The oarsmen : the remarkable story of the men who rowed from the Great War to peace

Author/Creator:

Patterson, Scott, author

Publication/Creation:

Richmond, Victoria ; London : Hardie Grant Books, 2019

Format:

Book

More Details

Additional/Related Title Information

Full Title:

The oarsmen : the remarkable story of the men who rowed from the Great War to peace / Scott Patterson

Subjects/Genre

Subjects:

Australia.Australian Army--Sports
Rowers--Biography
Rowers--Australia--Biography
Rowing--Australia--History
Rowing--Competitions--Australia
Great Britain--Social life and customs--1918-1945

Description/Summary

Table of Contents:

Prologue: Rowing into war -- Part 1: The War. Chapter 1: The game is worth the candle -- Chapter 2: Hauenstein -- Chapter 3: The dying days -- Part 2: The Peace. Chapter 4: Occupy the men -- Chapter 5: Battlefield to playing field -- Chapter 6: Syd and Marion -- Chapter 7: The sports section -- Chapter 8: The oarsmen of Pozières -- Chapter 9: Disher -- Chapter 10: Getting back in the boat -- Chapter 11: Putney -- Chapter 12: Gathering the oarsmen -- Chapter 13: Making the cut -- Chapter 14: The Australian style -- Chapter 15: The boat -- Chapter 16: Fairbairn -- Chapter 17: Trouble in the boat -- Chapter 18: Anzac Day -- Chapter 19: Mutiny in the boat -- Part 3: The Regatta. Chapter 20: Picking up the pieces -- Chapter 21: New digs, new coach -- Chapter 22: The two crews -- Chapter 23: Six to one -- Chapter 24: The Marlow Victory Regatta -- Chapter 25: Tough choices -- Chapter 26: The Royal Henley Peace Regatta -- Chapter 27: The King's Cup -- Chapter 28: The Inter-Allied Regatta, Paris -- Chapter 29: The Euripides -- Epilogue.

Summary:

At the end of the First World War, there were 270,000 demobilised Australian soldiers in Europe. Getting them home after the Armistice was a task of epic proportions that would take more than two years. In the meantime, how to keep these disgruntled, damaged men with guns occupied? In a word: sport. The Oarsmen tells the story of the servicemen who survived the war to row for the coveted King's Cup at the 1919 Royal Henley Peace Regatta. Competing against crews from the US, New Zealand, France, the UK and Canada, the Australians were a ragtag bunch of oarsmen thrown in an old-fashioned boat and expected to race. Many had seen the worst of the action during the war at Gallipoli and the Western Front, and carried scars both physical and psychological. The baggage they brought to the boat would soon threaten to capsize the whole endeavour. Combining first-hand accounts with lively prose, this never-before-told story approaches the First World War from peacetime and illuminates history in vivid and compelling detail. Interweaving the soldiers' personal stories from before, during and after the war, The Oarsmen paints a fascinating picture of how these men, and society, transitioned from an unprecedented war to a new sort of peace.

Language:

English

Physical Type/Description:

1 online resource (187 pages)

Additional Identifiers

Catalog ID (MMSID):

9937183865502486

ISBN:

1-74358-623-X