The saying goes that old soldiers never die , just
fade away - Australian
World War 11
books published in
large numbers for
the Australian Military
Forces by the Australian War Memorial , Canberra , to inform people at home , are in
a similar state . In the period
1941 to 1944
there were 11 volumes, entitled :
Active Service , Soldiering On , Khaki and Green
, Jungle Warfare , On Guard , H.M.A.S., H.M.A.S. Mk. 11, H.M.A.S. Mk. 111,These Eagles , RAAF
Log and RAAF
Saga .The cessation of
hostilities resulted in further volumes , including Victory
Roll.
Back
in the l980s , it was not unusual to see copies
of these
well illustrated books , some with
dustjackets , in secondhand
bookshops , at garage sales
and in op shops . Now they are a rarity . A group of four worn such
volumes was recently sighted in a Queensland
op shop , under lock
and key, with
prices of $30
to $60 .
Battered and showing signs of
exposure to water ,
the 1944
copy of JUNGLE WARFARE at the top , includes several full plate
cartoons about New Guinea
by artist, war correspondent , famous caricaturist Tony
Rafty, now in his nineties.
Part of the drawing shows
a soldier unable to
carry his gear
because he is lugging
Japanese souvenirs and an Australian
soldier is seen manufacturing fake Japanese flags for an American
customer. Rafty served in Darwin at one stage ,
broke out in a blotchy rash , was hospitalised , and entertained the staff
and patients with
his drawings . Much of his eventful life, including
his close connection with President
Soekarno of Indonesia , has been written up in littledarwin.blogspot.com . He is
responsible for arranging this
writer to commence work in newspapers
in the l950s.
