9.2 /10 1 Votes9.2
Language English Publisher Angus and Robertson Originally published 1932 Country Australia | 4.6/5 Goodreads Genre War memoir Publication date 1932 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ion Idriess books Flynn of the Inland, Lasseter's Last Ride, Drums of Mer, Nemarluk: King of the Wilds, The Cattle King | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Desert Column; leaves from the diary of an Australian trooper in Gallipoli, Sinai and Palestine is a book by Ion Idriess based on a diary he kept of his service during World War I.
Contents
Background
Idriess kept a diary from the time he arrived in Gallipoli on 18 May 1915 until March 1918. He participated in the Gallipoli Campaign where he was wounded, then later fought in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign including the Battle of Beersheeba.
When Idriess returned from the war he put his diaries with his sister in Grafton. In 1929, when he was diagnosed with cancer, he gave up his wandering to concentrate on his writing. He retrieved his diaries, which were acclaimed by some observers as Australia's equivalent to All Quiet on the Western Front. (He later also claimed his sister sent the diaries to Angus and Robertson for publication without his knowledge.)
They were published in 1932 with Sir Harry Chauvel writing the introduction.
Idriess' original diaries are kept in the research collection of the Australian War Memorial.
Reception
It went into a second edition within a week of publication.