David Mitchelhill-Green - Tobruk

With banded backs against the wall,
Fiercely stand, or fighting fall.

The Siege of Corinth, Lord Byron, 1816

***

Millions of tongues record thee, and anew
Their childrens lips shall echo them, and say
Here, where the sword united nations drew,
Our countrymen were warring on that day!
And this is much, and all which will not pass away.

Childe Harolds Pilgrimage, Lord Byron, 1818

Lance Corporal Francis Barney Roberts (2/17th Battalion) enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force in June 1940. On 25 September 1941 he was travelling in a truck that hit a mine. Severely wounded, Roberts died two days later. In his last letter home was a poem that he had written for his six young children.

Copyright David Mitchelhill-Green

First published 2021

Copyright remains the property of the authors and apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission.

All inquiries should be made to the publishers.
Big Sky Publishing Pty Ltd
PO Box 303, Newport, NSW 2106, Australia
Phone: 1300 364 611
Email:
Web: www.bigskypublishing.com.au

Cover Design and Typesetting: Think Productions

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Author: David Mitchelhill-Green
Title: Tobruk: Fiercely Stand, or Fighting Fall
ISBN: 978-1-922488-44-2

TOBRUK

FIERCELY STAND,
OR FIGHTING FALL

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TOBRUK

FIERCELY STAND,
OR FIGHTING FALL

David Mitchelhill-Green

To those who servedLest we forget. Many veterans, all of whom have now passed, their families and relatives generously offered me a host of materials during the early stages of my research for this book. I would like to thank (and in no particular order): Richard Weston, Peter Rymer, May Green, Eric Watts, Dorothy Gibbs, A.R. Duckworth, Jack Holdsworth, Bert Thwaites, Bill Harvey, Harold E. Gibbs, Joy Ogley, Gloria Tonta, Rob Sangster, Jack Caple, Joyce and Ken James, Lloyd Tan, Betty Smith, Clare H. Walker, Roy Jardine, Olga Henwood, Margaret Donaghy, Ross Scholes, Dulcie Bowditch, Noel Shaw, Jack Caple, G.J. Tyler, Kerry Duce, John Best, T.H. Anderson, F.M. Paget, Meryll Williams, Joan Mawson, Jim Tattersall, Keith G. Secombe, Sylvia Sutcliffe, Joe Madeley, Gordon Hughes, A.C. Fletcher, M.D. Burles, Sue Lasky, H. Wilson, L.L. Barton, J.H. Flak, Janice Auburn and Murray Welton, Heinz Kilanowski, Rolf Werner Volker, Kurt Sawall, and Heinz Becker.

My sincere appreciation is extended to the staff of the Australian War Memorial and National Archives in London. Thank you also to Professor Mesut Uyar who kindly provided information, from the Turkish perspective, relating to the 1911 battle for Tobruk and to Carrie White-Parrish for critiquing the manuscript.

I owe a huge debt to Denny Neave and Allison Paterson at Big Sky Publishing for their time and enthusiasm in bringing this book to life. Any errors of omission, fact or judgement are mine alone.

Finally, I would also like to acknowledge my familys longstanding encouragement and support during 2020, a particularly challenging year for us all. It is with much love that I dedicate this book to you: Jennifer, Harvey and Hana.