Dodging the devil : letters from the front / George Martindale ; commentary by Nicolas Dean Brodie. Dodging the devil : letters from the front : Gallipoli, Fromelles & Bullecourt.

Collection type	Library
Author	Martindale, George Gowthorpe, 1887-1922, author.; Brodie, Nicholas Dean, 1981-, writer of commentary.;
Call Number	940.48194 M384d
Document type	Monograph
Year	[2016].
Pagination	250 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some colour), portraits, facsimiles ; 24 cm
Publisher	Hardie Grant Books,
Note	Landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, fighting at Lone Pine, surviving Fromelles and suffering Bullecourt, George Martindale?s war experiences reflect a litany of our nation?s hallowed trials. George described these actions for members of his family in the letters he sent home, forming a collection of his writings that is the basis of this book. He may well have become one of the great writers of twentieth century Australia had his life not ended prematurely as a result of th e injuries he sustained on the Western Front. George?s letters were a gift to his family but more so to posterity. They retain the scent of the trenches, and the stains of no man?s land. In them he honoured his mates, cherished his heritage and condemned falsities. His letters allow us to look back more than 100 years, and for his words to reach out to future generations. Includes bibliographical references (pages 243-250) On the 21st August 1914, George Martindale, along with many of his peers, enlisted for the war in service of Australia. Part of the 5th Battalion, he served for over 3 years and witnessed some of the largest and most catastrophic battles of World War I. From the very beginning, when George was sent to Egypt to undertake training with some of the first of the enlisted men, he wrote home. He documented his daily life in the war -- the events, his feelings and opinions -- and sent these messages and photogra phs back to his family in Melbourne. His military experience took him through some of the most notorious battles of the war -- he was sent to Gallipoli and fought in the battle of Lone Pine, eventually being evacuated when the troops were pulled out. He w as then sent to France where he was a part of the infamous Fromelles battle, where in one night more than 5000 Australian casualties virtually wiped out his Division. He went on to Bullecourt, also a notorious battleground on the Western front, where he w as seriously injured, putting an end
Place made	South Yarra, Victoria :

Abstract

Machine generated contents note: pt. One The Journey to Egypt -- pt. Two Mena Camp, near Cairo -- pt. Three The Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey -- pt. Four Following Aeneas -- pt. Five The Western Front -- pt. Six Convalescence -- pt. Seven France, again -- p t. Eight Holding the Line -- pt. Nine Dismissed.