Missing in Action (Paperback)

Marianne van Velzen

ISBN 10: 1760632805 / ISBN 13: 9781760632809

Published by Allen & Unwin, St Leonards, 2018

About this Item

Paperback. By the end of World War I, 45,000 Australians had died on the Western Front. Some bodies had been hastily buried mid-battle in massed graves; others were mutilated beyond recognition. Often men were simply listed as 'Missing in Action' because nobody knew for sure.Lieutenant Robert Burns was one of the missing, and now that the guns had fallen silent his father wanted to know what had become of his son. He wasn't the only one looking for answers. A loud clamour arose from Australia for information and the need for the dead to be buried respectfully. Many of the Australians charged with the grisly task of finding and reburying the dead were deeply flawed. Each had his own reasons for preferring to remain in France instead of returning home. In the end there was a great scandal, with allegations of 'body hoaxing' and gross misappropriation of money and army possessions leading to two highly secretive inquiries. Untold until now, Missing in Action is the compelling and unexpected story of those dark days and darker deeds and a father's desperate search for his son's remains. Poor leadership, mismanagement, quarrels, distrust and accusations of hoaxing . this is the story of what happened after the guns were laid down and Australians tried to find their war dead. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781760632809

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Missing in Action (Paperback)
• Publisher: Allen & Unwin, St Leonards
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1760632805
• ISBN 13: 9781760632809
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

At the end of WWI 45,000 Australians had died on the Western Front. Some bodies had been hastily buried mid-battle in massed graves; some were mutilated beyond recognition. In some cases their next of kin had been informed of the death of their loved ones; but in most instances men were listed as 'Missing in Action', because nobody knew for sure.

Now that the guns were silent, a loud clamour arose from Australia for information and for the dead to be buried respectfully. But the men put in charge of this exercise and those engaged in 'body divining' were deeply flawed men, many of them with their own personal reasons for preferring to remain in France unearthing bodies rather than being demobilised and sent home.

In the end there was a great scandal, with allegations of 'body hoaxing' and gross misappropriation of money and army possessions. There were two highly secretive inquiries. This is the untold story of those dark days and darker deeds. It makes for a compelling narrative by one of our best literary sleuths and story-tellers, Marianne van Velzen.

About the Author

Marianne van Velzen is a journalist. She has a life-long interest in Australia and is the author of Call of the Outbackand Bomber Boys.