, after being promoted to commander of the Black Shirts, Teruzzi renounced his wife. In fascist Italy, a Catholic country with no divorce law, he could only dissolve the marriage by filing for an annulment through the medieval procedures of the Church Court. The proceedings took an ominous turn when Mussolini joined Hitler: Lilliana Teruzzi was Jewish, and fascist Italy would soon introduce its first race laws. The Perfect Fascist pivots from the intimate story of an inconvenient marriage—brilliantly reconstructed through family letters and court records—to a riveting account of Mussolini’s rise and fall. It invites us to see in the vain, loyal, lecherous, and impetuous Attilio Teruzzi, a decorated military officer with few scruples and a penchant for parades, an exemplar of fascism’s New Man. Why did he abruptly discard the woman he had so eagerly courted? And why, when the time came to find another partner, did he choose another Jewish woman as his would-be wife? In Victoria de Grazia’s engrossing account, we see him vacillating between the will of his Duce and the dictates of his heart. De Grazia’s landmark history captures the seductive appeal of fascism and shows us how, in his moral pieties and intimate betrayals, his violence and opportunism, Teruzzi is a forefather of the illiberal politicians of today.My Life in the Irish Brigade: The Civil War Memoirs of Private William Mccarter, 116th Pennsylvania Infantry
By Geoffrey O'Brien, Kevin E. O'Brien, William McCarter. 1996
The Civil War Memoirs of Private William McCarter, 116 Pennsylvania Infantry William McCarter, a 21-year-old Irish immigrant, was present at…
the storming of Marye's Heights at the battle of Fredericksburg and left behind observations of several prominent Union personalities as well as daily life in the Army of the Potomac.Colorado’s Daring Ivy Baldwin: Aviator, Aerialist & Aeronaut
By Dr Jack Ballard. 2020
At the beginning of the twentieth century, aerialist Ivy Baldwin had achieved celebrity status as a premier tightrope walker, aeronaut…
and aviation pioneer. He executed astonishing and perilous performances across America and internationally, including Mexico and the Far East. First by flying balloons, he went on to pilot dirigibles and, finally, aircraft. In his later years in Colorado, he became famous for crossing canyons on a tightrope. Historian Jack Stokes Ballard deftly captures Baldwin's colorful and hazardous life from childhood runaway to aviation record holder.What Really Happened: The Death of Hitler
By Robert J. Hutchinson. 2020
Think You Know Everything about the death of Hitler? Think Again. After World War II, 50 percent of Americans polled…
said they didn&’t believe Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun had committed suicide in their bunker in 1945, as captured Nazi officials claimed. Instead, they believed the dictator faked his death and escaped, perhaps to Argentina. This wasn&’t a crazy opinion: Joseph Stalin told Allied leaders that Soviet forces never discovered Hitler&’s body and that he personally believed the Nazi leader had escaped justice. At least two German submarines crossed the Atlantic and landed on the coast of Argentina in July 1945. Plus, there were numerous reports of top Nazi officials successfully fleeing to South America where there was a large German colony. Incredible as it sounds, the mystery surrounding Adolf Hitler&’s final days only deepened in 2009 when a U.S. forensic team announced that a piece of Hitler&’s skull held in Soviet archives was not actually Hitler&’s. International interest increased further in 2014 when the FBI released previously classified files detailing investigations surrounding Hitler&’s possible escape. And the following year, The History Channel launched a three-year reality TV series investigating if it was possible Hitler did somehow survive. So what really happened? Popular history writer Robert J. Hutchinson, author of What Really Happened: The Lincoln Assassination, takes a fresh look at the evidence and discovers, once and for all, the truth about Hitler&’s last week in Berlin. Among the questions the book explores are... * What did surviving Nazi eyewitnesses really say about the Führer&’s final days in the bunker—and could they have been lying to aid Hitler&’s escape? * If Hitler didn&’t escape, why did the Allies not find his body? * What about Hitler&’s proven use of body doubles? Could Hitler have used a body double in the bunker while he and Eva Braun flew to safety in a long-range aircraft that took off from a runway in Berlin&’s Tiergarten? * Why did the FBI continue to investigate reports of Hitler&’s survival for more than a decade after World War II—reports that were only declassified in 2014? * What about sensational claims in books such as The Grey Wolfthat Hitler and Eva Braun lived in an isolated chalet in the Andes – and that Hitler died in 1962? * Why were forensic tests on crucial physical evidence only conducted in 2016, more than 70 years after World War II ended? * And lots MORE.Onward, Dear Boys: A Family Memoir of the Great War
By Philippe Bieler. 2014
The Bieler family's vast collection of wartime letters and photographs tell intimate, firsthand stories of five young brothers and their…
parents. In Onward, Dear Boys, Philippe Bieler skilfully weaves together his own voice with those of his grandparents, his father, and his uncles into a story of war, immigration, and family life. Settling in the province of Quebec, then divided into French-speaking Catholics and English-speaking Anglicans, was a struggle for these devout, francophone Calvinists, but with the unexpected declaration of war in 1914 came an even greater challenge. In 1915 three of the five Bieler boys volunteered with the Princess Patricia Regiment, and in 1916 the fourth son followed. The eldest, Jean, became an assistant to Colonel Birkett, commander of the McGill-financed Canadian Hospital in Boulogne, and the second-eldest, Etienne, was promoted to lieutenant of an artillery brigade. The other two were privates who fought in battles including Sanctuary Wood, the Somme, Vimy, and Passchendaele, and in 1917, the fourth son, Philippe, died at the front. Upon their return to civilian life, the surviving brothers became leaders in government, science, and the arts : the eldest as Deputy Finance Director of the League of Nations, the second as a colleague of Sir Ernest Rutherford in the research of the atom, and the third as President of the Federation of Canadian Artists. The youngest, Jacques, who was too young to go to war, was an instigator of the CCF party, a precursor to the NDP. Enlivened by a wealth of family archival material, Onward, Dear Boys is a poignant story of the experiences of war and its impact on a family of new Canadians during the first decades of the twentieth century.And We Go On: A Memoir of the Great War (Carleton Library Series #229)
By David Williams, Will R. Bird. 2014
In the autumn of 1915 Will Bird was working on a farm in Saskatchewan when the ghost of his brother…
Stephen, killed by German mines in France, appeared before him in uniform. Rattled, Bird rushed home to Nova Scotia and enlisted in the army to take his dead brother's place. And We Go On is a remarkable and harrowing memoir of his two years in the trenches of the Western Front, from October 1916 until the Armistice. When it first appeared in 1930, Bird's memoir was hailed by many veterans as the most authentic account of the war experience, uncompromising in its portrayal of the horror and savagery, while also honouring the bravery, camaraderie, and unexpected spirituality that flourished among the enlisted men. Written in part as a reaction to anti-war novels such as All Quiet on the Western Front, which Bird criticized for portraying the soldier as "a coarse-minded, profane creature, seeking only the solace of loose women or the courage of strong liquor," And We Go On is a nuanced response to the trauma of war, suffused with an interest in the spiritual and the paranormal not found in other war literature. Long out of print, it is a true lost classic that arguably influenced numerous works in the Canadian literary canon, including novels by Robertson Davies and Timothy Findley. In an introduction and afterword, David Williams illuminates Bird's work by placing it within the genre of Great War literature and by discussing the book's publication history and reception.The Great War as I Saw It (Carleton Library Series #197)
By Frederick George Scott, Mark G. McGowan. 2014
A fifty-three-year-old Anglican priest and poet when the First World War broke out, Frederick George Scott was an improbable volunteer,…
but also an invaluable war memoirist about life at the front. Enlisting at the very beginning of the conflict and serving on the Western Front until the Armistice, Scott became the most decorated Canadian chaplain. A High Anglican and staunch British imperialist described by one of his fellow officers as "an old snob of the old school," Scott also defied stereotypes, often rejecting the privileges he was entitled to as an officer and insisting on being at the frontlines with the rank-and-file soldiers, with whom he felt genuine kinship. As a result, he was seriously wounded in the autumn of 1918, near the end of the war. The Great War as I Saw It is an idiosyncratic portrait by a man of strong religious convictions witnessing the horror of modern warfare. In evocative prose shaped by his background as a poet, Scott moves between lighthearted moments and dark tragedy, including his wrenching account of searching for his own son’s body in a ruined battlefield. Rich in detail, it is one of the most diverse and complete first-hand accounts of the war ever published.The Abolitionist and the Spy: A Father, A Son, And Their Battle For The Union
By Ken Lizzio. 2020
An abolitionist and a spy, father and son, in the forgotten Western theater of the Civil War The abolitionist legacies…
of Orville Brown and his son, Spencer, live on in this historic and daring 19th-century account. Journeying apart from each other, but with similar passion, Orville and Spencer’s stories span virtually every major abolitionist event: from the battles of Bleeding Kansas and the establishment of the free-soil movement to the river wars of Memphis, Vicksburg, and Shiloh. Readers will follow Orville west as he struck out for Kansas Territory to help ensure its entry as a free state. But the life of his precocious eldest son, Spencer, serves as an eventful accompaniment to Orville’s own adventures. As a young Navy recruit in the Civil War’s Western theater, Spencer volunteered to go behind enemy lines on numerous occasions. With his bold sleuthing and detailed diaries, Spencer’s life unfolds vividly against the exciting backdrop of the Union and Confederate battle for control of the Mississippi River. The lives of these daring men are a fortifying record of American perseverance.Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win
By Jocko Willink, Leif Babin. 2015
Sent to the most violent battlefield in Iraq, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin’s SEAL task unit faced a seemingly impossible…
mission: help U.S. forces secure Ramadi, a city deemed “all but lost.” In gripping firsthand accounts of heroism, tragic loss, and hard-won victories in SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser, they learned that leadership―at every level―is the most important factor in whether a team succeeds or fails.Willink and Babin returned home from deployment and instituted SEAL leadership training that helped forge the next generation of SEAL leaders. After departing the SEAL Teams, they launched Echelon Front, a company that teaches these same leadership principles to businesses and organizations. From promising startups to Fortune 500 companies, Babin and Willink have helped scores of clients across a broad range of industries build their own high-performance teams and dominate their battlefields. Now, detailing the mind-set and principles that enable SEAL units to accomplish the most difficult missions in combat, Extreme Ownership shows how to apply them to any team or organization. Each chapter focuses on a specific topic such as Cover and Move, Decentralized Command, and Leading Up the Chain, explaining what they are, why they are important, and how to implement them in any leadership environment. A compelling narrative with powerful instruction and direct application, Extreme Ownership revolutionizes business management and challenges leaders everywhere to fulfill their ultimate purpose: lead and win.Beyond Valor: A World War II Story of Extraordinary Heroism, Sacrificial Love, and a Race against Time
By William Doyle, Jon Erwin. 2020
Beyond Valor is one soldier&’s extraordinary tale of bravery, heroism, faith, and devotion."Amazing...A thrilling and poignant story of patriotism that…
all Americans can be stirred, moved, and encouraged by." -- Gary SiniseOn April 12, 1945, a fleet of American B-29 bombers flew toward Japan. Their mission was simple: stop World War II by burning the cities, factories, and military bases of the Japanese empire, thereby forcing an unconditional surrender. Yet the mission did not go as planned. On board one of the B-29s, the City of Los Angeles, a phosphorus bomb detonated inside the plane. Staff Sergeant Henry E. &“Red&” Erwin absorbed the blast of burning phosphorus yet managed to throw overboard the still-flaming bomb, before collapsing from the third-degree burns over much of his body.Breaking protocol, the plane diverted to a military hospital at Iwo Jima. President Truman quickly ordered that Erwin be awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest honor of the American military, before the young airman died of his wounds. There was just one problem: no Medals of Honor were available in the entire Pacific theater. General Curtis LeMay dispatched a squad of airmen on a 1,000-mile mission to smash their way into a display case and steal a medal to give to Erwin before time ran out.Meanwhile, Red&’s courageous young bride set out on her own mission, one of against-all-odds healing. Her success would determine the fate of the twenty-three-year-old warrior--and years later make possible the birth of the book's author: their grandson, Jon Erwin.Drawn from in-depth interviews with eyewitnesses and deep archival research, Beyond Valor is an extraordinary tale of bravery, heroism, faith, and devotion.The Biography of Captain Bruce Bairnsfather: In Search of the Better 'Ole
By Tonie Holt, Valmai Holt. 2014
Bruce Bairnsfather created one of the best-known cartoon characters of the First World War - 'Old Bill' and he drew…
what many consider to be the most enduring cartoon of all time - the 'Better Ole'.Reprinted due to popular demand this biography was the first to be published about the man and his work. During the First World War the contribution of Bairnsfather's work to the morale of the Nation, through laughter, is without question. Indeed these were those who thought he was the 'man who won the war'. The authors trace his life in fascinating detail. This delightful book reveals details of the man who was a compelling paradox - a desperately shy person who adored the limelight, a loyal loveable personality, ridden with suspicion, an upper class product who was more comfortable in the company of the working class man.Bairnsfather's work appears on plates, cups, jugs, mugs and pots, carmascots, ashtrays and the like - all collector's pieces. His characters appear on postcards, playing cards, cigarette card, jig-saw puzzles and during the Second World War on the noses of the daylight bombers of the American Eighth Airforce.The story is lavishly illustrated with over 150 photographs and drawings, and includes a useful section setting out the range and values of Bairnsfather memorabilia and collectables.From SAS to Blood Diamond Wars
By Hamish Ross, Fred Marafono. 2011
Alcibiades is one of the most famous (or infamous) characters of Classical Greece. A young Athenian aristocrat, he came to…
prominence during the Peloponnesian War (429-404 BC) between Sparta and Athens. Flamboyant, charismatic (and wealthy), this close associate of Socrates persuaded the Athenians to attempt to stand up to the Spartans on land as part of an alliance he was instrumental in bringing together. Although this led to defeat at the Battle of Mantinea in 418 BC, his prestige remained high. He was also a prime mover in Athens' next big strategic gambit, the Sicilian Expedition of 415 BC, for which he was elected as one of the leaders. Shortly after arrival in Sicily, however, he was recalled to face charges of sacrilege allegedly committed during his pre-expedition reveling. Jumping ship on the return journey, he defected to the Spartans.Alcibiades soon ingratiated himself with the Spartans, encouraging them to aid the Sicilians (ultimately resulting in the utter destruction of the Athenian expedition) and to keep year-round pressure on the Athenians. He then seems to have overstepped the bounds of hospitality by sleeping with the Spartan queen and was soon on the run again. He then played a devious and dangerous game of shifting loyalties between Sparta, Athens and Persia. He had a hand in engineering the overthrow of democracy at Athens in favor of an oligarchy, which allowed him to return from exile, though he then opposed the increasingly-extreme excesses of that regime. For a time he looked to have restored Athens' fortunes in the war, but went into exile again after being held responsible for the defeat of one of his subordinates in a naval battle. This time he took refuge with the Persians, but as they were now allied to the Spartans, the cuckolded King Agis of Sparta was able to arrange his assassination by Persian agents.There has been no full length biography of this colorful and important character for twenty years. Professor Rhodes brings the authority of an internationally recognized expert in the field, ensuring that this will be a truly significant addition to the literature on Classical Greece.Chindit Affair: A Memoir of the War in Burma
By Frank Baines. 2011
In March 1944, some 2,200 battle trained men of 111 Brigade flew from India into northern Burma to land on…
improvised airstrips cleared from the jungle, They were part of General Orde Wingates Chindit force sent to fight the Japanese deep behind their lines. Five months later, 111 Brigade was down to 118 fit men eight British officers, a score of British soldiers and 90 Gurkhas. One of those eight officers was Frank Baines, and in Chindit Affair he tells, in vivid language and with shrewd insight, what happened.Frank commanded two platoons of young Gurkhas and was attached to 111 Brigade Headquarters, serving under John Masters, where he had a close-up view for most of the time. His account throws new light on the leadership of the Chindit campaign, but above all it is a soldiers story.All the horrors of jungle warfare are here bodies blood-sucked by leeches and corpses impaled by bamboo; Japanese soldiers reduced to eating human flesh; a court martial and execution; soldiers falling sick and dropping by the wayside, and being killed and wounded in action. He also captures the atmosphere of the jungle; its watercourses, trees, birds and the Kachin villagers simple way of life. No other account of the Chindit operations touches the same raw nerves, and none recreates so immediately the sensations of being there in the jungle and hills which devoured nearly all of them.ABOUT THE AUTHORBorn in 1915, the son of a prominent architect, Frank Baines ran away from school and went to sea on a Finnish four-masted grain sailing ship. He enlisted at the outbreak of the Second World War, trained as an artillery officer in India, saw action on the Northwest frontier before being seconded to 111 Brigade. After the war, he spent three years as a Hindu monk in a Himalayan monastery and he then moved to Calcutta where he set up a business repairing tea chests and started writing. Frank returned to England in 1956 and published four books, including Look Towards the Sea, a widely acclaimed account of his Cornish childhood. At the age of 62, still seeking adventure, he cycled back to India from his home in Coggershall, Essex. He died in 1987 leaving behind this unpublished memoir.High Life of Oswald Watt: Australia's First Military Pilot
By Chris Clark. 2016
‘Father of the Flying Corps’ and ‘Father of Australian Aviation’ were two of the unofficial titles conferred on Oswald (“Toby”)…
Watt when he died in tragic circumstances shortly after the end of the First World War. He had become the Australian Army’s first qualified pilot in 1911, but spent the first 18 months of the war with the French Air Service, the Aéronautique Militaire , before arranging a rare transfer to the Australian Imperial Force. Already an experienced combat pilot, he rose quickly through the ranks of the Australian Flying Corps, becoming a squadron leader and leading his unit at the battle of Cambrai, then commander of No 1 Training Wing with the senior AFC rank of lieutenant colonel. These were elements in a colourful and at times romantic career long exciting interest and attention—not just during Wat’s lifetime but in the interval since his death nearly a century ago. His name had been rarely out of Australian newspapers for more than a decade before the war, reflecting his wealthy lifestyle and extensive and influential social and political connections. But this focus has enveloped Watt’s story with an array of false and misleading elements verging on mythology. For the first time, this book attempts to establish the true story of Watt’s life and achievements, and provide a proper basis for evaluating his place in Australian history.