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The Lost Boys: The untold stories of the under-age soldiers who fought in the First World War
In the First World War of 1914-1918, thousands of boys across Australia and New Zealand lied about their age, forged a parent's signature and left to fight on the other side of the world. Though some were as young as thirteen, they soon found they could die as well as any man. Like Peter Pan's lost boys, they have remained forever young. These are their stories. This extraordinary book captures the incredible and previously untold stories of forty Anzac boys who fought in the First World War, from Gallipoli to the Armistice. Featuring haunting images of the boys taken at training camps and behind the lines, these tales are both heartbreaking and rousing, full of daring, ingenuity, recklessness, random horror and capricious luck. A unique perspective on the First World War, The Lost Boys is military history made deeply personal, a powerful homage to youthful bravery and a poignant reminder of the sacrifice of war.
421 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2019
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213 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
August 30, 2020
Back in the mid-1960s I worked for a while with a man quite a deal older than me. His name was George. I learned from his daughter that, although he didn’t talk about the Great War himself, he’d been in the Battle of Fromelles in mid-July 1916. It took only a moment to realise that George, born in July 1899, had been barely 17 at the time of going in to battle.
My work friend was not an exception. Despite a minimum age of 19 for enlistment, it can be shown that many hundreds of younger age - boys - went off to fight and die under the jingoistic fervour of doing it ‘for king and for country.’
Paul Byrnes’ new book, The Lost Boys, is sad in the reading, relating stories of the underaged enlistees, including the youngest Australian of all, James Martin of Tocumwal. James died of typhoid on a hospital ship moored off Gallipoli. He was just 14 years, nine months and 22 days.
As the author says in his introduction, other than pride and adventure and a chance, perhaps, to escape a humdrum existence, there were many reasons for them to enlist. Not least may have been the chance to earn 6/- (six shillings) a day. That equated to two guineas a week, a truly princely income for the time.
I used the term ‘sad reading’ above, which the book is, but it is also compelling. I read it in two nights, forever flipping back between the script, so well researched and written, and the photographs of the boys themselves. The expressions on their faces - in their eyes - varies between a haunting uncertainty and utter confidence.
Paul Byrnes pulls no punches in his descriptions of what these lads faced, the mud, the blood, the boredom and, finally, the sheer terror of the battlefield. An exceptional work, The Lost Boys is a necessary adjunct to a complete history of WW1, and has become the most recent addition to my reference library.
4 ½ stars
My work friend was not an exception. Despite a minimum age of 19 for enlistment, it can be shown that many hundreds of younger age - boys - went off to fight and die under the jingoistic fervour of doing it ‘for king and for country.’
Paul Byrnes’ new book, The Lost Boys, is sad in the reading, relating stories of the underaged enlistees, including the youngest Australian of all, James Martin of Tocumwal. James died of typhoid on a hospital ship moored off Gallipoli. He was just 14 years, nine months and 22 days.
As the author says in his introduction, other than pride and adventure and a chance, perhaps, to escape a humdrum existence, there were many reasons for them to enlist. Not least may have been the chance to earn 6/- (six shillings) a day. That equated to two guineas a week, a truly princely income for the time.
I used the term ‘sad reading’ above, which the book is, but it is also compelling. I read it in two nights, forever flipping back between the script, so well researched and written, and the photographs of the boys themselves. The expressions on their faces - in their eyes - varies between a haunting uncertainty and utter confidence.
Paul Byrnes pulls no punches in his descriptions of what these lads faced, the mud, the blood, the boredom and, finally, the sheer terror of the battlefield. An exceptional work, The Lost Boys is a necessary adjunct to a complete history of WW1, and has become the most recent addition to my reference library.
4 ½ stars
March 17, 2020
Wonderful book, heartwrenching and intensely personal with lots of historic photographs taken during WWI.
April 13, 2024
During the First World War, thousands of young boys lied about their ages and
forged the signatures of Mum and Dad to fight for King and country.
The youngest (and he didn't even get out of Australia) was just 11 years and 8 months.
While the full number of underage boys will never be known, Byrne introduces us to several boys whose histories have come to light. The stories include the circumstances of their enlistment, where known, the campaigns that each saw, and where applicable, their circumstances of the deaths.
The stories are heartbreakingly sad and intense, and a damning indictment on the system that sent so many boys away.
Unfortunately, both sides were spruiking the same message:
Join the Army.
See the world.
Have an adventure.
You'll be home by Christmas.
forged the signatures of Mum and Dad to fight for King and country.
The youngest (and he didn't even get out of Australia) was just 11 years and 8 months.
While the full number of underage boys will never be known, Byrne introduces us to several boys whose histories have come to light. The stories include the circumstances of their enlistment, where known, the campaigns that each saw, and where applicable, their circumstances of the deaths.
The stories are heartbreakingly sad and intense, and a damning indictment on the system that sent so many boys away.
Unfortunately, both sides were spruiking the same message:
Join the Army.
See the world.
Have an adventure.
You'll be home by Christmas.
March 14, 2020
This is just a book of woe really but you have to remember that boys of 14+ were classed as adults and it was not today's society.
It's just a very short life for most of these boys and if they managed to survive it was again a short life made indomitably long by mental health issues, alcoholism and war wounds.
It's just a very short life for most of these boys and if they managed to survive it was again a short life made indomitably long by mental health issues, alcoholism and war wounds.
May 23, 2022
An essential book for us to read to remember the young lives lost in WW1. Through ingenuity and determination, many young men signed up, with varying levels of tragedy. As you would expect, the stories are a reminder of the far reaching impacts of war.
August 8, 2021
In WWI 1914–1918, thousands of boys across Australia and New Zealand lied about their age,and left to fight on the other side of the world.They soon found they could die as well as any man.Like Peter Pan’s lost boys, they have remained forever young.Featuring haunting images of the boys taken at training camps and behind the lines, these tales are both heartbreaking and rousing, full of daring, ingenuity, recklessness, random horror and capricious luck.A deeply personal, powerful homage to youthful bravery and a poignant reminder of war's sacrifice.Teenage boys have always been in a hurry to prove their manhood,to escape family authority,to take part in adventures.Back then there was no concept of teenage years or adolescence,you were a child until 12 years and then you immediately assume adult responsibilities.They may have been too young,too wild and too full of romantic ideas for their own good,but these boys had grit.They fought the same fights as older men,suffered the same privations, indignities and losses,endured or did not as temperament and fate decided.Some of them became men in the process,old before their time.Others never got the chance.Duty and Empire were compelling words that held a lot of weight.Australia needed to mobilise its defence force quickly at the onset of the war so recruiters and even medical officers and top brass didn't bother or they didn't have enough time to check the legalities.If parents refused to give permission for their children to enlist,their sons would find ways to do so by either forging their parents' signatures,changing their names or trying their luck elsewhere at a different locality or state,or a combination of all.Some joined to follow family,friends and others already serving.Some needed the money.Teenage boys made good recruits as they were easily more motivated to fight and good at carrying out orders,they had aggression and recruiters found it hard to tell on looks alone someone's age.Irish,German and Indigenous Australians also enlisted despite racial,ethnic and religious intolerance.Some were sent home because they were underage.Some went MIA.Many families allowed their sons to go.
March 25, 2020
I was a Judge for the 2020 Indie Book Awards. The review submitted as part of the process is below. A word count was adhered to.
In The Lost Boys we read the incredible stories of boys in WW1 such as that of Billy Jackson, a 16-year-old who had his hand blown off by a shell and still went out looking for other wounded to bring back to safety. The photographs in this book show just how young these boys really were in a way that just telling us their age could never suffice. We see the boys wearing uniforms that barely fit them, faces full of pride. Whilst reading each of their extraordinary stories, I found myself flicking back the pages to look at their photographs again and again. The images are haunting and yet are the perfect companion to the stories - it would have been a different book without them. Byrnes mentions in the book that he hopes younger people will read this book and he has written in a way that people with little prior knowledge would still understand. That said, this book isn't just for the younger generation, it's for everyone. It is a remarkable book that should be on bookshelves in every home. This is a book that will stay with me, in my thoughts, for a long time.
In The Lost Boys we read the incredible stories of boys in WW1 such as that of Billy Jackson, a 16-year-old who had his hand blown off by a shell and still went out looking for other wounded to bring back to safety. The photographs in this book show just how young these boys really were in a way that just telling us their age could never suffice. We see the boys wearing uniforms that barely fit them, faces full of pride. Whilst reading each of their extraordinary stories, I found myself flicking back the pages to look at their photographs again and again. The images are haunting and yet are the perfect companion to the stories - it would have been a different book without them. Byrnes mentions in the book that he hopes younger people will read this book and he has written in a way that people with little prior knowledge would still understand. That said, this book isn't just for the younger generation, it's for everyone. It is a remarkable book that should be on bookshelves in every home. This is a book that will stay with me, in my thoughts, for a long time.
September 21, 2025
An excellent read if you are interested in WW1 history. Very well written and researched stories of the under age Australian soldiers who enlisted to fight for our country and lost their lives. I loved that the author provided an insight into their families as well. Although sad and brutal really worth reading. I have done 2 small group tours of the Western Front and am proud to say have visited the grave of Rufus Rigney one of the youngest Aboriginal boys who appears in this book
January 8, 2021
3.5 stars rounded down because of too many repetitions in the narrative.
September 16, 2025
While reading this book I was amazed that so many underage boys served during WW1 and did not survive. Some of these boys were 14 or 15 years old. I don’t know how they managed to pass the medical.
January 14, 2020
I approached this book expecting it to be an examination of WHY young boys would volunteer when they had a perfectly valid excuse not to go to war. It touches on that but not in great depth.
Instead it is the "stories" of these boys as best can be gleaned from their services records with a lot speculation added in. For example one boy lived in Caulfield and was a gardener and Caulfield has a race course so we are told that he was possibly a gardener at the race course. Every page is littered with "likely", "possibly" and "suggests" which adds colour but not much else.
Also a lot of the book is just a retelling of the actions the boys' units were engaged in with a lot of detail and quotes that are very familiar from other books.
I found the format of the book with sentences pulled out and printed in large type to maintain our interest annoying (along with a few typos), but that might not be the authors choice.
Overall it's an interesting subject, but I would recommend readers get on the National Archives website and look at the original sources. There's something very visceral about seeing the actual signature of a seventeen year old eagerly singing his life away.
Instead it is the "stories" of these boys as best can be gleaned from their services records with a lot speculation added in. For example one boy lived in Caulfield and was a gardener and Caulfield has a race course so we are told that he was possibly a gardener at the race course. Every page is littered with "likely", "possibly" and "suggests" which adds colour but not much else.
Also a lot of the book is just a retelling of the actions the boys' units were engaged in with a lot of detail and quotes that are very familiar from other books.
I found the format of the book with sentences pulled out and printed in large type to maintain our interest annoying (along with a few typos), but that might not be the authors choice.
Overall it's an interesting subject, but I would recommend readers get on the National Archives website and look at the original sources. There's something very visceral about seeing the actual signature of a seventeen year old eagerly singing his life away.
February 17, 2020
Amazing, and sad, that boys as young as 13 were able to go to war.
These boys chose to volunteer due to a sense of adventure, of duty to king and country, some went because brothers were going and they did not want to "miss out", some wanted to escape an unhappy home life, others wanted to support their families with the money they earned as soldiers.
Some had parental approval, others forged signatures. Some parents only begrudgingly gave approval as their sons threatened to enlist under a false name and thus their parents would not know where they were or if they were injured or dead.
The author managed to obtain photos for many of the boys. Some could actually have passed as being 19, the permissible age, but many certainly did not. However the recruiters still accepted them.
It is hard to sum up my feelings after reading this book. It is impressive in its detail. But the subject matter is rather depressing. That is not to say it should not be written about. In fact hopefully it might deter our leaders from rushing into conflict
These boys chose to volunteer due to a sense of adventure, of duty to king and country, some went because brothers were going and they did not want to "miss out", some wanted to escape an unhappy home life, others wanted to support their families with the money they earned as soldiers.
Some had parental approval, others forged signatures. Some parents only begrudgingly gave approval as their sons threatened to enlist under a false name and thus their parents would not know where they were or if they were injured or dead.
The author managed to obtain photos for many of the boys. Some could actually have passed as being 19, the permissible age, but many certainly did not. However the recruiters still accepted them.
It is hard to sum up my feelings after reading this book. It is impressive in its detail. But the subject matter is rather depressing. That is not to say it should not be written about. In fact hopefully it might deter our leaders from rushing into conflict
May 27, 2021
A really good book. Such a sad read though. As the author says, we really can't judge the people of those times based on our standards. I just couldn't help but picture my son as one of those soldiers and it made me even sadder but also so very relieved that we didn't have to live through those years.
February 9, 2020
A hugely insightful book; it pulls together the incredible personal stories of what it means to go through war, for both the soldiers involved and the families left behind. A must read for anyone interested in conflict.
January 31, 2023
This very interesting book The Lost Boys by Paul Byrnes is the tragic story of the underage Australian men who enlisted and/or fought in World War I. Byrnes has delved deep into individual stories to present a small representation of the hundreds of those who would have enlisted. The youngest to die “succumbed to typhoid” aged 14. The youngest to be “killed in action” was 15. There are photographs of these very young men so we can look into their eyes and “see” them as their stories are told. Some came from very poor large families who were attracted by the pay and "adventure" of going to war. Some wanted to be with their brothers or fathers. Some wanted their family to be proud of them. These boys (as well as older men) often did not receive enough training before going into battle. Tragically some of these boys were killed within hours of being on the battlefield. Each individual story is a photograph brought to life for the short time they lived. We also learn about the battles which all Australian had to deal with including some the incompetent leaders who forced their soldiers into suicidal action. This poignant collection of World War I soldiers’ stories reminds us of the heartbreak that is war. 4½/5
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February 5, 2025 ** Some thoughts: 11:10AM (GMT+11) | Sydney, Australia (quick life admin before uni starts) **
It's easy to forget how separated Australians were back in the early 20th century; that those from Western Australia, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, and so forth rarely had much reason nor opportunity to meet one another before the "call to war", fighting as a "Brotherhood", keen to show their Mother Country, Britain (which, at the time, one-third of Australians had been born in), that they had matured from their convict origins. Interestingly, the devastation that was the First World War, especially the ANZAC/Turkey narrative - one of initial-confidence-turned-hopelessness; a battle fought by Britain's colonies (as well as those of the French) - inspired much of the Australian identity that saw/desired itself as being separate from its Mother Country.
War is no place for young boys. It's disheartening that those involved in the First World War permitted them to fight without much resistance - then again, especially the families of those soldiers, how were they to know how cruel this war would really end up being?
It's easy to forget how separated Australians were back in the early 20th century; that those from Western Australia, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, and so forth rarely had much reason nor opportunity to meet one another before the "call to war", fighting as a "Brotherhood", keen to show their Mother Country, Britain (which, at the time, one-third of Australians had been born in), that they had matured from their convict origins. Interestingly, the devastation that was the First World War, especially the ANZAC/Turkey narrative - one of initial-confidence-turned-hopelessness; a battle fought by Britain's colonies (as well as those of the French) - inspired much of the Australian identity that saw/desired itself as being separate from its Mother Country.
War is no place for young boys. It's disheartening that those involved in the First World War permitted them to fight without much resistance - then again, especially the families of those soldiers, how were they to know how cruel this war would really end up being?
February 18, 2024
Brynes perfectly captures the realities of warm, its haunting, dark and tragic. The images of children who enlisted longing for adventure and an escape from normalcy.
James Martin, just 14 nine months and 22 days old. His story still haunts me to this day as an adult. No doubt, this book is a sad read - but the stories are something to remember forever.
I first read this book when I was 12. Now an adult, my perception of the book has deepened and will continue to do so as time goes on.
James Martin, just 14 nine months and 22 days old. His story still haunts me to this day as an adult. No doubt, this book is a sad read - but the stories are something to remember forever.
I first read this book when I was 12. Now an adult, my perception of the book has deepened and will continue to do so as time goes on.
January 3, 2022
I loved this book. Both my grandfathers fought in WW1. It has spurred me on to find out all I can about their lives during the war. When people talk about the hardships of Covid-19 lockdown this is a stiff reminder of what real hardship looks like.
March 16, 2022
Telling the stories of so many boy soldiers from the first World War, such an important project, but also let's us reflect on why and how this happened and that we should protect our children from this going forward. Thank you for telling their stories Paul Byrnes.
April 30, 2020
An eye-opener about just how many under age soldiers went to war and the conditions on which they fought, died and survived.
September 10, 2020
Amazing stories and some really good photos
September 19, 2022
was interesting but i wanted to read this for personal accounts like diaries and stuff.
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April 30, 2025worth a read, heartbreaking
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews