Collected episode 32 - Boy Soldiers
The Australian Army has always had rules about who is allowed to fight for their country. But during the First World War those rules were sidestepped by thousands of underage boys desperate to enlist. In Episode 32 of Collected, Louise Maher hears the stories of the boy soldiers who went looking for adventure, many never to return, and the project to ensure their memory is kept alive.
Credits:
Presented by: Louise Maher
Produced by: Louise Maher
Interviews:
Meghan Adams, Researcher and Writer Military History Section
Jennifer Milward, Curator of Private Records
Oral history:
Alex William (Alec) Campbell, 1997
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/S03425
Original Music: Andy Heaney, Vice Like Grip
Lance Corporal (LCpl) Herbert Austin West, 20th Battalion. LCpl West enlisted on 13 May 1916 at the age of fourteen years and eight months.