The Legend of Albert Jacka

By Peter FitzSimons

Published by Hachette Australia

RRP $49.99 in hardback

ISBN 9780733646690 

 

Albert ‘Bert’ Jacka was 21 when Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914. He soon enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force and the young private was assigned to 14th Battalion D Company. By the time they shipped out to Egypt he’d been made a Lance Corporal.

On 26 April 1915, 14th Battalion landed at Gallipoli under the command of Brigadier General Monash’s 4th Infantry Brigade.

It was here, on 20 May, that Lance Corporal Albert Jacka proved he was ‘the bravest of the brave’.

The Turks were gaining ground with a full-scale frontal attack and as his comrades lay dead or dying in the trenches around him, Jacka single-handedly held off the enemy onslaught. The Turks retreated.

Jacka’s extraordinary efforts saw him awarded the Victoria Cross, the first for an Australian soldier in World War I but Jacka’s wartime exploits had only just begun: moving on to France, he battled the Germans at Pozieres, earning a Military Cross for what historian Charles Bean called ‘the most dramatic and effective act of individual audacity in the history of the AIF’.

Then at Bullecourt, his efforts would again be recognised.

There would be more accolades before a sniper’s bullet and then gassing at Villers-Bretonneux sent Bert home.

A hero in uniform, out of uniform he was just another man desperate for employment in the harsh post-war economic climate.

His story, writes FitzSimons, is ‘…so emblematic of the experience of so many of his generation …’ not to mention the experience of so many for whom the war never ended, dying as he did from war wounds in 1932.

VERDICT: It is another epic story from FitzSimons that will reward his loyal fans.

I encourage readers to click on the link below to watch FitzSimons’ presentation at the Geelong Regional Library. He is a very entertaining presenter.

WATCH:

Presentation at Geelong Regional Library