Duty Nobly Done

An extraordinary account of 11 family members in the Great War

By Adam Holloway 

Published by Big Sky Publishing https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au

Pages: 528 | RRP $34.99 in Paperback | ISBN: 9781925675832

This is an extraordinary account of 11 family members from Adam Holloway’s extended family in the Great War, of whom eight survived to return to Austraia.

Firstly, I would encourage readers to check out the comments on the publisher’s website, where an incredible 42 readers have voiced their overwhelming endorsement of this book, giving it 5 out of 5 –https://www.bigskypublishing.com.au/books/duty-nobly-done/

Looking at this book, I have to acknowledge that this must have been an enormous research undertaking for Adam Holloway. To research the battles in which each family member took part is one thing, but he has taken it much further, using creative licence to produce a narrative that reads, in parts, like a novel. Yet we know it is all based on fact.

Once again, we see a story of young, confident men, eager to prove themselves and keen to join the war effort on the other side of the world, setting off in a spirit of adventure, only for the cold, grim reality to suck the spirit from them.

A hundred years on, it’s hard for us to imagine the naivety of these young men or understand their allegiance to a far off ‘mother country’. I realise of course, that Australia, at the time, was a fledgling concept and its citizens were, in fact, British by nationality.

Holloway uses personal letters, diaries and family memories to recreate each man’s experiences ranging from Gallipoli to the Western Front.

This story portrays the Great War on a personal level. It changed the lives of these young men forever – and it changed Australian society forever.

Adam Holloway has reached into the family photo archive to add some wonderful black and white photos to this book. He has done the memories of these eleven brave men proud.