When war was announced in 1939, Norman Johnstone enlisted immediately. He was posted to A Company, 2/4th Australian Infantry Battalion and was soon made Orderly Room Clerk where he remained for three years.
In letters he wrote to his sister Geraldine, his typing ability made it easier to record details of events he witnessed.
His battle experiences began exactly one year later in Tobruk, Derna, Benghazi and then the ill-fated campaigns in Greece and Crete. The letters record only the events of 1941, but they were dramatic times indeed for his unit.
Norm, was not, of course, the only man to have memorable experiences of war, but he has recorded them better than most. His letters illustrated the harsh circumstances of those early campaigns and remind the reader that life in the Second AIF was not all glory and conquest.
Without Geraldine's determination to preserve the letters they may not have survived today. Six decades later, they remain poignant and evocative because they vividly express the experiences and feelings of a young man on combat operations so far from home and loved ones.
Contents:
Illustrations and Maps
Acknowledgements
Foreword
The Author of the Letters
The Johnstone Brothers in World War Two
The Editor
Introduction
1. Setting the Scene
2. The Campaigns in Libya, Greece and Crete
3. White Over Green: The 2/4th Infantry Battalion
4. The First Letter: North Africa
5. The Second Letter: North Africa
6. The Third Letter: Greece
7. The Fourth Letter: Crete
8. The Years After
Glossary and Abbreviations
Index
