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●
The fact that he didn’t know about the death of his brother for
several weeks although during a night time movement not long
before his brother’s death Harry had passed within a short distance
of his brother’s artillery unit;
●
The crippling effect of the water and cold weather that led to many
foot amputations;
●
The shelling by German artillery and the death of a number of
soldiers in a tent, after another tent put on a light for a short period
of time despite the warning that it would help the Germans locate
the position of the unit’s tents. No soldiers in the tent that
disobeyed the order were killed;
●
The lack of common sense of the AIF leaders who indicated that a
local property had deer in great number, and decreed our soldiers
were not to go there; this meant that the soldiers ate well that night
after a night-time raid on the deer property by his mates; and
●
The mate who spoke glowingly on his desire to go to Blighty or
England to get away from the horrors of the war. Later, with
shrapnel flying about he received what he wanted yelling out that
he was going to “Blighty”. When Harry looked down he realised
that his mate would be going to Blighty but then to Australia minus
two arms and two legs.
Whilst a lot of diaries were confiscated and / or censored by officers
Harry seemed to be able to avoid scrutiny and he was able to present a
clear and dispassionate work that still conveys the terrible conditions and
human wastage that was part of the AIF experience.
While
Over The Top
portrays the human suffering of war, two other
books stand out as being very detailed explorations of who the local
soldiers were; in particular the soldiers who were local miners. These are:
David H. Dial’s
Coal Mine Diggers: Hunter Valley Coal Miners at the
Great War
and John Laffin’s
Guide to Australian Battlefields on the
Western Front 1916-1918.
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