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Anzac Diary: A Nonentity in Khaki
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June 28, 2025
Since there’s no synopsis of this book that I can find, I’ll just use this review to fill you in.
Spoilers - we won World War One.
It’s a collection of well written diary entries from the author (an enlisted infantry private) that connect well, and have a good flow that doesn’t make it as though you’re just reading scattered diary entries.
It starts from his enlistment and follows him through to the end of the war. He talks about training in New Zealand, sailing to England for continuation training and then into France where he gets to see the real war, as well as a stint in a military hospital. He talks about the battles he fights in, but talks more about the actions of those around him during the battles rather than who he’s killed etc, which I thought was a novel and refreshing change from just hearing about running and gunning.
Some memorable parts of the book for me included him watching dog fights between German and allied aircraft from the trenches (he talks about a German aircraft bursting into flames mid fight and watching two small dots jump out and fall to their deaths as the aircraft nose dives in flames); and losing both his boots in no man’s land and having to walk back barefooted through mud, barbwire and dead bodies to reach his reserve line alone, as the rest of his unit doubled back without him. There are a lot more of these stories, but I’ll leave them to the reader!
Definitely a five star for anyone that’s searching for a hidden gem relating to war stories/ diary entry memoirs. I’ll likely read it again.
Spoilers - we won World War One.
It’s a collection of well written diary entries from the author (an enlisted infantry private) that connect well, and have a good flow that doesn’t make it as though you’re just reading scattered diary entries.
It starts from his enlistment and follows him through to the end of the war. He talks about training in New Zealand, sailing to England for continuation training and then into France where he gets to see the real war, as well as a stint in a military hospital. He talks about the battles he fights in, but talks more about the actions of those around him during the battles rather than who he’s killed etc, which I thought was a novel and refreshing change from just hearing about running and gunning.
Some memorable parts of the book for me included him watching dog fights between German and allied aircraft from the trenches (he talks about a German aircraft bursting into flames mid fight and watching two small dots jump out and fall to their deaths as the aircraft nose dives in flames); and losing both his boots in no man’s land and having to walk back barefooted through mud, barbwire and dead bodies to reach his reserve line alone, as the rest of his unit doubled back without him. There are a lot more of these stories, but I’ll leave them to the reader!
Definitely a five star for anyone that’s searching for a hidden gem relating to war stories/ diary entry memoirs. I’ll likely read it again.
Displaying 1 of 1 review