Anzac Journeys
Returning to the Battlefields of World War Two

Charts the history of pilgrimages to the battlefields and cemeteries of World War Two through surveys, interviews and fieldwork.

Bruce Scates (Author)

9781107020672, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 1 July 2013

328 pages, 82 colour illus. 11 maps
25.2 x 17.7 x 2.5 cm, 1 kg

'Why do Australians pick at the scab of war memory? Bruce Scates explains, in a nice blend of empathetic and analytical.' Professor Peter Stanley, University of New South Wales

Australians have been making pilgrimages to the battlefields and cemeteries of World War Two since the 1940s, from the jungles of New Guinea and South-East Asia to the mountains of Greece and the deserts of North Africa. They travel in search of the stories of lost loved ones, to mourn the dead and to come to grips with the past. With characteristic empathy, Bruce Scates charts the history of pilgrimages to Crete, Kokoda, Sandakan and Hellfire Pass. He explores the emotional resonance that these sites have for those who served and those who remember. Based on surveys, interviews, extensive fieldwork and archival research, Anzac Journeys offers insights into the culture of loss and commemoration and the hunger for meaning so pivotal to the experience of pilgrimage. Richly illustrated with full-colour maps and photographs from the 1940s to today, Anzac Journeys makes an important and moving contribution to Australian military history.

Part I. Captivity Narratives: 1. 'If only I knew what became of him': the loss of Australia's prisoners of war
2. 'Witness to war': the first journeys'
3. 'Bring up the bodies': commemorating our war dead
4. 'Unspeakable histories': from Singapore to Hellfire Pass
5. 'The death march': journeys back to Sandakan
Part II. Desert and Island: 6. 'Death in the desert': North Africa
7. 'A post war dream': Greece and Crete
Part III. Air and Sea: 8. Seeking the unknown: remembering the Sydney
9. 'Journeys into night': bomber command
Part IV. Australia's Frontline: 10. Walking the trail: Kokoda
11. 'A city at war': Darwin.

Subject Areas: Military history [HBW], History: specific events & topics [HBT], Australasian & Pacific history [HBJM]