Gallipoli

My Australian Story

by Alan Tucker

Lying about his age and looking for adventure, 14-year-old Victor March enlists in the 10th Battalion of the AIF to fight in the Great War. Victor and his new mates, Fish, Needle and Robbo, are headed for the Gallipoli peninsula, and into battle.

He is among the first soldiers to land at what will become known as Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, and the world as he knows it is about to change. In his diary, Victor records the horrors of war, his friendships, his fears, and the story of Australia's most legendary military campaign.

Genres: Historical Fiction, War, World War I, Childrens, Diary

Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is most defiantly one of the best my story books that I have read so far. It tells you the the story of an under age Australian soldier who was one of the first to make it too Gallipoli and one of the last to leave

[Lars · Rating 5 out of 5]

Victor is a 14 year old boy from Australia during WWI. Victor lies about his age and enlists in the army, and he soon becomes best friends with 3 other men called Needle, Fish, and Robbo. After 8 months of continuous training and landing drills, Victors battalion finds themselves in the lighters (boats that bring the men to shore) towards the shore of Gallipoli in Turkey. The ANZAC underestimated the turkish army and have to bear a whole 8 months in horrible conditions, with shells dropping everywhere and not being safe anywhere on the peninsula. As time passes, the 4 men are down at the beach when a shell explodes on Needle and injures Fish. Needle dies immediately and Fish soon dies of infections. As Victor starts to overcome the deaths of his mates, Robbo is hit by a plank from the trenches that was shot in the air by a bomb. The battalion is evacuated along with all the other soldiers on the peninsula. Robbo finally wakes in hospital and Victor visits Fish's grave. One theme is trust in your friends.

[Rodregas]

Lying about his age 14-year-old Victor enrolls in the war to fight at Gallipoli with his companions we all know the story of Gallipoli, but do we know the soldier's story.

The story made me feel like it happened It did, but I mean what Victor told us and his friends and the battalion it was gripping every chapter had a new challenge
The main character is Victor March
He is 14 and wants to fight for his country he has grit and determination
I liked the story and how it was built I disliked the boring chapters where they just stood there or talked, in the end, it was a bland end for the characters I thought they should get more I think there should be a sequel because the end didn’t end when the war ended

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fictional book about the actual events of the Gallipoli campaign which lasted from April 1915 to December 1915. It was obviously written as a childrens/teens book so the really horrific bits were obviously not covered but at times it was very moving. Victor March "quickie" volunteers to join the adventures of WWI from his boring job sorting ore in a small town in South Australia. After training and much waiting around he finds himself at Gallipoli for the first wave. The joys of action quickly turn to horror and despair surrounded by death, constant shelling, bad food, little water and sickness.
I learned a lot from this book and enjoyed the read.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written diary account of a young Australian man setting off for an adventure but discovering the horrors of war.

[Jo Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to give kids an understanding of what it might have been like to be at Gallipoli in WWI.

[Thomas Cherian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book, I was attached to reading it.

This book was awesome (Spoiler Coming Up) I was heartbroken when Needle died during the explosion. Would highly recommend to teenagers who like to read diary’s.

[Sasskya Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting to know about his life but got over it after about halve way through.

[Ainsley Griffin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring and no plot line

[Georgia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautifully written. I cried and laughed while reading. The author has captured the intensity of what the ANZACs went through beautifully

[King FoXie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book, but quite sad

[Max · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a ok book but the starting could be better I sort of lost it at the start