Some Photos from Two Weeks in Hawai’i

I spent two weeks in Honolulu in March 2024. This time I just took my Leica SL2, a relatively new Leica APO-Summicron-SL 50mm F/2 ASPH and a Peak Design CF travel tripod. I found it a bit of a heavy carry on longer walks. The set-up, however, did not let me down.

I stayed within easy walking distance of Ala Moana Beach Park where I like to swim for about 50 mins each day and it is a great place for fireworks and sunset photography. I also have a really good friend in Honolulu who knows her way around and very generously drives me to many places I would never get to otherwise.

Anzac Day 2024

So for the last little while I’ve been putting together a bit of information about Anzac Day and who we commemorate for the people I swim with several times a week. Sometimes I read it out between sets on the day, but this year we are only swimming on the days before and after Anzac Day, so I distributed this as reading. I don’t know why I selected some Boy Anzacs and a Dame, it just came to me when browsing the Australian War Memorial’s website. There is also part of a famous poem by Rupert Brooke which I believe says it all, particularly regarding those Boy Anzacs.

 Private James Charles Martin

James Martin was born on 3 January 1901 in Tocumwal, NSW. He was successful on his second enlistment attempt at 14 years and 3 months, departing from Melbourne in June 1915 with the 21st Infantry Battalion. Deployed with reinforcements for Gallipoli from Egypt, his transport ship was torpedoed by a German submarine and he spent several hours in the water before being rescued. He eventually landed on Gallipoli on 7 September.

Although battle casualties were slight in the time he was there, front-line work, short rations, sickness, flies, lice and mosquitoes took their toll on his unit. He contracted typhoid fever in late October and was evacuated to a hospital ship, having lost half his weight. He died of heart failure only two hours later, three months short of his 15th birthday. He was buried at sea and is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial on Gallipoli. He is thought to have been the youngest Australian to have died on active service in the First World War.

 Private Kenneth Norman McNamee, M.M.

Private Kenneth McNamee, M.M. (4258, 14th Battalion) was born in Ballarat, Victoria. He was working as a printer with “The Sporting World” and not yet 16 years old when he enlisted in July 1915. Kenneth was awarded a Military Medal for his “daring and coolness” while running messages and maintaining communication between Company and Battalion headquarters during the battle of Mouquet Farm in August 1916. Kenneth was wounded on 11 April 1917 during the battle of Bullecourt and was last seen being bandaged by two German Red Cross men. This was reported after the war by a fellow prisoner of war, who said that Kenneth had been badly wounded by a bullet just above his heart and was unlikely to live long. Kenneth is commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France. He was 17 years 9 months of age.

 Private Roy Henderson Robertson 

Private Roy Robertson (1765, 20th Battalion) was a shop assistant from Scarborough, NSW. He enlisted in June 1915, claiming to be 18 years old. Roy was killed in action at Russell’s Top, Gallipoli, on 7 November. His name is recorded on a memorial at Walker’s Ridge Cemetery, Gallipoli.

After the war his brother, James L. Robertson, who served with the 45th Battalion, wrote that Roy was 16 years 4 months when he died.

Private Ernest Arthur Deane

Private Ernest Arthur Deane (NX52899, 2/2nd Machine Gun Battalion), from Campbelltown, NSW died on active service in Egypt on 19 August 1941 when his dugout collapsed on him. He is commemorated on the El Alamein War Cemetery in Egypt. His service record file shows his birthdate on enlistment as 26 January 1920 but subsequent letters from his family post-war show his real birth date as 26 January 1925. This was somewhat common with those who looked and sounded old enough to enlist. He would have been 16 years and six months when he was killed accidentally.

 Private Thomas Arthur Jiggins

Private Thomas Arthur Jiggins (NX36926, 2/19th Infantry Battalion), from Barallan, NSW enlisted under his brother Frederick’s name, using his date of birth, 1 May 1920. He changed his name to his correct name in August 1941 in Malaya and did so by Statuary Declaration, without any mention of his correct birth date, 1 February 1925.

His service record shows him as missing believed wounded on 22 January 1942 and he was later officially presumed to be dead. (He was not recorded as a PoW.) The AWM Roll of Honour circular shows that he was only 16 years and 11 months when he died.

Dame Emma Maud McCarthy, GBE, RRC &  Bar, DStJ

Dame Maud McCarthy was born in Paddington, Sydney in 1859 and saw service as a nursing sister and army matron-in-chief in the Boer War and the First World War. Known as the nurses’ general, she was one of the most highly decorated women’s leaders of the First World War. 

She had moved from Australia to England by 1891 and began general nursing training at London Hospital, Whitechapel, becoming a sister in early 1894. She was selected by Princess Alexandra to go to the Boer War with five others as her own “military” nursing sisters and served with distinction from 1899-1902.

On return to England she was matron at a succession of military hospitals and became principal matron at the War Office in 1910. On the outbreak of war she served as Matron-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from 1914 to 1919, sailing on the first troop ship to leave England. By the time of Armistice there were over 6,000 in her charge and she had been responsible for the nursing of hundreds of thousands of casualties in the years 1914-1918. She retired in 1925 and died at home in Chelsea, London in 1949.

THE DEAD (IV) extract
Rupert Brooke, 1914

These hearts were woven of human joys and cares,
  Washed marvellously with sorrow, swift to mirth.
The years had given them kindness. Dawn was theirs,
  And sunset, and the colours of the earth.

These had seen movement, and heard music; known
  Slumber and waking; loved; gone proudly friended;
Felt the quick stir of wonder; sat alone;
  Touched furs and flowers and cheeks. All this is ended.

Sources:

https://www.awm.gov.au/

https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection/defence-and-war-service-records

https://adb.anu.edu.au/

Other Men’s Flowers. An Anthology of Poetry Compiled by A. P. Wavell, 1981 reprint

 

My Reading in 2023

My total number of books was down a little on 2022, but some of these were either long reads or a bit difficult to get through.

I really enjoyed Mick Heron’s Slough House series of books and I believe I’ve read all of them now. They are just so well written and there is so much hilarious dialogue. I must say the TV series is also excellent and very well cast. It is as if he has written the books specifically for that cast.

I like books series a lot and when I find a good one I usually see it through. Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole series is great and more recently I’ve been reading my way through two of Alex Gerlis’ series: Spy Masters and The Wolf Pack Spies. There are also Bill Rogers’ The National Crime Agency books.

Many of these books tend to have a continuing hero figure, which I like, or they are basically historical fiction. Apart from that lot there are only four others: one about photography as there is so much to learn (and I liked the look of the book); Erik Larson’s The Splendid and the Vile; one by another favourite author, Karin Slaughter; and one that was the subject of a streaming TV series, All The Light We Cannot See. I’ve read several of Erik Larson’s books as they are usually great stories, but I find them hard to get through. All The Light … was adapted terribly on the small screen. It is an interesting story, but I don’t think the book deserves all the rave reviews it gets.

I read all but one of these on my Kindle as that is my preference now. Only Jackie Higgins’ photography book was a paper book. That’s all!

Season’s Greetings!

My year started with a visit from Gary so we could go to the 3rd cricket Test against South Africa at the SCG, with Judith and Steven. A  day or two were rained out but we did see some play on the final day.

With the remedial work to stop water ingress finally completed, I was able to get all the carpet upstairs replaced, a new sofa bed was delivered, aircon was installed in the spare bedroom and I had a carpenter build in several new bookcases, replacing tired old free-standing bookcases.

I continued my long standing subscription to the ACO with Gregor and we enjoyed the season. I also managed to visit Gregor up in Belmont and we toured the coastal areas up there, north and south of Newcastle, that he knows so well, while also catching up with (cousin) Helen and Terry for lunch on Lake Macquarie. Gregor and I regularly lunched together in Alexandria (when he was not overseas) as he volunteers with the Railway Historical Society nearby.

Henry from our swim squad/gang took me to see my Hawks play his Swans at the SCG early in the AFL season. Hopefully I saw some future grand final champs. Later in the year Henry, Louise and I went to the disastrous The Brian Jonestown Massacre concert in Enmore: a whole ‘nother story!

Easter was with sister Mez, her husband Phil, Jan, Brian and Gregor came down from Newcastle.

I flew to Melbourne on the anniversary of Ken’s death in April so Gary would not be dealing with this in Lorne and Mary also came down for dinner with us which was a wonderful way to celebrate Ken’s life. After this, when Gary was up in Canberra, I drove down to catch up with him, Mary, Karen, Bruce and Georgie for a further celebration of the Kenny.

My big overseas trip was in May to Helsinki and Berlin (again, I know). I saw some wonderful exhibitions and buildings in both cities, took heaps of photographs and finally travelled down to Potsdam from Berlin. I lucked out with great Airbnbs and managed to swim regularly. Flights on Cathay Pacific and Finnair were great.

Soon after this the swim gang all went on an Ocean Swim Safari to Heron Island and this was fantastic. The sea life and swimming were brilliant each day and evenings were spent lingering after dinner together, with too many bottles of wine as there is no internet or TV on the island.

In August I spent a week or so in Auckland, including a few days with Mez & Phil and this was great. We ate well, travelled to Piha, out to Waiheke Island and around greater Auckland.

After this things settled into more regular programming with regular local pub trivia at the Carlisle Castle Hotel on Wednesday nights (in Aanya’s team and she is now an associate member of the swim gang) and drag trivia in Sydenham with the swim gang in November. Some of the swim gang continued our semi-regular Friday night drinks, mostly when Roger was back in town. 

Jemima (who had moved to Melbourne for work) flew up in November for Sally’s retirement dinner that we had with Belinda – like old times! I had some catch-ups with Jenny, Ben and Leckie (including Kenny’s 50th) as well as the regular Christmas lunch at Tatts with Mez & Phil, Jan & Brian, Alan & Carole in December. There was also another pre-Xmas lunch on Lake Macquarie with cousins Helen & Terry, Phil & Ros plus Gregor.

In October I joined the Radio Community Chest choir and attended regular Monday night rehearsals in St Stephen’s church, Macquarie St, so I could participate in their 82nd annual presentation of Handel’s Messiah in Sydney Town Hall. (Fortunately this 400-strong choir does not hold auditions!) Virtually the whole swim gang plus Mez & Phil attended on the Saturday performance and Gregor, Marty and Mary attended on the Sunday. I really enjoyed this whole experience, so thanks to Ingrid for her gentle encouragement.

I will try to provide separate updates about my Kindle reading and podcast listening later as usual.

Mary Ex-Moose!

Remembrance Day 2023 – Sydney’s Inner West Pt. 2

The Horror in France (cont’d)

Sgt. Lionel Frank Elliot, 56th Infantry Battalion. Compositor of Marrickville. Service record is not yet available, possibly relating to a court martial? RTA 13/12/18 aged 29, but later died as a result of his war service on 18/2/20.

Letter on Fromelles*, 3/8/16: 

we heard a wounded chap crying out, he was in ‘No Mans Land’ . . . I said ‘Who’s coming over’ another chap said ‘I’m on’ so over the parapet we crawled and out to the wounded man, we got to him without anything happening, but as soon as we lifted him to bring him in ‘ping’ a bullet went through the top of my hat** barely touching the scalp, so we had to lie low for awhile, when we started off again three shots were fired, so I thought it best to leave him until night. A Machine Gun had got him in the legs (4 wounds). He said he would be O.K. if he could get some water, and he wanted a smoke bad, so I gave him cigarettes and matches and promised him water and food, and then we run and crawled back to safety. The water and food went out as soon as we got back. I was a bit narked at not getting him in, but it would have been suicidal to attempt any further.

* Fromelles was possibly the most tragic event in Australian history, in which almost over 5,500 Australians became casualties with almost 2,000 killed in 24 hours.

**  During the battle Australians in the later attacking waves had worn slouch hats rather than steel helmets, the only important occasion in France when this was so.

Pte. Erle Oakley Neaves, 20th Infantry Battalion. Cashier of Glebe Point. He enlisted in May 1916 and served in action in Belgium. He was killed in his dugout during an enemy barrage on Broodseinde Ridge, Ypres Sector in Belgium on 6/11/17 aged 26.

Letter, 15/2/17: 

All my pals . . . I came over with are gone, but 7 out of 150 remain, its simply scientific murder, not war at all. As for seeing Germans its all lies you never get close enough to do that, unless in a charge. I keep smiling, but I tell you it takes some doing . . . the premonition I had when leaving Sydney, that I would never see home again still hangs about me—one would be unnatural to go through uninjured, if I get out of it with a leg and arm off I’ll be perfectly satisfied, so you will understand what it is like .. . so don’t get married till after the war.

Humanity

Capt. Robert James Henderson MC & Bar, 13th Infantry Battalion. Electrical engineer of Drummoyne. He enlisted aged 29 in June 1915. Served at Anzac, then in France in 1916 until receiving a gunshot wound in the thigh (9/16). He was wounded again in Belgium in June 1917, but returned to his unit later the same month! He was awarded the MC for coolness and courage on two occasions in August 1917 after his company had been caught in the open under a heavy barrage. He sustained a third MG wound in the thigh in front of Villers-Bretonneux on 30/4/18 and died of wounds on 13/5/18 at Etaples, aged 32. He was awarded posthumously, a Bar to his MC in September 1918 for conspicuous gallantry under heavy fire during the action that resulted in his fatal wounding.

Letter, 13/6/17: 

There are a whole lot of Germans buried in a cellar at Messines we heard them tapping and started to dig for them until they [the German artillery] started shelling like the devil we then dropped a message over their line by aeroplane telling him we were trying to release his men at Messines if he did not shell it however he must have thought we were pulling his foot for he continued to shell so that those poor beggars will just have to die of starvation etc. 

The Ugliness and the Ending

Pte. Thomas Joseph Cleary, 17th Infantry Battalion, then 2nd Pioneer Battalion. Electrician of Annandale. He enlisted aged 39 in October 1915. Served on active duty in France. RTA 20/5/19.

Diary, 24/1/18: 

at Flers the 27th Battalion had 7 German prisoners … [A lieutenant] shot all of them. He tried to shoot one of them with an automatic but the prisoner gripped his hand and the auto missed. He then shot the prisoner and all the rest with his service Revolver. The Cpl … had previously refused to do this. 

& on the Armistice, Diary, 11/11/18: 

The day of days … We had two victories today. we won the War and defeated the 5th Field Coy @ Soccer. The news of the Armistice was taken very coolly … nobody seemed to be able to realise it. 

Pte. Marshall Burrows, 4th Pioneer Battalion. Tram driver of Enmore. Served at Anzac with 1st Light Horse Regiment and suffered from dysentery. He was wounded in France and taken as a PoW on 18/1/18. RTA, 5/3/19. Died of Tuberculosis  and heart failure at Boddington Red Cross Sanatorium, Wentworth Falls on 24/8/19 aged 35.

Letter, 10/2/17:

I saw a battallion of 1000 men going up to go in . . . and within half an hour there was only 300 left . . . every where you would look you could see pieces of men dead and moaning, it was terrible I will never forget [it]. . . I expect if I go back I will see a bit more but I might be lucky enough not to see it l hope 1 do [not] because 1 have done my share and I dont want to see any more of it

Pte. Granville Bennett, 8th Machine Gun Company. Engineer’s ironmonger said to be  of Drummoyne, but I believe he was from Crows Nest. He enlisted aged 18 in November 1915. He died of gun shot wounds to the head, back, hand and face received in France, on 16/10/17 aged 20.

Diary, 12/10/16:

[T]he anniversary of Nurse Cavell’s* death, we sent gas over and at 7.30 p.m. . . . made a successful raid on the German trench . . . Many of our men left cards with “Remember Nurse Cavell” on in the Hun trenches. We also sent gas over later

* Nurse Edith Cavell was executed by the Germans in October 1915 for helping 200 Allied soldiers escape and return to their units in occupied Belgium.

Lt. Joseph Maxwell VC, MC & Bar, DCM, 18th Infantry Battalion. Boilermaker’s apprentice of Marrickville. Often said to be the second most decorated Australian soldier in the First World War. He enlisted in February 1915 and served at Anzac before heading to France in March 1916. He won a DCM at the 3rd battle of Ypres leading his platoon after his officer was killed. He was commissioned in the field and in March 1918 he was awarded the MC for a successful attack on a german position near Ploegsteert, Belgium. He was awarded a Bar to his MC in August 1918, leading his company (as the only surviving officer) and rescuing a tank crew in an offensive near Rainecourt, Northern France. His VC came in October 1918 after an attack on the Beaurevoir-Fonsomme line in France. He took charge of his company again, captured an enemy MG, silenced another MG and encouraged about 20 Germans to surrender, being briefly captured himself! He escaped with his men under heavy fire then re-organised his troops and captured that position. RTA 1/5/19. He died in 1967 aged 81.

From Bill Gammage’s The Broken Years (p230): Early in 1919 two Australian lieutenants stood in a line of men at Buckingham Palace, waiting to meet the King. The King had been delayed, and the two Australians were restless. ‘George is late on parade,’ one finally declared, ‘we’ll have to “crime” him.’ He was Joe Maxwell, come to receive the Victoria Cross. His mate was E. W. Mattner, [Lt & later Senator Mattner, MC, DCM, MM] and after the King had given him his third decoration for bravery in the field, the two chatted for a few minutes, while the King recalled his visit to Australia. In a busy Palace routine a discussion of that length was unusual, and when Lieutenant Mattner left the King the Lord Chamberlain*, heading a clutch of titled officials, pressed towards him, asking excitedly, ‘What did he say? What did he say?’ ‘Well,’ the young officer told them, ‘he said, “I’m sick of this turnout. Let’s go down to the corner pub and have a couple of beers.” ’ The Lord Chamberlain, shocked to the marrow, ‘dressed him down’.

* The Lord Chamberlain was William Mansfield, 1st Viscount Sandhurst who served briefly with the Coldstream Guards as a Lt in the 1870s. He was regarded by his brother officers as ‘incurably dense’ and by other officials as almost illiterate.

Other sources: https://www.awm.gov.au/ 

https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection/defence-and-war-service-records

https://adb.anu.edu.au/

Open source copy of The Broken Years (for downloading): https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/114783 

Remembrance Day 2023 – Sydney’s Inner West Pt. 1

I live in Sydney’s Inner West and swim regularly with a group of people at Victoria Park Pool. On Anzac and Remembrance Days I usually provide a bit of history just to reinforce the fact that these days are not all about flags, medals, bands, marching and wind-bag politicians mouthing platitudes. Today I provided readings about some fellows who served in the First World War from the local area. I found their names and places of association from Bill Gammage’s book The Broken Years in which he quotes extracts from their letters and diaries.

Recruitment & fate

L/Cpl Charles Lee, 1st Infantry Battalion. Horse Driver of Newtown. He was killed in a charge on the German Officer’s trench at Anzac on 5 June 1915. 50 men went with Capt. E. E. L. Lloyd to destroy a machine gun in that trench. The MG was destroyed but 27 men were wounded and five killed including L/Cpl Lee, aged 22.

Diary, 17/8/14: 

Left home early in the morning* and went to Victoria Barracks … had to wait outside the gates with about 1,000 or more other recruits for about an hour. When the gates opened there was a big rush of men to get in. We were then drafted into two batches one body composed of those who had done soldiering before and those that had not

* Probably on 11 August 1914 when recruiting began – his service number was 100.

Capt. Duncan Victor Mulholland, 1st Machine Gun Battalion. Bank clerk of Ashfield. He enlisted in February 1915. Initially he served with the 1st Light Horse Regiment at Anzac from 29/8/15. After some hospitalisation for illness, he was seconded for duty with the 1st MG Coy on 1/4/16, serving in France. In September 1917 he transferred to the 3rd MG Coy (redesignated 1st MG Battalion on 1/4/18) as its commander. He was wounded in action with that company on 31/5/18 (multiple shell wounds), dying of those wounds on the same day east of Ebblinghem, France, aged 27

Letter, 8/8/15: 

We are all looking forward to showing the world what we are made of and I, for one, have not the slightest fear of what there probably is in store for me (loss of limbs, a mortal wound, loss of memory, deafness, etc.) but I have impressed upon my mind our return to Australia, covered with glory and this vision I can’t get away from. 

& Letter, 17/7/17:

Prisoners we are not troubled with now for we kill every bosche at sight. 

Excited Anticipation, the Landing, Brotherhood and Horror at Anzac

Sgt William Echlin Turnley, 1st Field (Engineer) Company. Telephone mechanic of Sydney & later Shellharbour. Enlisted in August 1914 and was wounded in action at Anzac in July 1915. He was again hospitalised suffering some serious kidney and heart illnesses and was discharged on return to Australia on 10/6/16 aged 27.

Diary re 25/4/15:

 … How we wish they would fire —- or that we could land …! The suspense is nerve-racking. … The thought comes to me that we are the unfortunate ones to sacrificed in drawing the enemy’s fire. … Oh, why the dickens don’t they fire at us! … Crack! Swish! Ping! At last we breathe a sigh of relief, the suspense is over! … some get ashore safely, some are hit slightly, others are drowned in only a couple of feet of water because in the excitement no one notices their plight … [One] … he … looks at us dazedly, leaning forward on his rifle. A sailor  … touches him on the arm, and the soldier falls forward in to the bottom of the boat, dead. 

& later that day on the exposed Anzac hillsides, Diary, 25/4/15: 

One of our fellows goes out three times to bring in wounded comrades … The third time he is shot through the head and pitches forward on his face within a few feet of his goal.

Pte. Alfred Terah Elwood, 2nd Infantry Battalion. Carpenter of Glebe. Enlisted 24/8/14. Died of bomb wounds received in action on Anzac, 17/5/15 aged 25.

Letter, 30/4/15: 

I am slightly wounded … but am leaving tomorrow for the front again and very pleased I will be I want to get my own back I got hit in the head and right arm. last Sunday it happened it has not healed up yet but I am quite fit to go back again.

Capt. William Henry Sheppard, 17th Infantry Battalion. Insurance surveyor of Potts Point. Enlisting in August 1914, he was wounded at Anzac by a bomb in September 1915 and was evacuated, then returned to Australia on 17/3/16. He returned to serve in France again with the same battalion in late December 1916. He eventually returned to Australia on 10/3/18 aged 30.

 Letter, 28/8/15: 

My word war is a horror alright, until one comes right into it & sees the real thing he has no idea of what it means, glorious charges, magnificent defences, heroic efforts in this or that direction all boil down to the one thing, the pitting of human beings against the most scientific machinery & the result can be seen in the papers 

Sgt. Harry Melville Jackson, 13th Infantry Battalion. Builder’s clerk, born in Petersham. He served at Anzac and sustained a bomb wound in the knee. Later, he was initially reported “missing” and then he was recorded as having died whilst a German PoW, of wounds received in action in France, 15/8/16 aged 23.

Letter from Anzac, 21/8/15: 

We charged three hills that night [6-7/8/15]. On the first hill I bayoneted a Turk who was feigning death, with a few extra thrusts. He was an oldish man & on the first thrust which did not go right home he tried to get his revolver out at me, but failed … coming up the third hill, a gigantic Turk … grabbed me around the chest … he was a veritable Samson … [and] slowly began to crush the life out of me. I was almost gone when a mate of mine called Tippen came up and bayoneted him … We made sure of him and then continued up the hill. Poor Tippen got shot just in front of their trench in the stomach with two bullets. he died groaning horribly. I killed his assailant however by giving him five rounds in the head. I … let him have it full in the face. It was unrecognisable.

2Lt. Joseph Henry Dietze (aka Sandoe), 45th Infantry Battalion. Engineer of Marrickville. He enlisted aged 20 on 22/8/14. He was wounded in action on Anzac in May and August 1915. He was commissioned as an officer in August 1918 and was killed by shellfire in an advance in France on 18/9/18 aged 24.

letter from Anzac, 19/9/15, on Lone Pine: 

The dead were 4 & 5 deep & we had to walk over them: it was just like walking on a cushion … I daresay you will be surprised how callous a man becomes: a man may have a very close chum well if someone tells him his chum is killed all he says is — “poor chap” —& he forgets all about him 

The Horror in France

Lt. Leslie James Martin, 1st Machine Gun Battalion. Warehouseman of Dulwich Hill. He enlisted in August 1915. Sustained a gunshot wound to the leg in July 1916 and multiple ‘dangerous’ gunshot wounds in France in May 1918. These wounds resulted in the amputation of his right arm in November 1918. He returned to Australia 28/8/19, aged 30.

Letter on the battle of Fromelles* 31/7/16: 

we had to get up as close to the parapet as possible anybody who did not do this was simply courting death for shells were falling all round . . . there were dead and wounded everywhere . . . I had to sit on top of a dead man as there was no picking and choosing . . . I saw a shell lob about twelve yards away and it . . . lifted [two men] clean up in the air for about 6 feet and they simply dropped back dead . . . one or two of the chaps got shell shock and others got really frightened it was piteous to see them . . . One great big chap got away as soon as he reached the firing line and could not be found . . . I saw him in the morning in a dug out he was white with fear and shaking like a leaf. One of our Lieuts. got shell shock and he literally cried like a child, some that / saw carried down out of the firing line were struggling and calling out for their mother, while others were blabbering sentences one could not make out . . . [a] badly wounded [chap] . . . had his body partly in a small hole that had a good deal of wood work about it, this somehow got alight and all I could see was the lower parts of his legs and a piece of his face, all the rest was burned 

* Fromelles was possibly the most tragic event in Australian history, in which almost over 5,500 Australians became casualties with almost 2,000 killed in 24 hours.

My Reading in 2022

I’m now well into the habit of updating my reading progress on Goodreads because as I read virtually everything on my Kindle, it does it automatically. In December 2022 Goodreads told me that I had read only 21 books which is quite a lot fewer than in 2021. I thought a couple of books took a long time to get through as they seemed much longer but on a Kindle you don’t get as much of a feel for volume or mass as you do on paper books.

Of these, only one was a paper book: David Gibson’s The Street Photographer’s Manual, a book I saw and browsed before buying at the Leica Store in Sydney when considering a new lens for my SL2 that should be less obtrusive on the street. The remainder all look to be e-books that I read on my Kindle. Once again it looks like I stuck with authors that I enjoyed reading, so I read five books by Alex Gerlis, four by Andrew Turpin, three by Ben Macintyre and two each from Arnaldur Indriõason and Mick Herron. The other noticeable trend in my reading is that nearly all of it seems to be about espionage, the Second World War and murder mysteries.

The exceptions were obviously that photography book mentioned above and Tomasz Jedrowski’s beautiful gay romance Swimming In The Dark about youth in a repressive regime. Like all the other books I read in 2022, I rated this 4/5 on Goodreads, but I’d like to have added a half star as I really enjoyed this book and found so much that I could relate to, emotionally.

I started the year off with another book by Peter May: The Critic. I enjoyed this read and was intending to read more of his books, but I was distracted by a new-ish Steve Parker book in the ‘Detective Ray Paterson’ series His Mother’s Bones and I could not resist it. I think the Kindle store may have recommended Andrew Turpin’s The Last Nazi. This was his first novel in the ‘Joe Johnson’ series and I ended up reading three more from it: The Old Bridge, Bandit Country and Stalin’s Final Sting.

I was side-tracked briefly by my book-club’s monthly pick: Arnaldur Indriõason’s Jar City, a rather brutally graphic murder mystery set in Reykjavik. It is also the third in the author’s ‘Inspector Erlendur’ series. I liked it so went on to the fourth book in that series Silence of the Grave. I will probably read more of his books.

Before I finished the ‘Joe Johnson’ series, I must have been recommended Alex Gerlis as an author on the Kindle store as I soon departed well and truly down the ‘Richard Prince’ series of books at full speed. First there was Prince of Spies and I soon followed with Sea of Spies, Ring of Spies and End of Spies, all of which were set in the Second World War. After that I also made a start on his ‘The Wolf Pack Spies’ series with Agent in Berlin. Some of these fictional novels overlapped with two of the the three Ben Macintyre non-fiction books that I read: Agent Zigzag: A true Story of Nazi Espionage, Love and Betrayal and Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies. Both are amazing but true stories and they’re very well told as is his The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War, which was recommended by a close friend. All of these books by both of these authors had me on the edge of my seat throughout.

Karin Slaughter is another author I like (a lot), so I just had to read Pieces of Her before watching the series on Netflix. I did enjoy both, but the series has some major differences from the book. Only one book by KS this year.

Finally, once again on the recommendation of a friend I started the ‘Slough House’ series of books by Mick Herron. I had watched the first series on Apple TV+ (courtesy of a new iPhone purchase), but thoroughly enjoyed the first book Slow Horses, then devoured Dead Lions and I’ve just started Real Tigers. Le Carré’s George Smiley has long been a hero of mine along with Len Deighton’s Bernard Samson and Ronnie Craven and Darius Jedburgh from Edge of Darkness (the TV series, not the film), but I now think I’ll have to add at least Mick Herron’s Jackson Lamb and possibly River Cartwright from the fantastic ‘Slough House’ series. There is no doubt that I’ll finish this series of books.

That’s all from me for 2022. Happy reading in 2023!

My Podcast Reviews for 2022

Firstly, I think I should let you know that I’m now using the Overcast app on my iPhone. It is the best client for podcasts that I’ve used and it leaves the default iPhone app for dead. It takes a little getting used to, but once you become familiar it is great.

I’ve listened to a lot of podcasts so below I am only listing and briefly reviewing those that made an impression this year. I’ll try to let you know how often I listened to them, what they cover and how I’d rate them for content and sound. Yes, sound quality is a biggie for me as some podcasters still don’t seem to have figured out why it is so important in this medium.

Oh, I am not providing links as everyone uses different hosts and they are all very easy to search for and find if you’re that interested. Here we go then, mind the step …

…These Are Their Stories: The Law & Order Podcast. I’m a regular listener, even though I have rarely watched this show on TV. I like the hosts, the regular features and the guests and there are always some laughs. Sound quality is always great. The content is always entertaining. ****

Bad Women: The Ripper Retold & The Blackout Ripper. I’m a regular listener, but it is starting to get a little annoying. I can’t put my finger on it, but it may have something to do with the host and/or her delivery. I’ve tried a few Pushkin podcasts and they all seem to have a similar “flavour”. Sound quality is good and I think the content sometimes strays a little too far from the main theme. I hate their ads. ***

Bone Valley. Spoilers ahead! This podcast really is outstanding, but so sad. I’d put it in the same class as about a handful of US true crime podcasts that deal with wrongful convictions (e.g. Serial, Undisclosed, Accused and In The Dark). Host Gilbert King and his colleagues do a fantastic job investigating the tragic murder of 18-year-old Michelle Schofield in 1987. Sound quality is great and the content is excellent. *****

The Chaser. I like this podcast. They seem to provide a few short episodes each week and they provide a very amusing, but frankly rare and honest take on politics and the news in general. They are very good at calling out the lazy arseholes, liars, grifters and clowns who pollute politics and make it the sewer it is. They record using professional equipment and sound is great. ****

The Coodabeen Champions. Unfortunately the Coodabeens were dropped by ABC Radio and now we have to put up with the lamest ads from their commercial radio host. I’m a regular listener and have been for years. Sometimes the quality of the songs leaves a bit to be desired and I find the show is ALWAYS better when Simon is on, but there are always a few laughs and some good guests. I do love Sam the Sub and the “Talk-Back” callers. Sound quality is great unless they’re on OB in country Victoria! ****

Crime in Sports. Presented by comedians James Pietragallo and Jimmie Whisman, this podcast has been going for a very long time and still presents episodes that are generally around three hours in length. I am very selective with my listening and most of the time I have no idea who they are talking about, but the stories are always amazing. Sound quality is fine and Jimmie’s reading out of the supporters names each episode is always good for a laugh. A good show to have up your sleeve for long drives? ***+

Crimes of the Centuries. Each crime is covered in one episode and they’re all well chosen bu host Amber Hunt, so I am a regular listener. Sound quality is great and the content is always interesting. ****

Crime Writers On … True Crime Review. I’ve listened to them since they started (… On Serial). Sound quality is always great and the content is still interesting. They can sometimes be a little US-centric and dismissive of others on this planet. ***+

The Effortless Swimming Podcast. I’m an occasional and very picky listener as I think that if you listened to everything Brenton Ford has to say about swimming, you’d just end up a confused mess. I listen when a friend I swim with lets me know there’s been a good episode and when the notification I get from Overcast looks interesting. Sound quality is usually good. ***+

The Generation Why Podcast. I guess I am addicted to true crime stories and Aaron & Justin hhave been covering them since 2012. They break down the crimes, the investigations and convictions and the episodes are generally around 60 mins in length. Maybe they are an acquired taste, but I am a regular listener and the sound quality is always good. ***+

Hawks Insiders. This is aimed at Hawthorn FC supporters in the AFL competition here in Australia, so they have a smallish target audience. They mostly have something of value to add, but as “supporters” I thought they became too publicly critical of our players this year, especially our younger players, when they gave some rather stinging post-match ratings early on in the 2022 season. This seemed to have been moderated, possibly after my complaints to them and others via Twitter, and I was grateful for that. What they did not address, however was having consistently awful sound quality for some or all of their panellists, but especially Ash Browne, who sounds like he has 10 seconds to tell you everything he knows with a mouthful of marbles from inside a tin garbage can. Their off-season interviews with HFC Board candidates cleared nothing up for me as none of those they interviewed actually said what they really think. I skipped a few because boring. And if I hear “The Family Club” again without someone actually defining what this means in football these days I will just scream. Some of their best content this year came from the young son of one of the panellists! I hope to hear some improvement in 2023. **+

Hawk Talk Podcast. Another pod aimed at HFC supporters, but I think Nick and Tizz do a much better job with less resources. Their criticisms of our team are much more objective and never insulting or demeaning for the players (with one or two exceptions!). They also know how to entertain and they capitalise on their personalities. I never miss their episodes and thanks to Nick their sound quality is always excellent. ****

Health Report. This is a regular short (30 mins) ABC radio podcast presented by Dr Norman Swan and Tegan Taylor. It is well produced and presented, but I am selective on the subject matter that I download for listening. ***+

Huberman Lab. Dr Andrew Huberman deals with a myriad of health and longevity matters that I find sometimes to be very compelling and others not so much. One issue is that each episode is usually 2-3 hours long. And there is quite a bit of scientific detail provided. I only listen to selected episodes on subjects that I find interesting. One complaint I have is his endorsements. They tend to go on and on and they can be very repetitive. Sorry, but Overcast’s 30 sec advance button does come in handy. He needs someone to tell him how to cut his episodes down to 60-90 mins. As a colleague told me once, “If you want to bore [the audience], leave nothing out.” Sound is fine. ***+

Hunting Seasons – A TV Podcast. Brod and Damask do a great job with this podcast as they binge-watch and then deep-dive on full seasons of (mostly) streaming TV series. I listen to selected episodes when they cover a show I might be interested in watching. Mostly, however, our tastes in shows do not coincide, or I do not subscribe to the same streaming service. I do enjoy their Off Topic/Hot Topic episodes, usually with guests, when they all discuss what they’ve been watching. Sound is good. ***+

Inside with Brett Hawke. See my comments on the Effortless Swimming Podcast above. Some episodes are much better and less self-indulgent than others. ***+

Kermode and Mayo’s Take. I can’t figure out whether K&M dropped the BBC or the BBC dropped them. I stayed with them in any case. I think it is a great mix of two very different personalities and friends who put together a weekly show of about 90 mins that is entertaining and sometimes surprising. The guest interviews are usually quite revealing and always interesting. I’m a regular listener/”church member”. Sound quality is usually good. ****

Lanterne Rouge Cycling Podcast. I listen to these guys around the grand tours, monuments and some UCI road championships. They’re always opinionated and informative. I still find them entertaining and they’re a good break from the awful commentators we have on free-to-air cycling programs in Australia. Their daily stage highlights on Youtube are also good. Sound is no problem ****

Le Monstre. From Tenderfoot, this a pretty gruesome tale of the horrible Marc Dutroux and associates who terrorised Belgium in the 80s and 90s. I think it is pretty well made and I was a regular listener. Sound quality is good. ****

Liar, Liar: Melissa Caddick and the Missing Millions. What an awful person she must have been or still is. A complete grifter obsessed with personal greed at the expense of anyone she was related to, friendly with or had just met. I think I wandered around listening to this with my mouth wide open in disbelief most of the time. The there was that time I saw her competing on Ninja Warrior Australia (with both feet), but that’s another story … I liked the presentation from Kate McClymont and her colleague and the sound quality was always good. ****

The MLK Tapes. This podcast presented some really interesting information about the killing of Dr Martin Luther King. I think it is a gripping story that is really well told and I listened to all of it. ****

Over My Dead Body, Season 3: Fox Lake. This one from Wondery tells the story of a small town cop supposedly gunned down in a swamp in 2015. He quickly became a martyr until his dark and bizarre past was brought to light by a determined investigator. Sound is good ***+

The Peter Attia Drive. This is presented by Peter Attia MD and focuses on optimising performance, health and longevity. Again, I am very selective with the episodes as some subjects just do not interest me. Some episodes can run well over three hours, although a lot of that is Peter talking about Peter, so maybe you could skip all of that. Sound is all good. ***+

The Piketon Massacre. We are now on Season 4 and all seasons have been about the same crime. It was the most notorious mass massacre in Ohio’s history in 2016, but boy do they cover it in some detail. In a recent episode, Mountain of Evidence, covering the trial of one of the accused murderers, one of the podcast’s guests has a jab at the prosecutor taking so much time laying out all the evidence of the murders before getting specific about the defendant on trial. I began thinking about pots calling kettles black. Seriously? Another annoying aspect of this podcast are the awfully annoying adverts. They seem to go for 15-20 mins sometimes. I think clocks go slower when they are on. Sound is good and the subject matter, whilst gruesome is usually interesting. In some episodes they seem to be drawing a very long bow in terms of relevance. ***+

Pod Save America. Presented by four very smart former aides to President Obama, this show analyses the week in US political news, so usually I listen only in the run up to significant elections and the wash-up of same. They provide a unique take that is not tarnished by mainstream media its billionaire owners. Like some other successful podcasts they know how to let the personalities of the hosts add to the production without dominating or sidetracking it. I also enjoy the way they present their own ads/endorsements. ****

The Real Science of Sport Podcast. I really like this podcast, but I am selective about the episodes I listen to as some subjects are just of limited interest to me. Having said that I think Professor Ross Tucker and his sports journalist mate Mike Finch are a good mix of presenters and they do a fantastic job on some quite controversial subjects, such as performance enhancing drugs and gender identity in sports. Some of the episodes I’ve listened to have been excellent. ****

Roy & HG – Bludging on the Blindside. I don’t know how they manage to present such hilarious content about football once a week, although there is a lot of material for them to work with, especially from “rugba league” players. I find myself laughing out loud all the time. Professionally recorded sound quality ****+

Small Town Murder. From James and Jimmie who gave us Crime in Sports, this show takes a comedic spin on horrible tragedies. I am very selective with my downloading of episodes but they are usually pretty entertaining (if somewhat longish). Sound is good. ***+

Sports Bizarre. This is a relatively new offering, from Titus O’Reilly and Mick Molloy. Initially I thought they’d just cover the same material as Crime in Sports, but they have managed to carve out a unique subject area. Titus I suspect does all of the research and 90% of the presenting, so Mick is really just in a foil role and has little of any value to offer. Sound is good. I’m not yet totally convinced but it filled a post-AFL season gap in y listening habits. ***

Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s. Presented by journalist Connie Walker, I thought this podcast was excellent, but very disturbing. Connie is one of a handful of people who could make me listen to any podcast they make. It tells a story familiar to most Australians of stolen generations of indigenous children (in Canada) who were forcibly subjected to abuse and torment by nuns and priests. Just as in Australia, the abusers all seem to have been able to avoid criminal prosecution. Connie’s late father was one of these children, although she does reveal how he did exact a little revenge. ****+

Tony Martin’s SIZZLETOWN. I thank the podcast gods that content like this is still free. This is a wonderful late-night call-in podcast and it is so well produced. I tell everyone I know with a functioning brain about it. I LOVE the Pikelet Man and I am allergic to 99% of cats. Sound quality is excellent of course with Matt Dower on the Pots n Pans. I laugh so much that I find myself stopping and rewinding all the time so that I don’t miss anything. Thank you, thank you, thank you! ****+

True Crime Obsessed. From what is now the Obsessed Network, Patrick Hinds and Gillian Pensavalle have not lost their unique take on true crime stories after over 270 episodes. They’re still funny together and each show is entertaining, even if sometimes I cannot tell you what the subject matter is. Sound is always great. ****

Will Be Wild. This pod is named for something the big orange baby who used to be the President of the US said when he incited a revolt on the US Capitol in that January 6 insurrection in 2021. The hosts maintain that January 6 was just the beginning of ongoing efforts to damage democracy in the US and they manage to tell it from the perspectives of ALL who were involved. I had no issues with the sound quality. ****

I should add that I did listen to some update episodes of Serial and Undisclosed this year to mark the release from prison of Adnan Syed in September. I also caught up with the trial and verdict of Ryan Duke with Up and Vanished in May.