World War 1
Novels
Novels
1914
SF M
a day to remember
Much has been written about the events at Gallipoli, the Anzac spirit and its status in Australia's identity. A day to remember takes a refreshingly different approach to the subject by tracing the Anzac legend through sequential descriptions of what has happened on April 25 over the intervening 95 years. While not all years are covered, significant changes in the attitude to war and the Anzacs are documented. This includes a discussion of waning interest followed by renewed interest in the Anzacs, and the opposition to war in the 1970s and early 2000s with the Vietnam and Iraq wars. The ugly side of nationalistic fervour is also touched on in terms of the desecration of significant sites in Turkey and the perceived disrespect of some visitors to the Anzac Day ceremony at Gallipoli. Overall, this picture book offers more than just a unique account of the Anzac spirit, it also provides an account of how attitudes to war and those who fought have changed over time. J. White
PRC SF F
fromelies: Australia's bloodiest day at war
The first shots were fired at eleven am on 19 July 1916. The Battle of Fromelles lasted less than twenty-four hours and, when it was over, more than five thousand Australian soldiers had been killed, wounded or taken prisoner. More soldiers died at Fromelles than in the Boer, Korean and Vietnam wars combined. Almost a century later, the attention of the world has once again turned to Fromelles.
PRC SF W
Gallipoli
Lying about his age and looking for adventure, 14-year-old Victor March enlists in the 10th Battalion of the AIF to fight in the Great War. Victor and his new mates, Fish, Needle and Robbo, are headed for the Gallipoli peninsula, and into battle. He is among the first soldiers to land at what will become known as Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, and the world as he knows it is about to change. In his diary, Victor records the horrors of war, his friendships, his fears, and the story of Australia's most legendary military campaign.
PRC SF T
john simpson kirkpatrick
R7.1
Jim and Wally
Mary Grant Bruce
SF B
light horse boy
SF W
Lighthouse girl
Fay lives alone with her father on bleak, windswept Breaksea Island, but her isolated life takes a dramatic turn with the outbreak of World War I. Fay collects the messages of lonely soldiers heading to the front line. She is their last hope of getting messages telegraphed back home. After their departure for the battlefields of Egypt and Gallipoli, she follows their fortunes and continues her long distance conversations with letters and postcards. Then one day, a single, sad telegram arrives, and the war is brought brutally home. Based on the true story of Faye Howe, this gentle tale brings to life the hardships of those left at home during the war, waiting, wondering, hoping. Drawing on fascinating archival material, and interweaving fact with fiction, award-winning author Dianne Wolfer deftly recreates this period in Australian history from the perspective of a young girl.
SF W
My Mother's Eyes
William was only 16 years old when he enlisted for the First World War. Like many other under-age boys at the time, he was accepted into the Australian Imperial Force and sent to the battlefields of France. His letters home from the front reveal how, for the boy soldiers, the 'great adventure' became a tragedy.
PRC SF W
My Friend, the Enemy (Our enemy, my friend)
My Australian Story series
SF B
one minute's silence
SF M
Our enemy, my friend (my friend the enemy)
Our Australian Story series
SF B
Private Peaceful
On the battlefields of World War 1, young Private Thomas Peaceful looks back over his childhood. His memories of his loving family come vividly alive. But, every moment takes Tommo closer to something he cannot bear to think about.
Michael Morpurgo
PRC SF M
Scarecrow army : the ANZACS at Gallipoli
Part of the ANZAC story. Factual historical recollections are combined with a fiction to reveal the thoughts and feelings of the young soldiers and the horrendous conditions they endured and survived.
by Leon Davidson
Terrible Trenches
Horrible Histories series
SF D
The Girl from Snowy River
It is 1919 and World War I casts its shadow across Australia, particularly for orphaned sixteen-year-old Flinty McAlpine. The man Flinty loves returned from war so changed and distant. Her brother Andy 'gone with cattle', leaving Flinty in charge of their younger brother and sister and with the threat of eviction from the farm she loves. A brumby muster held under the watchful eye of the legendary Clancy of the Overflow offers hope.
PRC SF F
the gallipoli campaign
R5.1
the gallipoli story
At Gallipoli, in 1915, the courageous ANZACs faced the brave Turks in the First World War. Instead of adventure and glory, they meet the sheer brutality of war. Emotional quotes about separation from family, harrowing experiences and loss of friends.
PRC SF C
the silver donkey: a novel for children
A blind soldier, who has deserted from the war, wants to return to England to see his brother before he dies. Two young girls befriend him. The soldier shares four stories about donkeys throughout history that have been brave, kind and trustworthy.
PRC SF H
War Horse
Joey the horse recalls his experiences growing up on an English farm, his struggle for survival as a cavalry horse during World War I, and his reunion with his beloved master.
Michael Morpurgo
SF M