“They didn’t talk about what happened over there.” Maybe that’s why The 28th: A Record of War Service in the Australian Imperial Force, 1915-19 exists—for every story that wasn’t told over tea. Herbert Collett doesn’t just list battles; he’s remembering his mates and the mess they crawled through. This isn’t a cold history book: it’s a beer-hall conversation, as raw and wry as it gets.

The Story

Collett charts the 28th Battalion from its birth in 1915 to its final parades after the Second World War—though Book One sticks to the First World War. You’ll march through Egypt, fight in France, and shiver in the trenches. He shares the madness of “whizz bangs,” the strange calm when soldiers share jokes between dodging bombs, and the real price of victory—friends missing forever. But it’s not just gunfire. Collett shows the weird camaraderie, the food fights in camp (Kangaroo Stew gone wrong?), and letters turned hope. The record stops just after the war’s end, leaving you with memories and a sense of what they—and their families—picked up afterwards.

Why You Should Read It

I can’t shake the line: “We were just boys from the bush, carrying boots and worries.” Collett collects voices between history. At turns grim and goofy (like when they steal plum puddings on Christmas), he makes you feel like one of the crew lounging on packets of webbing. Under the dust of combat, there’s a rebel stick-to-it-attitude that is deeply human. For me, the real grabber was how courage came in weird shapes—a walk under a held raincoat so mates weren't spotted, or a heavy five minutes when a fellow cooked eggs near whining shells. The 28th chucks glory to the wind; what sticks is loyalty defined by canteen and effort.

Final Verdict

If you’re a history hungry but bewildered by tactician-level textbooks, buy this now. Young history club readers: start here—two parts heart, one part hark. For morning-tea circles: dip in a tiny experience, not like rolling battlefield blurbs, that will make you lean in and re-talk moments. It leaves big things: questions on sacrifice, plus unusual tears. Read it to chase little-known stories into big legs. Go download a copy or borrow from a nutty historian; this one meddles with your ideas inside a hidden attic—with laughs and breaths.”

Bonus thought: pairs stupendously with heavy raisin cake and someone who likes good long sad nodding.