Sarah's Library

4/5 - At the end of the back cover blurb the comment is made that this book is "...bringing to light a part of the Anzac legend that is not so much forgotten as never before known."  Exactly how I would have put it.  My dad and I are 1st and 2nd World War enthusiasts when it comes to Australia's involvement.  His father fought in Papua New Guinea (among other places) with the 2/6 Field Ambulance and both of his grandfathers fought in Gallipoli and France during WWI.  When I asked him about whether he'd ever heard of Arkhangel or either of the two VC recipients who fought there (he thinks of himself as a bit of an officianado on VC recipients), he said he'd never heard of them.  When I clarified that Arkhangel was a place in Russia near Murmansk he suddenly remembered that one of his grandfathers had been considering going to Russia at the end of the war, but in the end decided against it (or was refused).  But for fate intervening I wonder whether it's the names Moore or Frost could have been on the very short list of Australian soldiers who volunteered for this mission (only 150 volunteered, just over 100 actually made it to Arkhangel).  (That really is a true coincidence that just happened this evening, not a story I made up to involve my family in the real life history of this book.)

Challing writes well, making some dry facts interesting and giving life to the expressionless soldiers of the black and white photos shown throughout the book.  It's obvious, to me, that he's Australian due to some of the language he uses.  The book is written in a much less formal manner than most of the other true war books that I've read.  He even uses a few slang or colloquial words, something I haven't seen in this type of book before.  Usually the language in a book like this is very formal, a bit like reading a chemistry text book from the 60s.  Very dry, no levity at all.  Just get the information across and that's all.  Anzacs in Arkhangel is peppered with a lot more emotion and it feels like Challing is telling a dramatic story instead of giving a lecture.  To be continued...

7/5 - There is surpisingly little description of the fighting as the Aussies refused, almost to a man, to talk in any depth about what they had experienced.  Diary entries for the days when they were engaged in fighting went something like this: "Had breakfast at the mess hall.  Won two bob at cards.  John Smith (not an actual soldier, just an example) died this afternoon.  Going to the pictures after dinner."  Although 2 VCs were won during the Russian campaign the fighting was very shortlived, compared to campaigns on the Western Front or during Gallipoli and I was surprised to find the end of the story some 30 pages before the end of the book due to a couple of quite long appendices and bibliography.  Challing focused on the men who made up the Aussie contingent of the campaign rather than the battle itself, if you enjoy knowing who did what, when and where, this might not be the book for you.