Goodbye Cobber, God Bless You

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NB: This is a secondhand book in very good condition. See our FAQs for more information. Please note that the jacket image is indicative only. A description of our secondhand books is not always available. Please contact us if you have a question about this title.

Author: John Hamilton

Format: Paperback

Number of Pages: 384


On August 7th, 1915, men of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade staged one of the most tragic, brave and futile charges of the First World War. Seeking to break out of the Anzac position at Gallipoli, they attempted to storm an extraordinarily strong Turkish position, defended by artillery, machine guns and thousands of men, using nothing but fixed bayonets and raw courage. The first wave of Light Horsemen were killed within seconds of leaving their trench, yet over the course of the next few minutes, three more lines went over the top, across the bodies of their dead and dying comrades, only to be instantly cut down themselves. All of them knew they were about to die. None held back. It was a massacre immortalised in Peter Weir's film, Gallipoli. Just before the order was given to send the third line, Trooper Harold Rush turned to his mate standing next to him and said 'Goodbye cobber. God bless you'. These words appear on his headstone, in the little cemetery near the scene of the charge. John Hamilton's book follows the men who fought and died in this action, from the recruiting frenzy of August 1914, to their training camps, to Egypt, to the peninsula itself, to that fatal morning. It is a work of meticulous research and detail, which puts flesh on the bones of long dead men and boys. We see through their eyes the excitement, fear and horror of a generation encountering the carnage of modern war for the first time. This book is compelling, personal and painfully moving.
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Leslie Alfred Pitt
Very detailed account of the Light Horse destruction by the Turks and incompetent officers

Brings to life the incompetency of the officers of the Light Horse. The backgrounds of the soldiers is well researched and gives a personal touch to their fate.

Description
NB: This is a secondhand book in very good condition. See our FAQs for more information. Please note that the jacket image is indicative only. A description of our secondhand books is not always available. Please contact us if you have a question about this title.

Author: John Hamilton

Format: Paperback

Number of Pages: 384


On August 7th, 1915, men of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade staged one of the most tragic, brave and futile charges of the First World War. Seeking to break out of the Anzac position at Gallipoli, they attempted to storm an extraordinarily strong Turkish position, defended by artillery, machine guns and thousands of men, using nothing but fixed bayonets and raw courage. The first wave of Light Horsemen were killed within seconds of leaving their trench, yet over the course of the next few minutes, three more lines went over the top, across the bodies of their dead and dying comrades, only to be instantly cut down themselves. All of them knew they were about to die. None held back. It was a massacre immortalised in Peter Weir's film, Gallipoli. Just before the order was given to send the third line, Trooper Harold Rush turned to his mate standing next to him and said 'Goodbye cobber. God bless you'. These words appear on his headstone, in the little cemetery near the scene of the charge. John Hamilton's book follows the men who fought and died in this action, from the recruiting frenzy of August 1914, to their training camps, to Egypt, to the peninsula itself, to that fatal morning. It is a work of meticulous research and detail, which puts flesh on the bones of long dead men and boys. We see through their eyes the excitement, fear and horror of a generation encountering the carnage of modern war for the first time. This book is compelling, personal and painfully moving.