ANZAC Day

ANZAC Day is a time of reflection for all Australians. Our thoughts, memories and emotions are unique to our individual experience and background. Irrespective of the journey we have travelled or the place we have landed, there is a uniting belief in the words Lest We Forget.

Vision Australia Library contains a wide range of War Fiction and War Non-Fiction books, which are in high demand with our readers. Military biographies are especially popular, perhaps reflective of an ongoing desire to understand the personal impact of war beyond the myth and legend.

Vision Australia Library has compiled a selection of new release books, reflecting on Australia’s military history. We hope they provide an opportunity for reflection for our interested library members.

ANZAC Day themed book suggestions

The Courageous Life of Weary Dunlop by Peter FitzSimons

In September 1939, young Australian surgeon Edward 'Weary' Dunlop was working in London when the dogs of war were unleashed. Signing up, he was commissioned a captain in the Australian Army Medical Corps and sent to the Middle East, serving in Palestine, Greece, Crete, Egypt and Tobruk. As the European war dragged on, an emboldened Japanese force captured Singapore and marched closer to Australian shores. Weary and more than 3,000 others sailed back to Java to fight this new enemy. Weary’s leadership, ingenuity and selflessness became legendary, he became a beacon of hope to POWs.

The Legend of Albert Jacka by Peter FitzSimons

Our heroes can come from the most ordinary of places. As a shy lad growing up in country Victoria, no one in the district had any idea the man Albert Jacka would become. Albert 'Bert' Jacka was 21 when Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914. Bert soon enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force and on April 26, 1915, landed at Gallipoli, where his extraordinary efforts saw him awarded the Victoria Cross, the first for an Australian soldier in World War I. Upon moving on to France, he battled the Germans at Pozières, earning a Military Cross. Then at Bullecourt, his efforts would again turn the tide against the enemy.

Scars of War: from War-Torn Iraq and Afghanistan to the Battlefield Within by Jason Gibney

At just 17, Jason Gibney enlisted in the Australian Defence Force, full of vigour and a thirst for adventure. Over the next decade, he served in Iraq, Afghanistan’s deadly Chora Valley, and during the heartbreaking fall of Kabul in 2021. His missions included fierce firefights with the Taliban and a devastating role as an interpreter during the chaotic civilian evacuations. His final role in the evacuation of Kabul was to drag screaming, visa-denied Afghans to their fate, men he could understand, whose death sentences he could hear in their own words. In this memoir, he relieves the brutalities of combat and the invisible wounds that followed.

Stop Screaming, I’m Scared Too by Ron Henderson

“Stop screaming, I'm scared too!” is not what you'd expect to see on the back of a loadmaster's helmet in a Chinook helicopter flying over southern Afghanistan, but for Rod Henderson it sums up his 22 years of service as a soldier in the Australian Army. This is not the story of a general or a Special Forces hero. It is the extraordinary memoir of a regular Australian soldier. Like so many others who have served their country with honour and distinction, the little-known stories of ordinary soldiers deserve to be told.

Horrie the Wog-Dog: The Original Tail by Ion Idriess

The true story of Horrie the Wog-Dog who was adopted by the Australian Signal Platoon of the M/G Battalion, in spite of all rules against keeping pets, and how Horrie not only won his stripes as a valuable addition to the group but had the further distinction of being smuggled into Australia on their return. Horrie was smuggled into Greece, went through the evacuation, carried messages as well as proving a dependable warning against air attacks. He went to Syria and Palestine, he suffered cold and sickness, he fell in love with Ishmi, he was bombed off his ship and he never once was found during all necessary cover-up travelling.

Krithia: The Forgotten Battle of Gallipoli by Matt McLachlan

In May 1915, allied units tried to capture the village of Krithia on the southern tip of the Gallipoli peninsula. Anzacs came under a hail of machine-gun and rifle fire, they managed to advance, but got nowhere near the village and dug in well short of their objective. By the end of the day, over 1800 Anzac troops had been killed or wounded. Supported by first-hand accounts and oral history, Krithia features the stories of a number of Australians, New Zealanders and Turks - some who survived, some who didn't. The battle of Krithia is a tale of bravery and sacrifice, and a vivid portrait of men doing their best under hellish conditions.

Trails to Freedom: the True Story of the Medieval Trails Used by Anzac POWs to Escape Italy in 1943-1944 by Simon Tancred

Trails to Freedom brings to life the history of the ANZAC POWs who escaped Fascist Italy to find safety in neutral Switzerland during WWII. In October 1943, four Australian soldiers left Biella in the foothills of the Alps in northern Turin, fleeing Italy's Nazi-Fascist regime. They spoke no Italian, and they had scant clothing and no food. With the help of local partisans, who offered support at great risk to themselves and their families, the soldiers crossed into neutral Switzerland eight days later. They were four of more than 500 ANZAC POWs who followed the sentieri della libertá, the trails to freedom.